Quality advantage

Enzymatic maceration, which is a softening of plant tissue by the use of enzymes, has some potential quality advantages over mechanical-thermal disintegration as maceration is obtained with less damage to the cell walls. The major part of the plant cells remains intact by enzymatic maceration [25], as the enzymes attack only the space between the cells, and with only rare injury to the cell membrane [26]. The intact cells protect nutritional components within the cells which minimise flavour changes and deterioration on storage [27,28]. 

A good competitive technology position calls for the proposed product to offer performance, cost, or quality advantages over competing products. 

The team must establish the uniqueness of the product and how they plan to differentiate the product from the competition. A good competitive technology position calls for the proposed product to offer performance, cost, or quality advantages. In addition, a product development plan must be completed, outlining the technical milestones to commercialization. The team should have developed the product to the pre-piloting optimization stage before the start of production in the pilot plant. 

Microwave finish drying of potato chips has found practical industrial application [14]. A 25-kW oven can process about 320 kg/h of chips. The quality of the product (color, texture, etc.) is reported to be good whereas oil absorption was about 5% less compared to conventionally processed chips. Similar quality advantages have been reported in other studies [15,16]. This suggests that application of microwave energy to finish drying process of potato chips seems to have potential for use. 

Source Adapted from. Morath, The Quality Advantage A Strategic Guide for Health Care Leaders (San Francisco ossey-Bass, 1999), p. 13. 

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