Minimal Processing

Technology
Definition
• ‘Specific to purpose’ : those which minimally
influence the quality characteristic of a food
whilst, as the time, giving the food sufficient
shelf-life during storage and distribution (Huis
in’t Veld, 1996).
• Techniques that preserve foods but also retain
to a greater extent their nutritional quality and
sensory characteristic by reducing the reliance
on heat as the main preservative action
(Fellows, 2000).
Minimal processing of fruits and
vegetables purposes
• Keeping the produce fresh, without losing
its nutritional quality.
• Ensuring a product shelf-life sufficient to
make distribution feasible within a region
of consumption.
Requirement for commercial
manufacture
Working Demands for Customers Shelf-life (days) Examples of
principles processing at 5°C suitable fruit
and vegetables
Preparation • Standard Catering 1-2 Most fruits and
today, kitchen industry vegetables
consumption hygiene tools
tomorrow • No heavy Restaurants
washing for
peeled and Schools
shredded
produce; Industry
potato in an
exception
• Packages can
be returnable
containers
Working Demands for Customers Shelf-life (days) Examples of
principles processing at 5°C suitable fruit
and vegetables
Preparation • Disinfections Catering 3-5 Carrot,
today, the • Washing of industry cabbage,
costumers uses peeled or iceberg lettuce,
the products shredded Restaurants potato,
within 3-4 days produce at beetroot, acid
least with Schools fruits, berries
water
• Permeable Industry
packages
Products are • Good In addition to 5-7 Carrot,
also intended disinfection customers (if longer shelf- cabbage,
for retailing • Chlorine or listed above, life up to 14 potato,
acid washing retail shops can days is needed, beetroot, acid
for peeled also be storage fruits, berries
and shredded customers temperature
produce must be 1-2°C)
• Permeable
packages
• Additives
Form
• Pre-peeled
• Sliced
• Grated
• Shredded
 Peeling
Slicing
Grating
Shredding
Relative stable commodity Perishable commodity
(shelf-life several weeks to (shelf-life 1-3 days at
months) chilled temperature)
Cells are
broken, intra
cellular
products are
released
Physiological and Biochemical
changes
• The most important enzymes : polyphenol
oxidase that causes browning.
• Lipooxidase catalyses
peroxidation, causing the formation of
numerous bad smelling aldehydes and
ketones.
• Increasing in ethylene production →
neosynthesis of fruit maturation enzymes →
physiological disorder (ex. Softening)
• Increasing respiration activity : 20%- more
than 700%, depending on the
produce, cutting grade, temperature.
Anaerobic
packaging

Anaerobic respiration : formation of

ethanol, ketones, aldehydes.
Microbiological changes
• During peeling, shredding, grating the
surface of produce is exposed to:
– Air
– Contamination: bacteria, yeast, mould
• Minimal processed vegetables usually low
acid (pH 5.8-6.0), high humidity, large
number of cut surface → ideal for
microorganism growth
• Predominat microflora of fresh leafy
vegetables : Pseudomonas and Erwinia

pectinolytic : soft rot

• Increasing in temperature and CO2 in the
package will shift microflora towards lactic
acid bacteria.
• Different minimally processed fruit and
vegetables, different spoilage pattern in
relation of the raw material characteristic.
• Must be handled and stored at ≤5°C to
achieve sufficient self-life and microbiological
safety, since the products are not heat
treated.
• Spoilage organism in refrigerated produce
usually psychrotropic, therefore have
competitive advantage over most pathogens.
• Some pathogen such as
L.monocytogenes, Y.enterocolitica, Salmonella
spp., A.hydrophila still survive and proliferate
at low temperature…but…minimally
processed fruit usually acidic, so they are
relatively save compare to other food.
Nutritional changes
• Little data is known.
• Hagg et al. (1996) : washing does not
significantly decrease the vitamin content
(vit. C and carotenes) of grated
carrot, shredded Chinese cabbage, and
peeled potatoes.
Improving quality of minimally
processed product
• Preservation is based on the synergies
between individual steps (within a
framework of GMP and HACCP
management).
Raw material
• Must be easily washable and peelable
• Must be first class quality
• Should be correct and proper
stored, carefully trimmed
• Not all varieties of specified vegetables can
be used (ex. Carrot variety which gives
more juicy grated product can not be used
for product with self-life of several days)
Peeling, cutting, shredding
• Some fruits and vegetables need peeling.
Ex. potatoes, carrots, apples.
• Industrial scale peeling method:
mechanically, chemically, high pressure
steam.
• Ideally: hand peeling with sharp knife.
• Cutting and shredding must be performed
with knife as sharp as possible, made from
stainless steel.
• Slicing machine should be installed solidly
→ vibrating machine can impair quality
• Carrots cut with razor blade were more
acceptable than carrot cut with commercial
slicing machine from microbiological and
sensory point of view
• Carborundum drum and steam disturb
vegetables cell wall which enhance the
microbial growth.
 The effect of peeling method and storage time on the
odour and appearance of potato packed in a gas mixture
of 20%CO2, 80%N2 and stored at 5°C
Relative quality

Odour (knife)
Odour (carbo)
Appearance (knife)
Appearance (carbo)

1 4 7
Storage time (days), +5°C
• Enzymatic peeling can be successful for
oranges (peel the albedo).
Cleaning, washing, and drying
• Whasing:
1. incoming vegetable, before processing
(cleaning the soil, mud, sand)
2. after peeling/cutting : removes microbes and
tissue fluid → reduces microbial growth and
enzymatic oxidation
ex. cabbage must be washed after
shredded, carrot must be washed before
shredded
• Washing in flowing water is preferable to
dipping into water
• Water:
– Good microbiological quality
– Low temperatur: <5°C
• Washing water should be removed gently:
centrifuge (time and rate should be chosen
carefully)
• Preservatives:
– Used in washing water to reduce microbial
number and to retard enzymatic activity →
improving shelf-life
– 100-200mg/l (chlorine or acetic acid). If chlorine
is used, material should be rinsed to reduce
concentration to the level of drinking water.
– Not all country allowed chlorine. Alternatives:
chlorine dioxide, per acetic acid ozone, trisodium
phosphate, and hydrogen peroxide
 The effect of washing solution and storage time on the
odour of grated carrot packed in air and stored at 5°C
Relative quality

fresh (control)
0.5% citric acid
0.01% chlorine
water
no washing

2 4 7
Storage time (days), 5°C
Browning inhibition
• Enzymatic browning requires: oxigen, an
enzyme, copper, a substrat.
• Preventing PPO browning:
– Heating or inactivation of the enzyme
– Removing the substrat (oxigen and/or phenol)
– Lowering pH (2 or more below optimum pH)
– Adding compounds that inhibit PPO or prevent
melanin formation
Compounds inhibit PPO
• Sulphites :effective but dangerous side-
effect for asthmatic
• Alternatives:
– Ascorbic acid:oxidises to dehydro ascorbic acid
(DHAA). Best combined with citric acid. High
concentration of ascorbic acid (0.75%) produce
unpleasant taste in fruit.
– Citric acid: chelating agent and acidulant.
Effective in combination with ascorbic acid or
benzoic acid.
– 4-hexylresorcinol: interact with PPO.
Advantages: specific mode of inhibitory
action, lower level of effectiveness, inability to
bleach preformed pigment, chemical stability.
– EDTA: chelating agent.
– Sulphydril-containing amino acid (ex. Cysteine):
reacting with quinone intermediate to form
stable, colourless compounds
– Protease enzyme: hydrolyse PPO. Ex.
papain, ficin, bromelain
Biocontrol agent
• Controlling pathogen growth using lactic
acid bacteria (LAB) that compete and thus
inhibit pathogen growth.
• LAB can produce both metabolites (ex.
lactic and acetic acid that lowering pH) and
bacteriocin.
Packaging
• MAP: a modified atmosphere can be
created passively by using properly
permeable packaging material, or actively
by using a specific gas mixture together
with permeable packaging material.
• Usually, gas composition:
– 2-5% CO2
– 2-5% O2
– The rest is nitrogen.
• Edible coating:
– Thin layers of material that can be eaten as part
of the whole food product
– Potential: reduce moisture loss, restrict oxigen
entrance, lower respiration, retard ethylene
production, seal in flavour volatiles, carry
additives (ex. antioxidant that prevent
discolouration; antimicrobial that prevent
microbial growth)
Fig. 3 Decay (a), browning (b) and shriveling (c) rates of
minimally processed grape berries after 28 day storage.
Columns (each treatment) with unlike letters differ
significantly.
Storage condition
• Processing, transport, display, and
intermediate storage should at the low
temperature (2-4°C)
• Avoid higher temperature and fluctuating
temperature (causes in-pack condensation)
Flow chart for Fresh-cut process

Harvesting
Spinning
Washing/cooling
Packing
Sorting
Storage
Cooling
Transportation
Cutting to Retail Stores

Washing