Food Processing and Technology Chapter Notes | Home Science for Class 12 - Humanities/Arts PDF Download

Introduction

• Food processing is undertaken to enhance digestibility, improve palatability, and ensure a continuous food supply.
• Traditional Indian preserved products include pickles, murabbas, and papads, made from vegetables, fruits, or grains.
• Historical practices involved drying grains post-harvest to extend shelf life.
• Modern demands include fresh, organic, safer, healthier foods with adequate shelf life, driven by improved transportation, communication, and industrialization.
• Consumers seek high-quality foods that retain nutrients, possess specific functional properties, taste, texture, and consistency, while being shelf-stable, easy to package, store, and transport.
• Readymade foods range from biscuits, bread, pickles, and papads to ready-to-eat curries, meal items, and snacks, produced using various processes and technologies.
• Some foods are manufactured using simple traditional methods, while others employ advanced processes for bulk production.

Significance

• India has transitioned from an agro-deficit to an agro-surplus nation, necessitating storage and processing of agricultural and horticultural produce.
• The Indian food industry is a major producer of processed foods, ranking fifth globally in size and contributing nearly 6% to GDP.
• Changes in lifestyle, increased mobility, and globalization have driven demand for diverse food products, necessitating research into new technologies.
• Simple diets based on staple cereals can lack essential nutrients, leading to deficiency disorders.
• Food fortification addresses nutrient deficiencies by adding nutrients like iodine to salt, folic acid to flour, and vitamins A and D to milk and oils/fats.
• FSSAI has established standards for fortifying staple foods such as salt, wheat flour, milk, and oats.
• Rising prevalence of diseases like heart disease and diabetes has prompted scientists to modify nutrient content, e.g., reducing calorie content using artificial sweeteners or replacing fat in ice cream with treated proteins for lower energy value.
• Consumer demand for chemical-free, pesticide-free, preservative-free foods with longer shelf life and natural flavor and appearance has grown.
• Food processing and technology as a discipline has gained importance, creating a high demand for skilled food technologists.

Basic Concepts

Food Science: 

• A multidisciplinary field applying chemistry, physics, culinary arts, agronomics, and microbiology to study food from harvesting or slaughtering to cooking and consumption.
• Food scientists use biology, physical sciences, and engineering to analyze food composition, changes during processing and storage, spoilage causes, and principles of food processing.
• Food science focuses on physicochemical aspects to understand food nature and properties.

Food Processing: 

• Involves methods and techniques to transform raw plant or animal ingredients into finished or semi-finished products.
• Requires high-quality raw materials to produce attractive, marketable, and long shelf-life food products.

Food Technology: 

• The science and application of scientific, socio-economic, and legal knowledge to produce varied foods.
• Provides in-depth knowledge of science and technology, developing skills for selection, storage, preservation, processing, packaging, and distribution of safe, nutritious, wholesome, affordable, and convenient foods.
• Promotes sustainability by minimizing waste, utilizing all produced food, and ensuring safe, sustainable processing practices.

Food Manufacturing: 

• Mass production of food products using food technology principles to meet the needs of a growing population.
• One of the largest manufacturing industries today.

Development of Food Processing and Technology

• Research in food technology has been ongoing for decades.
• In 1810, Nicolas Appert developed the canning process, significantly impacting food preservation techniques.
• In 1864, Louis Pasteur’s research on wine spoilage and pasteurization (treating milk to eliminate disease-causing organisms) laid a scientific foundation for food technology.
• Pasteur’s work extended to alcohol, vinegar, wines, beer, and milk souring.
• Food technology initially served military needs.
• In the 20th century, world wars, space exploration, and consumer demand for varied products spurred food technology growth.
• Products like instant soup mixes and ready-to-cook meals were developed, catering to working women.
• The food industry began focusing on nutritional concerns, adapting to changing food preferences and global dietary incorporation.
• Demand for year-round seasonal foods increased.
• In the 21st century, food technologists face challenges to produce health-suited foods using new techniques for safety and freshness.
• Food technology has provided a wide variety of safe, convenient foods, improving food security and employment opportunities in developing countries.

Importance of Food Processing and Preservation

• Food processing transforms raw materials into intermediate or edible products using scientific knowledge and technology.
• Processes convert bulky, perishable, or inedible materials into useful, concentrated, shelf-stable, palatable foods or beverages.
• Processing reduces preparation time and adds value by enhancing storability, portability, palatability, and convenience.
• Professionals need knowledge of raw material characteristics, food preservation principles, processing factors affecting quality, packaging, water and waste management, good manufacturing practices, and sanitation procedures.
• Foods are prone to physical, chemical, and biological deterioration, leading to spoilage, off-flavors, texture deterioration, discoloration, and nutrient loss, reducing appeal and safety.
• Causes of deterioration include pests, insect infestation, inappropriate processing/storage temperatures, excessive light/radiation exposure, oxygen, moisture, microbial contamination (bacteria, fungi, molds), chemical contamination (pesticides), and natural enzyme degradation.
• Physical and chemical changes post-harvest or slaughter alter food quality.
• Preservation methods, dating back to prehistoric times, include sun drying, controlled fermentation, salting/pickling, candying, roasting, smoking, baking, and using spices.
• Industrial revolution introduced new preservation methods, integrating food science, chemistry, microbiology, nutrition, sensory analysis, statistics, and regulatory good manufacturing practices.

Classes of Foods Based on Perishability

Perishable Foods: Spoil within one or two days, e.g., milk, curds, fish, and meat.
Semi-Perishable Foods: Last 1–2 weeks, e.g., fruits, vegetables; root crops like onions and potatoes last 2–4 weeks.
Non-Perishable Foods: Last about one year, e.g., grains (rice, wheat), pulses, dals, and oilseeds.

• Food processing operations aim to extend shelf life by reducing/eliminating microbial activity and spoilage factors.
• Spoilage-causing microorganisms include bacteria, fungi, yeasts, and molds, which grow rapidly under favorable conditions.
• Factors influencing microbial growth include nutrient availability, moisture, pH, oxygen levels, and presence/absence of inhibitors like antibiotics.
• Enzyme activity in foods depends on pH and temperature; oxidative enzymes in fruits and vegetables reduce shelf life by metabolizing oxygen.

Basic Food Processing Methods to Prevent Spoilage:

• Application of heat to kill microorganisms or enzymes.
• Removal of water moisture to inhibit microbial growth.
• Lowering storage temperature to slow microbial and enzyme activity.
• Reducing pH to create an acidic environment unfavorable to microbes.
• Controlling oxygen availability to limit oxidative processes and microbial growth.

Did You Know? 

• Bacteria prefer protein-rich foods (meat, fish, poultry, eggs, dairy), known as high-risk foods.
• Bacteria grow between 5–60°C, termed the danger zone.

Processed Foods

Minimally Processed Foods: Processed minimally to retain fresh food quality, using cleaning, trimming, shelling, cutting, slicing, and low-temperature (refrigeration) storage.
Preserved Foods: Use preservation methods that maintain product character, e.g., frozen peas, frozen vegetables, dehydrated peas, dehydrated vegetables, canned fruits, and vegetables.
Manufactured Foods: Original raw product characteristics are lost; basic preservation methods use ingredients like salt, sugar, oil, or chemical preservatives, e.g., pickles, jams, marmalades, squashes, papads, wadis.
Formulated Foods: Prepared by mixing and processing ingredients into shelf-stable products, e.g., bread, biscuits, ice cream, cakes, kulfi.
Food Derivatives: Components obtained from raw products through purification, e.g., sugar from sugarcane, oil from oilseeds; some derivatives undergo further processing, e.g., oil to vanaspati via hydrogenation.
Functional Foods: Offer health benefits, e.g., probiotics.
Medical Foods: Used for dietary management of diseases, e.g., low-sodium salt, lactose-free milk for lactose intolerance.

Professionals in Food Processing and Technology

Professionals require extensive knowledge and skills across three stages: food as a material, food product development, and recipe development.
Food as a Material:

• Understanding seasonal availability of foodstuffs.
• Knowledge of food nature and properties.
• Analyzing nutritional content.
• Assessing foodstuff costs.
• Understanding the impact of chemical pesticides, time, moisture, temperature, and additives.
• Evaluating raw food and ingredient quality for high-quality production.
• Ensuring food hygiene and safety.
• Using information technology for contemporary food production.

Food Product Development:

• Knowledge of large-scale food preparation and cooking skills.
• Understanding product specifications and testing.
• Implementing and measuring quality control per specifications.
• Assessing products via sensory methods (testing and tasting).
• Understanding industrial practices, manufacturing systems, and their control.
• Handling labeling and packaging of marketable products.
• Applying Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) principles.

Recipe Development:

• Expertise in cooking.
• Knowledge of food nature and properties.
• Accurate measurement and use of ingredients.
• Designing, analyzing, and adapting basic recipes.
• Skilled food handling.
• Adhering to hygiene and safety norms during production.
• Accurate handling of tools and equipment.
• Innovating product design and preparation based on consumer perceptions.
• Using information technology for contemporary production.

Preparing for a Career

• The food industry encompasses processing/manufacturing, research and development, food safety, quality monitoring, quality control improvement, costing for profitability, and regulatory affairs.
• Specializations include beverages, dairy, meat and poultry, seafood, fats and oils, stabilizers/preservatives/colors, food grains, and additives.
• Required Knowledge and Skills:
• Food science, chemistry, microbiology, processing, safety/quality assurance, good manufacturing practices, and nutrition.
• Analyzing raw and cooked/manufactured foods for composition, quality, and safety.
• Understanding food ingredients and their use in preparations and large-scale production.
• Developing product specifications and food products.
• Conducting sensory evaluation and assessing acceptability.
• Knowledge of industrial practices, system control, distribution channels, and consumer purchase patterns.
• Expertise in food packaging and labeling.
• Using information technology to support product design.
• Skills in food preparation and cooking.
• Ability to design, analyze, follow design briefs, and adapt recipes.
• After 10+2, short-term certificate, craft, and diploma courses are available at institutes like the Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI), Mysore, suitable for self-employment or small-scale food preservation, processing, and catering units.
• Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees, along with research qualifications, provide comprehensive training for large-scale industry jobs, research, training, and entrepreneurship.
• Universities in India and abroad offer graduate and postgraduate degrees in food technology.
• Specialized postgraduate courses are available at institutes like the National Institute of Food Technology and Entrepreneurship Management (NIFTEM), Sonepat.

Scope

• The demand for processed, packaged, convenient, and long shelf-life foods requires skilled professionals in the food industry.
• Food technology and processing involve applying science and technology to processing, utilization, preservation, packaging, and distribution, offering diverse specializations.
• Professionals work in food industries, quality control, hotels, hospitals, labeling and packaging, breweries/distilleries, soft drink industries, dairy, confectionery, fish and meat processing, fruit and vegetable processing, grains, cereals, millets, rice, and flour mills.
• Roles include purchase and storage, processing/manufacturing, quality monitoring and management, safety assessment, and research and development.
• Entrepreneurship is a rewarding avenue.

Career Avenues:

• Production Managers.
• Project Implementation.
• Marketing and Sales Personnel.
• Sensory Evaluation.
• Quality Assurance.
• Research and Development, Product Development.
• Project Financing.
• Project Appraisal.
• Teaching and Research.
• Entrepreneurship Development.
• Consultancy.
• Technical Marketing of Products.
• Globalization has attracted foreign investments and multinational companies to India, establishing production, R&D, educational, and outsourcing facilities, creating opportunities for food technologists in Indian and foreign organizations.
• The food processing industry supports product exports, enhancing employment opportunities.

Self-Employment Avenues: 

• Traditionally practiced at household or cottage scale, producing sweets, papads, murabbas, pickles, fried snacks, roasted/puffed cereals for local consumption.
• Growth in agriculture, horticulture, and pisiculture has improved raw material availability.
• Government incentives support entrepreneurs through financing, training, infrastructure, and marketing facilities.
• Banks provide financial support, with special encouragement for women entrepreneurs.
• State governments offer space for entrepreneurial ventures.
• Self-employment ventures range from high-tech, investment-intensive units to low-tech, low-investment units like salted peanuts, drinking water pouches, dehydrated products, and pickles.
• The Indian food industry, valued at 61 billion USD, ranks fifth globally, contributing 6% to GDP, 13% to exports, and 6% to industrial investment.
• Expected to grow at 20% annually, with the processed food segment accounting for 25%.
• Key segments include milk and milk products, snack foods, bakery products, fruit and vegetable products, beverages (alcoholic and non-alcoholic), fish and meat processing, and food processing machinery.
• Rising exports boost employment opportunities.

Key Terms

• Food Processing: Methods and techniques to transform raw ingredients into finished or semi-finished products.
• Food Technology: Application of scientific, socio-economic, and legal knowledge to produce varied foods.
• Food Preservation: Techniques to prevent food spoilage and extend shelf life.
• Food Science: Study of food composition, changes, spoilage, and processing principles using basic sciences.
• Food Spoilage: Deterioration due to physical, chemical, or biological factors, rendering food unfit or unsafe.
• Food Product Development: Process of designing, testing, and producing new or improved food products.