Food processing procedures

The engineering component of food processing procedures is critical. Proper equipment that allows the simulation of commercial processing must be used. Each... 

Equipment and ingredient suppliers are an excellent source of information about food processing procedures. Since the processing companies use their products, they have worked extensively with many of the food processors and are very familiar with the technology. The goal of equipment and ingredient suppliers is to sell more of their products, so they will often share information with the knowledge that the information may lead to additional sales in the future. 

According to Schwimmer (1980) the two major considerations upon which successful adoption of a particular step in a food processing procedure hinges have traditionally been economic feasibility and consumer acceptance. He stated that these can be translated into innovation in processing efficiency and product quahty and stability, with heavy emphasis on sensory quality and appearance. Such hitherto subsidiary parameters as nutritional, environmental, and energy conservation considerations are rapidly attaining equivalent status. The preparation and distribution of dry and dried foods, especially, intermediate-moisture foods, have proven to constitute no exception to this trend and have required contributions from applied and basic research to provide relevant scientific information upon which improvement in processing can be based. 

To check possible contamination in various steps of a food processing procedure under development in another government laboratory, it was necessary to analyze distilled water for lead. Polarographic measurements were made in a supporting electrolyte of IN hydrochloric acid after a 20-fold concentration of the water by evaporation. The original distilled water used was found to contain 10 p.p.b. of lead. Rinsings from a blender used in this process showed the lead concentration increased to a value of 20 p.p.b. which was considered within acceptable limits. 

A wide range of industrial contaminants may occur in food arising from environmental contamination, from food processing procedures, or from food packaging materials. These substances include polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), dioxins and heavy metals, nitrosamines, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and acrylamide, and packaging material monomers and plasticizers. 

Beneficial Practices in Agricultural Production Food Processing Procedures Which Raise the Mineral Values of Foods Meal Preparation Practices Which Conserve Essential Minerals... 

FOOD PROCESSING PROCEDURES WHICH RAISE THE MINERAL VALUES OF FOODS. It is well known that certain types of food processing are detrimental to nutritive values. On the other hand, mention is seldom made of the types of food processing which either raise the level(s) of one or more minerals, or which alter foods in ways that make their minerals more available. Details follow ... 

Though the literature is replete with methods of measuring the moisture content, truly accurate as well as practical methods are virtually nonexistent in the food field. The situation is well illustrated in what is probably the best compendium on this subject, the Official and Tentative Methods of Analysis of the Association of Official Agricultural Chemists (2). It becomes apparent from an examination of this volume that the stress is laid not so much on accuracy as on reproducibility and practicability of a method. Though these last two factors are for the most part the only ones of importance in the control of processing procedures and in standardization of products of commerce, the factor of accuracy is, nevertheless, of extreme importance to the research worker who endeavors to establish broad quantitative generalizations for the conditions that govern the stability of foods. 

Consultants who were members of a particular segment of the food processing industry may be very instrumental in developing the best processing practices and describing them in a standard operation procedure (SOP). Consultants are often able to develop the necessary information for an SOP quickly. 

The national organic certification bodies will also provide useful information on food processing standards in organic food production. In addition, there are publications that have reviewed decontamination processes and disinfection procedures used in the fresh produce industry. Some of these are also listed below. 

HACCP is one of the minimum standards that is often required in a food processing enterprise to ensure that products do not contain harmful levels of biological, physical or chemical hazards such as pathogenic microorganisms or toxins. The overall idea of HACCP is to identify specific CCPs, which are those steps in the production process where the safety of the final product can be controlled most efficiently, and then define systematic procedures for monitoring and corrective action, to ensure that the risk is controlled at each... 

The FDA s monitoring activities rely on food sampling procedures in which the types of commodities to be sampled, and the origins of the samples, are chosen specifically to enhance the FDA s abilities to identify violative residues. FDA monitoring is therefore not a random process. 

The lead time, for incorporation of enzymes as an adjunct in whatever form into commercial food processes, appears to be far longer than equivalent innovation lead times m non-food, or even pharmaceutical processes. The exception to this finding is that there are enzymes which play an important role in many analytical and quality control procedures in the food industry, without the use of which, for batch or continuous process monitoring, many product lines would not be possible. 

Because of the importance of soy sauce as a food flavorant, a new method for its production was developed. The importance of this novel processing procedure is that it significantly shortens the fermentation processing time by half or to about three months. Attempts at further modification of the process to prepare low-sodium-chloride-containing soy sauce are also described. 

Matsuura H. Phytochemistry of garlic horticulture and processing procedures. In Lanchance PP, ed. Nutraceuticals, Designer Foods III Garlic, Soy and Licorice. Trumbell, CT Food Nutrition Press, 1997 55-69. 

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