Module 4

Minimally Food Processing

Introduction
Minimal processing is an optimized design for preserving foods in the aspect’s
nutritional, safety and sensory quality without the use of synthetic additives.
Minimally processed technologies are techniques that preserve foods, but also
retain to a certain extent their nutritional quality and sensory characteristics by reducing
the reliance on heat as the main preservation action. These foods are those which
minimally influences the quality characteristics off a food, which at the same time giving
the food sufficient shelf life during storage and distribution.
Minimally processed foods can be kept safe with partial or minimal preservation
treatment. In addition, it results fewer possible alterations to the food quality (Ohlsson
1996). The minimal processing caused minimal influence on the quality attributes during
their storage or shelf life (Allende et al. 2006; HuisIn’t Veld 1996; Marechal et
al. 1999)
In food processing the term mild technologies is also used to express the
technique which allows minimal physicochemical, oxidative and mechanical damage to
the food products. Studies show that consumers need for convenience are correlated
with food choice, therefore the fresh cut fruit and vegetable industry is working to
increase the assortment of minimally processed vegetable products that meets the
consumer needs for quick and convenient products that preserve their nutritional value,
retain natural and fresh color, flavor and texture, and contain fewer additives such as
preservatives.
As consumers increasingly perceived fresh food as healthier than heat-treated
food, it motivates a general search for food production methods with reduced
technological input. This phenomenon was observed over the last few years since the
per capita consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables has increased significantly over
the consumption of processed vegetable such as canned vegetables. (Orsat et al.,
2001)
Minimally Food Processing
• Include all the operations (sorting, washing, peeling, slicing, etc.) that must be
carried out before blanching in a conventional processing line
• Include value addition, such as chopping, husking, coring, low level irradiation,
and individual packaging.
 • Maintain quality attributes similar to those of fresh products (i.e. fruits and
vegetables) or similar to the products’ characteristics when consumed (i.e. part-
bread, cook-chill, cook-freeze, sous-vide, ready-meal)
• Include procedures that cause fewer possible changes in the foods’ quality
(keeping their freshness appearance), and provide enough shelf-life to transport
it from the production site to the consumer
AIMS OF MINIMAL PROCESSING
The aims of minimal processing are as follows:
1. to make the food safe chemically and microbiologically,
2. to retain the desired flavor, color and texture of the food products, and
3. to provide convenience to the consumers.
PURPOSE OF MINIMAL PROCESSING
The minimal processing of foods has two purposes:
• to maintain and deliver fresh products conveniently without losing its nutritional
quality and,
• to ensure that the product has a sufficient shelf life to allow distribution to
intended consumers.
ADVANTAGES OF MINIMAL PROCESSING
1. Convenience in terms of easy and quick preparation of meals,
2. Low severity of the processing methods (i.e. most of the cases it uses multi-
hurdles or multi-preservation methods),
3. Maintain quality as fresh or close to the fresh pre-pared meals or products,
4. Maintain products’ nutritive values,
5. Provide varied shelf-life depending on the types and severity of preservation
hurdles used.
FLOW CHART OF WIDELY ACCEPTED MINIMAL PROCESSING TECHNIQUES.

APPLICATIONS OF MINIMALLY PROCESSED FOODS

• Plant Based Minimally Processed Foods
 First category includes: fruits and unsweetened fruit juices, vegetables
as roots, tubers and beans (fresh, frozen, dried), legumes, grains,
seeds,and nuts.
 Second category includes: extracted form from plant source foods, such
as starches, sugars, oils, and cereals, sweeteners, herbs, tea,
coffee
 Minimally processed fresh fruits and vegetables are commonly defined as any
fruit and vegetable that has been subjected to different processing steps to
obtain a fully edible product by providing convenience and functionality to
consumers and ensuring food safety. All of these steps have an impact on the
nutrient, shelf life, and quality of prepared products.
Minimally processed fruits and vegetables are not allowed to have heat
treatment abuse and they must store at 4–7°C chilled storage. The followings are
important to maintain:
 Careful selection of cultivars, appropriate pre- and post-harvest condition, and
maintain chill storage conditions.
 Abiding HACCP guidelines.
 Maintenance of hygiene.
 Maintain low temperature in the processing area.
 Maintain washing with fl ow of water and mild acids.
 Tender cutting, peeling and shredding.
 Prevent heat abuse for retarding browning and oxidation.
 Keep the pH 5 or less than 5 throughout the controlled processing.
 Adequate chilled conditions for storage and distribution.
 Use vacuum packaging
• Animals based minimally processed foods
 This includes fresh and pasteurized milk, fermented milk as yoghurt, cheese,
probiotic drinks, dried and frozen meat, fish, poultry and fish.

METHODS AVAILABLE FOR SHELF-LIFE EXTENSION OF MINIMALLY

PROCESSED PRODUCTS
Several methods are currently available for the extension of shelf life in minimally
processed foods. Consistent interest in the mild preservation fosters the development of
multidimensional preservation proposition.
Recently, non-thermal processing, such as high hydrostatic pressure,
pulsed electric fields (PEF), oscillating magnetic fi elds, use of irradiation, use of natural
antimicrobials is being applied animal-based food products (i.e. tender meat, fish, and
sea foods). These treatments can keep the texture, flavor and taste alive without any
detrimental effects to their tender tissues.
Method(s) Example(s) Target Advantage(s) Method(s)
Acidulants Citric acid Enzymatic Cheap and Acidulants
browning available from
natural
resources
Antioxidant Ascorbic acid Enzymatic Cheap Antioxidant
browning
Preservatives Sulphite Enzymatic Cheap and Preservatives
browning highly
effective
Antimicrobial Hypochlorine Microbial Cheap Antimicrobial
contamination
Modified Low oxygen Metabolic Effective for Modified
atmospheric atmosphere response, prevention of atmospheric
packaging Enzymatic deterioration packaging
browning resulting from
Microbial several
colonization factors
UV-Light UV-C Microbial Effective UV-Light
contamination surface
sterilization
Essential oils - Enzymatic Highly Essential oils
browning effective,
Microbial Natural
colonization products
Plant growth 6- Metabolic Effective for Plant growth
regulator benzylaminopurine response, prevention of regulator
Enzymatic deterioration
browning, resulting from
Water loss several
factors

IMPACT OF MINIMAL PROCESSING ON THE QUALITY OF FOOD PRODUCTS

1. The quality aspects of minimally processed products play an important role in
marketing and securing consumer acceptance
2. Sensory appealing is one of the major factors for the freshness and organoleptic
characteristics (appearance, shape, color, flavor, texture, etc.)
3. Similarly, the devoid of cut surfaces, avoid discoloration and fluid leaking from
the tissues. The cutting or wounding of minimally processed products renders
them vulnerable to microbial infection and enzymatic browning.
IMPACT OF MINIMAL PROCESSING ON THE NUTRITIONAL CONTENTS
1. In addition to sensory attributes, nutritional and heath functional components also
determine products key quality parameters.
 2. This further rely on the climatic conditions, harvesting operations, and methods of
harvesting as well as the processing steps such as cutting, shaping, packaging,
churning, cooling and mixing.
3. Functionality of treated products is largely dependent on the bioactive
compounds and antioxidant capacity.
4. Other important factor of post processing Is the packaging technology. The
appropriate composition of carbon dioxide or oxygen during modified atmosphere
packaging avoid unfavorable changes.

References:
Minimally Processed Foods: Overview, October 2015, retrieved from
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/265086933_Minimally_Processed_Foods_Ov
erview
D. Dey, October 2015, Minimal Processing of Foods, Retrieved from
https://www.slideshare.net/DebomitraDey/minimal-processing
Vidya-mitra, Preservation by Minimal processing of food, Retrieved from:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Hdu93IjbMM