Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Submitted to:
Engr. Edwin Richard R. Ortiz
ChE 511 Instructor
Submitted by:
Ilea A. Verano
BS ChE 5
Definition
Food processing is a procedure in which raw ingredients are transformed into food for
human or animal consumption by employing special methods and techniques. Basically,
anything done to make a raw material into food is a form of food processing – even the
simple process of grilling vegetables in the backyard.
Food processing in not a new technology since its origin traces back to prehistoric ages.
Bread-making started in Egypt and the origins of beer also go back to Babylon and
Egypt in the period of 3,000 to 5,000 BC. During the beginnings of food processing, salt-
preservation, sun-drying and fermentation were very popular choices of method
especially among warriors and sailors who needed to process their food to prolong its
shelf life during long travels. The crude methods of food processing remained
unchanged until the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in the 18 th century when the
method of canning was introduced in the food processing industry with credits to
Nicolas Appert who developed the vacuum bottling process and Peter Durand, who
eventually developed canning using tin cans.
In the 20th century, the methods of food processing eventually grew to accommodate a
vast number of advances including spray drying, freeze drying, artificial sweeteners,
colouring agents, juice concentrates and preservatives such as the sodium benzoate.
Several advances have also emerged in the late 20 th century such as dried instant
soups and reconstituted fruit juices.
“Nowadays, the processed foods that are thriving in grocery shops are modern
processed foods and traditional foods, but their manufacturing technology,
process control and manufacturing and packaging environmental facilities have
been advanced and rationalized to an incomparable extent in the last 30 years.
As a result, products with high quality and uniformity are now being
manufactured.” (United Nations Conference on Food Processing Energy Use,
1995)
The production and small-scale processing were formerly done on farms and in homes,
but with the increasing specialization and reduction in the number of people, centralized
processing became essential. With central processing, the establishment of grade and
quality standards has become necessary. Early development grew from cottage and
community programs into larger-scale units. Milling of grain, fluid milk processing and
distribution, baking and processing of sugar and candy products developed early. More
recently, freezing has been applied to meat, fruits, vegetables and manufactured food
products ready to cook or serve.
The modern milling industry uses many innovations in measuring, metering, weighing,
conveying, blending, applying power, sanitation, etc. A new development is the
production of free-flowing flour made by agglomerating the flour particles into clusters
by the addition of moisture and spray-drying. The use of air classification has made
possible the separation of high-protein and high-starch fraction and thus permits a wide
range of custom blending.
Canning
Canning is the method of preserving fresh food such as fruit, vegetables, meats, fish,
and etc. by heat treating the food and sealing it in an airtight container. Usually, these
containers are metallic in material – tinned or untinned steel – often plastic-lined,
aluminium or special-strength glass.
The raw food is packed into the container, the container sealed and the whole package
is then heated to cook the food and sterilize both the container and the contents. The
usual method of heat treating is to place the containers in a steam pressure vessel and
process them at 121oC for a time dependent upon the size of the container and the
nature of the contents. Acid foods require less time to process than non-acid food. To
prevent the food from being spoiled before and during containment, several methods
can also be employed including freezing, drying, pasteurization, refrigeration, vacuum
treatment, addition of antimicrobial agents, dosing of ionizing radiation, and submersion
to a strong saline, acid, base, osmotically extreme (for example very sugary) or other
microbe-challenging environments. Whatever the method, it cannot be perfectly
dependable at all times as a preservative. For example, spore-forming, thermal-
resistant microorganisms, such as Clostridium botulinum (which causes botulism), can
still survive.
Although heating may degrade the odor and taste of food, a method of solution can be
employed to minimize its effects. Short time-high temperature treatment may be used
so that there is less deterioration in the product compared to long time-low temperature
treatment. To ensure sufficient penetration of heat in the cans, an agitated cooker is
often used. This agitated cooker is composed of a preheater, cooker, and a cooler. The
cans are placed in individual compartments and are rotated by a revolving reel on a
spiral track.
Concentration
A concentrate is a form of substance which has had the majority of its base component
(in the case of a liquid: the solvent) removed. Typically this will be the removal
of water from a solution or suspension such as the removal of water from fruit juice. In
the case of milks, it is often evaporated from a solids content of 8.6% to a much more
concentrated 45% solids of evaporated milk. Concentrating products is an
advantageous method of food processing since it reduces the weight and volume of a
product, therefore aiding its transportation. One-third of the original volume of usually
reduced in concentration.
Three processes are available for food concentration: evaporation with evaporators,
reverse osmosis, and freeze concentration. Depending on the nature of the food, the
three processes should be evaluated first before actually using it. The cost of the
equipments must also be looked at. Using an evaporator is the most economical among
the three while the freeze concentration is the most costly since it is a fairly new
technology for concentrating natural products at freezing points by means of crystal
formation and following separation of the ice crystals in a washing tube. Among the
products that are concentrated using this method are wine, beer, coffee, apple and
orange juices, skim milk and vinegar.
Freezing
Among the methods of food processing, freezing is one of the most commonly used
processes commercially and domestically for preserving a very wide range of food and
food ingredients. The preservation by freezing has been made possible by a realization
that if food can be frozen quickly and maintained at a low enough temperature, the
quality will not be greatly deteriorated and microorganisms will not increase. Food
preservation by freezing has to be done quickly because ordinary slow freezing can
rupture the cells of the food and may cause a breakdown in the structure of the food.
Slow freezing also allows undesirable enzymes to react even at low temperature,
although this can be prevented by blanching the food prior to freezing. In general, actual
freezing may be accomplished by either still or forced air, by direct contact with a metal
surface cooled by a refrigerant or by immersion in a liquid refrigerant such as nitrogen.
If the amount of water in a food can be reduced before freezing, the quality of the final
product will generally be improved since the increase in volume in liquid during freezing
can be reduced. Freezing does not kill the microorganisms present in the food that
cause spoilage, but it does inactivate them. However, on thawing, the microorganisms
are reactivated and the food tends to spoil faster than fresh, unfrozen food. Nutrients
are not destroyed by freezing.
Drying
Sun drying is the cheapest drying method available and it has been used for
generations to dry fruits, grains, meat and fish. However, sun drying is limited only to
certain areas where the sun always shows up. As economical as it is, sun drying can
open the risk for contamination of the product by dust, insects, birds and rodents. The
colours of fruits also change in drying. When fruits are dried, their bright colour turns
dark brown unless the fruit is treated with SO 2 prior to drying. Because consumers
prefer “moist” dried fruits, glycols are used to “rehydrate” and thus soften the harder sun
(or mechanically) dried product without adding moisture, which would allow the growth
of microorganisms.
A table of mechanical driers and the food for which they are used is shown below. In the
table, meat is usually dried using freeze drying, that is, water is removed by sublimation
from a frozen food.
Two primary methods exist for the pasteurization of milk: HTST and the LTH. The
HTST or the high-temperature short-time method is the most common method for the
pasteurization of milk. In this method, milk is exposed to a temperature of 73 oC for not
less than 16 seconds and is then followed by rapid cooling. This method is also known
as flash pasteurization. The next method, the LTH or the Low Temperature Holding
method pasteurizes milk by heating it to 63oC for at least 30 minutes.
Fermentation
Fermentation may be defined as the conversion of carbohydrates to alcohols and
carbon dioxide or organic acids with the aid of yeasts, bacteria, or a combination
thereof, under anaerobic conditions. In contrast to pasteurization and sterilization where
microorganisms are killed and destroyed, the fermentation process harnesses the ability
of certain microorganisms to digest food and give off the desired product we need.
Fermentation is based on the idea that not all microorganisms are detrimental and some
of these microorganisms can be used to our advantage. Most people confuse
fermentation with putrefaction or the other way around, thus it is important to
differentiate the two from one another. In fermentation, the microorganisms decompose
carbohydrates; while in putrefaction, the action of microorganisms involves protein.
Aside from that, fermentation releases no putrid odour; while in putrefaction, a
combination of sulphur-containing protein products and hydrogen sulphide is released.
Irradiation
Food irradiation is the process of exposing food to ionizing radiation to destroy
microorganisms, bacteria, viruses, or insects that might be present in the food. The
main target of food irradiation is the organism’s DNA. What the radiation does to the
microorganism’s DNA is that it destroys it beyond its ability to repair. Microorganisms
can no longer proliferate and continue their pathogenic activities.
Doses of several joules per kilogram (equivalent to several hundred rads) are lethal to
human beings and it requires up to a hundred joules per kilogram (10 4 rads) to kill most
insects. Microorganisms, on the other hand, require 10 4 joules per kilogram (106 rads).
In general, the more complex the organism is, the more sensitive it becomes to
radiation.
In food processing, it has been proven that radiation can be used to preserve food,
especially protein food such as meat, without causing undesirable protein denaturation
or appreciably altering the taste, and without leaving any residual radioactivity in the
food. With low doses of radiation, there is less loss of vitamins in all food than that seen
with canning, freezing or drying.
Packaging
The purpose of packaging food is to make it possible to ship and store and to prevent
deterioration during storage by insects, moulds, yeasts, microorganisms and enzymes.
For much food, the container is filled before the food is processed. Examples of this are
rigid metal cans, glass containers, and plastic pouches. These containers are sealed so
that no outside contaminant can enter and cause food spoilage.
Dry foods such as cereal, flours, dried fruits and various convenience mixtures like cake
and biscuits are usually packed in cardboard boxes lined with wax paper or plastic-
coated paper. For larger quantities, sack made of finely woven cloth or coated paper
may be used.
FOOD BY-PRODUCTS
Leather
History of Leather
Leather is one of the oldest commodities known. It has played an important role in the
development of civilization for its function as clothing, shelter, carpets and decorative
attire. The first leather was made when hides were treated with vegetable extracts to
make them weather-resistant. These early leather were made by first immersing the
raw hides and skins in a fermenting solution of organic matter in which bacteria grew
and attacked the hides or skins, resulting in a loosening of the hair or wool and some
dissolving out of skin protein. The hair or wool was then scraped off with primitive blunt
stone or wooden scrapers and fat or meat still adhering to the flesh side was removed in
a similar manner.
During the Middle Ages leather was used for all kinds of purposes such as: footwear,
clothes, leather bags, cases and trunks, leather bottles, saddles and harness, for the
upholstery of chairs, and couches, book binding and military uses. It was also used to
decorate coaches, sedan chairs and walls. The majority of the leather was tanned with
oak bark but soft clothing, gloving and footwear leathers were tanned with alum, oil, and
combinations of these two materials. With the discovery and introduction of basic
chemicals like lime and sulphuric acid, tanners gradually abandoned their traditional
methods and leather production slowly became a chemically based series of processes.
The growth of industrialization in the 18th and 19th centuries created a demand for
many new kinds of leathers, e.g., belting leathers to drive the machines being
introduced into industry, special leathers for use in looms in the textile industry, leathers
for use as diaphragms and washers, leathers for use in transport and for furniture
upholstery.
Manufacture
The manufacture of leather through vegetable tanning and chrome tanning is shown
below.
In chrome tanning process, the pickling bath consists of a mixture of salt and sulphuric
acid. After picking, the hides are soaked in a solution of sodium dichromate and then
treated with sodium thiosulfate in the reduction drum. From the reduction drum, the hide
is treated in settling drums with borax to set the chrome salt on the fibres. Washing
completes the tanning process.
The time is takes to create leather differs for every tanning method. In the vegetable
tanning method, it will take 2 to 4 months to create leather; while in chrome tanning, it
will only take 1 to 3 weeks.
Gelatin
Gelatin, often spelled as gelatine, is a translucent, colourless, brittle, nearly
tasteless solid substance, derived from the collagen inside animals' skin and bones. It is
described as an organic nitrogenous, colloidal protein substance whose principal value
depends on its coagulative, protective and adhesive powers. Gelatin obtained from
animals is created through hydrolysis of collagen, the white fibres of the connective
tissues of animal body, particularly the skin, bones and tendons.
Manufacture
Type A gelatin is made from skins which are first washed and then swollen fro 10 to 30
hours in HCl, H3PO4 or H2SO4 at very low pH of 1.0 to 3.0. After swelling, the skins are
washed, the pH adjusted to 3.5 to 4.0, and then extracted with hot water. Four o five
extraction tanks are used, and the extractive water becomes progressively hotter in
each succeeding tank. The first extraction is at 55 to 65 oC and the last at 95 to 100 oC.
Each extraction requires 4 to 5 hours. After the last extraction is completed the liquid is
degreased, filtered, deionized, and then concentrated in two stages to 30 to 40% solids
by continuous vacuum concentration. The high-solids solution is chilled, cut into noodles
and dried below 60oC on a continous wire-mesh belt. The dried material is ground and
blended with other gelatins to produce the desired specifications.
Type B is made from bones and sometimes skin and hides as shown in the figure. The
degreased bones are demineralized with 4 to 7% HCl over a 1- to 2-week period. After
washing, the bones are agitated daily for 3 to 16 weeks in a lime slurry in lime pits or
tanks. When the lime treatment is complete, the mix is washed for 15 to 30 hours,
acidified to pH 5 to 7 with HCl, H 3PO4, H2SO4, or HC2H3O2 and extracted and
concentrated as for Type A.
Both processes require the use of stainless steel for most equipment although the
liming tank may be concrete or wood.
Adhesives
An adhesive, or glue, is a mixture in a liquid or semi-liquid state that adheres or bonds
items together. Adhesives may come from either natural or synthetic sources. The types
of materials that can be bonded are vast but they are especially useful for bonding thin
materials. Adhesives cure (harden) by evaporating a solvent (these are most adhesives
that cure at room temperature) or by exposing them to an elevated temperature.
History
The earliest date for a simple glue is 200,000 BC and for a compound glue 70,000 BC.
Glues have been discovered from stone spear flakes glued to wood with birch-bark-tar.
They have also been found in ceramics and statues from the ancient times.
The Egyptians made much use of animal glues to adhere furniture,ivory, and papyrus.
In medieval Europe, egg whites were used as glue to decorate parchments with gold
leaf. The first actual glue factory was founded in Holland in the early 1700s, and the
English introduced fish glue in the 1750s.
Animal Glue
The manufacture of animal glue is almost the same with the manufacture of gelatine.
The procedure include grinding bones, cutting hides and scraps into small pieces,
degreasing the material by percolating a grease solvent through it, liming and plumping,
washing, making several extractions by hot water, filtering liquors, evaporating, chilling,
and drying the jelly slabs in a tunnel. When dry, the slabs of glue are flakes or ground,
blended, graded and barrelled or bagged for shipment.
Starch Adhesives
Starch adhesives are liquid adhesives made from any of the following: cornstarch,
tapioca flour, wheat flour, or potato starch. Starch adhesives are principally used for
bonding paper with the production of corrugated boxboard as an example of its
application. Starch adhesives are readily available in the market, are low in cost and are
easy to apply from water dispersion. Starch adhesives are considered to be the least
expensive class of paper packaging adhesive with an advantage over animal glues as
having no strange characteristic odour. However cheap, starch adhesives are low in
strength and are not resistant to water.
Native starches are prepared from grains or roots. Dextrins, the polysaccharide
obtained from starch, are made by heating a dry starch with dilute acid, causing partial
hydration. White and yellow dextrins, called British gums, are a result of heating native
starch with small amount of catalyst; they are gummier and more adhesive than the
normal dextrins.
Chemically, there are two types of synthetic adhesives: those used merely as an
adhesive and those which form primary bond linkages with the materials being bonded.
One classification includes rigid thermosets, rubbery thermosets, thermoplastics,
copolymers, polymer mixtures and inorganic adhesives.
Rubbery thermosets include silicones, urethane, and polysulfide rubbers. Many of these
are used as sealants.
Thermoplastics include vinyls, polystyrenes, acrylates, polyamides, rubber-based
adhesives, rosin, animal glues and starch and dextrin glues. Most hot-melt, nonsolvent
glues belong to this group.
Copolymers and mixtures are formed to obtain better properties than those with single
components.
Miscellaneous Adhesives
Inorganic adhesives are included under miscellaneous adhesives. They include glasses
and ceramics used for very high temperature service and sodium silicate used for
manufacturing corrugated boxes.
Other adhesives include asphalt, sulphur, shellac, miscellaneous natural gums and
mucilage and a variety of cellulose esters dissolved in volatile solvents.