UNIT OPERATIONS in FOOD PROCESSING

Food Processing

Raw Materials
Meat, Eggs, Milk Cereal & Legumes Fruits & Vegetables Seafood Etc.

Food Processing

Products

Unit Operations in Food Processing

Most of food processing is comprised as a series of physical processes that can be broken down into a number of basic operations

These unit operations can stand alone & depend upon logical physical principles Examples ?

Unit Operations in Food Processing

Materials handling Cleaning Separating Size reduction Fluid flow Heat transfer Mixing Drying Forming Packaging Controlling

Materials Handling

Including : The variety of operations from harvesting Transportation Conveying the product from truck to bin

Concerning: Sanitary conditions Losses minimized Quality mantained Bacterial growth minimized All transfer and deliveries of materials must be on time

Materials Handling
Examples : Refrigerated trucking of perishable produce Conveying product from truck to storage All transfers & deliveries must be on time & that time kept to a minimum for efficiency & quality

Cleaning & Separating

Washing Sorting Grading Peeling Filtration Centrifugal separation Separation by membrane

Cleaning
Removal of dirt and bacteria from the food to maintain the quality of the product Using : brushes, high velocity air, steam, water, magnets, filtration The floors and walls of the processing facility must also be cleaned

Spray Washer

Spray Washing of Tomatoes

Shape Sorting

Separating
Basis: density, size, shape Cream separator - milk cream & skim ; based on the density difference between fat and nonfat solids of milk ; using a disc type centrifuge Clarification remove sediment and microorganisms centrifugally in a clarifier (a disc type centrifuge); example : recover yeast cells from the fermentation broth

Size Reduction
Using high shear forces, graters, cutters, slicers, example : emulsions with very small fat globule droplets are made in a homogenizer Equipments : grinder, slicer, chopper. Size increase : aggregation, agglomeration, gelation

Membrane Processes
Reverse osmosis -uses membrane with the smallest pore -separate water from other solutes -uses the highest pressure pump Ultrafiltration -larger pores -retain protein, salts and sugar -allowing smaller molecules to pass (permeate) Microfiltration -pores less than 0.1 micron -separate fat from protein, reduce microorganism from fluid systems

Size Reduction
Slicing Dicing Cutting Etc.

Mixing

Heat Transfer
Heating & cooling Pasteurization Sterilization Refrigeration Freezing Etc.

Thermal processing
Sterilization complete destruction of microorganisms, at least 121oC, 15 to destroy all spores Commercial sterility products may contain viable spores, but they will not grow under normal conditions Pasteurization comparatively low-energy thermal process; decreasing number of spoilage organisms present; shelf-life extension; product is not sterile & will be subject to spoilage

DRYING
Sun drying Cabinet drying (placed in trays and dried in a current of hot air), ex: raisins from grapes. Spray drying - applied to fluid products Freeze drying - for heat sensitive food - the moisture is removed by sublimation, ex: instant coffee

Drying

Forming
Some foods often need to be formed into specific shapes, for example: confectionary, snack foods, cereals, cheeses, variety breads and sausages.
Processes can include : Compacting, extrusion, molding with the application of binding agents, heat and pressure

Forming

Packaging
Used for : - protection from microbial contamination, dirt, insects, light, moisture, flavor changes and physical alteration - shipping - improving the usefulness of the product - helps with marketing of food product The kind of packages : - metal cans, glass/plastic bottle, paper, cardboard, plastic and metallic films.

Packaging

Controlling & Measuring

Unit operations are combined into a complex processing operation To ensure the quality of a food product, food processors need to measure & control these operations

pressure, temperature, fluid flow, acidity, weight, viscosity, humidity, time, etc.

Overlapping Operations
A combination of unit operations to achieve the total proces. Production of :
Dried fruit :

Cleaning Size Reduction Drying (cabinet drying) Packing

Ice cream :

Mixing Pasteurization Homogenization Freezing

Milk powder :

Mixing Spray Drying Sieving Packing

 Reference :

Parker,Rick. (2003). Introduction to Food Science. Delmar. Australia.

Fellows,P. (2000). Food Processing Technology Principles and Practice. Woodhead Publishing Limited. England.