FOOD ENGINEERING

ASSIGNMENT- 1
SUBMITTED
BY
MALLA SAIKUMAR
(14131A0829)

Explain composition of food Additives?

Ans: What are food additives:
 The pursuit of happiness through the enjoyment of food is a centuries old human
endeavor. Taste, texture, freshness and eye appeal are major contributors to such
enjoyment, made possible in our modern lifestyle through the use of highly
specialized ingredients known as food additives.
 The broadest practical definition of a food additive is any substance that becomes part
of a food product either directly or indirectly during some phase of processing,
storage or packaging.
 Direct food additives are those that have intentionally been included for a functional
purpose by the food processor, whereas indirect additives are those migrating into
food products in very small quantities as a result of growing, processing or packaging.
 Food additives afford us the convenience and enjoyment of a wide variety of
appetizing, nutritious, fresh, and palatable foods. Their quantities in food are small,
yet their impact is great. Without additives, we would be unfortunately lacking in the
abundant and varied foods that we enjoy today.
Composition of food additives:
• Every additive – like every food we consume – no matter what its source or intende
purpose, is composed of chemicals.
• There is much discussion regarding “natural” and “synthetic” chemicals. Many of
those synthesized in the laboratory are also found naturally-occurring in foods. Body
metabolizes all chemicals similarly.
• For example,
sugar found in sugarcane (sucrose) is no different in composition and function
than refined sugar. Monosodium glutamate or MSG (a food additive used for its
flavor enhancing qualities) and glutamate (a naturally-occurring amino acid found in
many foods such as mushrooms and tomatoes) are metabolized by the body using the
same normal biochemical pathways of digestion.
2.what are deteriorative factors and their control?
Ans:
 Deterioration of Raw Materials:
All raw materials deteriorate following harvest, by some of the following mechanisms:
Endogenous enzymes: e.g. post-harvest senescence and spoilage of fruit and vegetables occurs
through a number of enzymic mechanisms, including oxidation of phenolic substances in plant
tissues by phenolase (leading to browning), sugar-starch conversion by amylases, postharvest
demethylation of pectic substances in fruits and vegetables leading to softening tissues during
ripening and firming of plant tissues during processing.
Chemical changes: deterioration in sensory quality by lipid oxidation, nonenzymic browning,
breakdown of pigments such as chlorophyll, anthocyanins, carotenoids.
Nutritional changes: especially ascorbic acid breakdown.
Physical changes: dehydration, moisture absorption.
Biological changes: germination of seeds, sprouting.
Microbiological contamination: both the organisms themselves and toxic products
lead to deterioration of quality, as well as posing safety problems.
Damage to Raw Materials:
• Damage may occur at any point from growing through to the final point of sale.
• It may arise through external or internal forces.
Damage to Raw Materials:
• External forces result in mechanical injury to fruits and vegetables, cereal grains, eggs
and even bones in poultry. They occur due to severe handling as a result of careless
manipulation, poor equipment design, incorrect containerisation and unsuitable
mechanical handling equipment. The damage typically results from impact and
abrasion between food units, or between food units and machinery surfaces and
projections, excessive vibration or pressure from overlying material. Increased
mechanisation in food handling must be carefully designed to minimise this.
• Internal forces arise from physical changes, such as variation in temperature and
moisture content, and may result in skin cracks in fruits and vegetables, or stress cracks in
cereals.
• Either form of damage leaves the material open to further biological or chemical
damage, including enzymic browning of bruised tissue, or infestation of punctured
surfaces by moulds and rots.
Improving Processing Characteristics
• Selective breeding for yield and quality has been carried out for centuries in both
plant and animal products. Until the 20th century, improvements were made on the
basis of selecting the most desirable looking individuals, while increasingly
systematic techniques have been developed more recently, based on a greater
understanding of genetics.
• The targets have been to increase yield as well as aiding factors of crop or animal
husbandry such as resistance to pests and diseases, suitability for harvesting, or
development of climate-tolerant varieties (e.g. cold-tolerant maize, or droughtresistant
plants).
• Raw material quality, especially in relation to processing, has become increasingly
important.
Selective Plant Breeding
• There are many examples of successful improvements in processing quality of raw
materials through selective plant breeding, including:
 Improved oil percentage and fatty acid composition in oilseed rape;
Improved milling and malting quality of cereals;
High sugar content and juice quality in sugar beets;
Development of specific varieties of potatoes for the processing industry, based on
levels of enzymes and sugars, producing appropriate flavour, texture and colour in
products, or storage characteristics;
Brussels sprouts which can be successfully frozen.
• Similarly traditional breeding methods have been used to improve yields of animal
products such as milk and eggs, as well as improving quality, e.g. fat/lean content of
meat. Again the quality of raw materials in relation to processing may be improved by
selective breeding. This is particularly applicable to milk, where breeding
programmes have been used at different times to maximise butterfat and protein
content, and would thus be related to the yield and quality of fat- or protein based
dairy products. Furthermore, particular protein genetic variants in milk have been
shown to be linked with processing characteristics, such as curd strength during
manufacture of cheese. Hence, selective breeding could be used to tailor milk supplies
to the manufacture of specific dairy products.
Genetic engineering
• Traditional breeding programmes will undoubtedly continue to produce
improvements in raw materials for processing, but the potential is limited by the gene
pool available to any species.
• Genetic engineering extends this potential by allowing the introduction of foreign
genes into an organism, with huge potential benefits. Again many of the
developments have been aimed at agricultural improvements, such as increased yield,
or introducing herbicide, pest or drought resistance, but there is enormous potential in
genetically engineered raw materials for processing.
• The following are some examples which have been demonstrated:
tomatoes which do not produce pectinase and hence remain firm while colour and
flavour develop, producing improved soup, paste or ketchup;
potatoes with higher starch content, which take up less oil and require less energy
during frying;
canola (rape seed) oil tailored to contain:
(a) high levels of lauric acid to improve emulsification properties for use in confectionery,
coatings or low fat dairy products,
(b) high levels of stearate as an alternative to hydrogenation in manufacture of margarine,
(c) high levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids for health benefits;
wheat with increased levels of high molecular weight glutenins for improved
breadmaking performance;
fruits and vegetables containing peptide sweeteners such as thaumatin or monellin;
‘naturally decaffeinated’ coffee.
Storage of Raw Materials
• Storage of food is necessary at all points of the food chain from raw materials,
through manufacture, distribution, retailers and final purchasers. Today’s consumers
expect a much greater variety of products, including nonlocal materials, to be
available throughout the year. Effective transportation and storage systems for raw
materials are essential to meet this need.
• Storage of materials whose supply or demand fluctuate in a predictable manner,
especially seasonal produce, is necessary to increase availability. It is essential that
processors maintain stocks of raw materials, therefore storage is necessary to buffer
demand.
• However, storage of raw materials is expensive for two reasons: firstly, stored goods
have been paid for and may therefore tie up quantities of company money and,
secondly, warehousing and storage space are expensive.
• All raw materials deteriorate during storage. The quantities of raw materials held in
store and the times of storage vary widely for different cases, depending on the above
considerations. The ‘just in time’ approaches used in other industries are less common
in food processing.
The primary objective is to maintain the best possible quality during storage, and
hence avoid spoilage during the storage period. Spoilage arises through three
mechanisms:
living organisms such as vermin, insects, fungi and bacteria: these may feed on the
food and contaminate it;
biochemical activity within the food leading to quality reduction, such as: respiration
in fruits and vegetables, staling of baked products, enzymic browning reactions,
rancidity development in fatty food;
physical processes, including damage due to pressure or poor handling, physical
changes such as dehydration or crystallisation.
The main factors which govern the quality of stored foods are temperature,
moisture/humidity and atmospheric composition. Different raw materials provide very
different challenges.
Fruits and vegetables remain as living tissues until they are processed and the main
aim is to reduce respiration rate without tissue damage. Storage times vary widely
between types. Young tissues such as shoots, green peas and immature fruits have
high respiration rates and shorter storage periods, while mature fruits and roots and
storage organs such as bulbs and tubers, e.g. onions, potatoes, sugar beets, respire
much more slowly and hence have longer storage periods.
Many fruits (including bananas, apples, tomatoes and mangoes) display a sharp
increase in respiration rate during ripening.
 Temperature and Humidity control plays very important role in food engineering.
 Composition of atmosphere.