FOOD COMMODITIES

NTD 213

YETUNDE ADEBAYO Ph.D

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FOOD CLASSIFICATION
WHAT IS FOOD?
• Food is any substance normally eaten or drunk by
living things. The term food also includes liquid
drinks.
• Food is the main source of energy and of nutrition for
human and animals.
• There are four basic food energy sources:
carbohydrates, fats, proteins and alcohol.
FOOD CLASSIFICATION
• Foods can be classified in accordance to their chemical property, to their function,
to their essentiality, to their concentration and to their nutritive value.
a) Classification based on chemical property: these include; carbohydrates,
vitamins, proteins, fats, water and minerals.
b) Classification based on function in the body. In this group, we have:
i. Energy giving foods: The carbohydrates, fats and protein are considered as
calorie nutrients, so that the body can perform the necessary functions e.g.,
rice, bread, potato, yam, cassava, oil, butter, margarine etc. are examples of
energy giving foods.
ii. Body building foods: Foods such as proteins, fats and carbohydrates belong to
this group. They are the nutrients that form the body tissues e.g., fish, meat,
chicken, eggs, pulses, nuts, milk etc.

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FOOD CLASSIFICATION

iii. Protective foods: Vitamins and minerals are the nutrients that
function to regulate body processes. They protect from various
diseases. Fruits and vegetables belong to this group and must be
eaten regularly.
c) Classification based on chemical properties. In this class are
the organic and inorganic nutrients.
Organic nutrients are the nutrients that contain the element of
carbon such as carbohydrates, lipids, proteins and vitamins while
the inorganic nutrients do not contain carbon element such as water
and minerals.

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FOOD CLASSIFICATION
d) Classification according to its mass depending on the quantity
necessary for cells and organisms. They are classified as macronutrients
and the micronutrients.
i. Macronutrients: These are required in large quantities daily. They
are the basis of any diet. e.g., proteins, carbohydrates and fats
ii. They are needed in small quantities usually in amounts less than
milligram. They are involved in regulating metabolism and energy
processes e.g., vitamins and minerals.
e) Classification according to origin: Depending on the origin of
food, it has been classified as animal food sources and plant food
sources.

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FOOD CLASSIFICATION
f) Classification according to nutritive value: These include;
i. Cereals and grains
ii. Pulses
iii. Nuts and oil seeds
iv. Vegetables – green leafy and non-green leafy vegetables
v. Roots and tubers
vi. Fruits
vii. Milk and milk products
viii.Animal foods – meat, fish, eggs etc.
ix. Condiments and spices
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FOOD CLASSIFICATION
STRUCTURE AND COMPOSITION OF CEREALS AND GRAINS
• Cereals mostly grasses cultivated for their edible components of its grains
composed of the endosperm, germ and bran. Bran is the hard outer layer of
cereal grains and consists of combined aleurone and pericarp. Along with
germ, it is an integral part of whole grains often produced as by-product of
milling in the production of refined grains.

• The word cereal is derived from Ceres which according to the Roman
mythology denotes “Goddess of Agriculture”. This is an indication that
cereals are vital part of farming and agriculture industries in many countries

• They belong to the family Poaceae yielding starchy seeds suitable for food.
In their natural, unprocessed, whole grain form, cereals are rich sources of
vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, fats, oils and protein.
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FOOD CLASSIFICATION
• Cereals are regarded as staple foods which is an indication means that they are a
significant part of the human diet regularly eaten for their high energy content.
• Cereals are staples and are consumed in large quantities by majority of population
in the world either directly or in modified form as major items of diet such as
flour, bran and numerous additional ingredients used in the manufacture of other
foods.
• They are cheap to produce, easy to store because of low moisture content, easy to
transport and handle, and do not deteriorate readily if kept dry. They also provide
variety to diet. Examples are wheat, maize, rice, sorghum, millet, barley etc.

• All have the same basic structure and similar nutritive value however, the shape
and size of the seed may be different. The seed coat consists of an epidermis
(outer layer) and several inner layers.

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FOOD CLASSIFICATION
• The seed coat and aleurone make up the outer layer called the bran
which represents about 13% of the cereal grain. The aleurone layer
contains oils and other nutrients like minerals, proteins and vitamins.

• The aleurone layer surrounds the endosperm which is the largest part
of the grain (usually about 85%). The endosperm consists of storage
cells containing starch granules embedded in a matrix of protein.

• The germ is the sprouting section of the grain. In wheat, it comprises

only about 2% of the seed but contains about 65% of the B group
vitamins and 33% of oil.

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Structural Components of Cereal Grains

• The husk of cellulose

• The pericarp and testa

• The aleurone layer

• The embryo or germ

• The endosperm

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STRUCTURE OF CEREAL GRAIN

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STRUCTURE OF CEREAL GRAIN

• Cereal grains are the fruit of plants belonging to the grass family (Gramineae)
Botanically, cereal grains are a dry fruit called a caryopsis. e.g. wheat, rice, maize,
millet, sorghum, millet.
• The caryopsis fruit has a thin, dry wall which is fused together with the seed coat.
Kernel structure is important with respect to minimizing damage during grain
harvest, drying, handling, storage, milling, and germination and in enhancing
nutritional value.
• There are a few important structural features that the cereal grains have in
common. All of the cereal grains are plant seeds and contain three distinct
anatomical portions, a large centrally located starch endosperm, which also is rich
in protein, protective outer layers such as hull and bran, and an embryo or germ.

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STRUCTURE OF CEREAL GRAIN
• The seed portion of cereals consists of numerous components which basically
include three parts: a seed coat or testa (bran), storage organ or nutritive reserve
for the seed (endosperm), and a miniature plant or germ.
• The fruit tissue consists of a layer of epidermis and several thin inner layers a few
cells thick. The aleurone layer which is just below the seed coat, is only a few
cells thick, but is rich in oil, minerals, protein and vitamins.
• Starch and protein are located in the endosperm which represents the bulk of the
grain and is sometimes the only part of the cereal consumed. Starch is arranged in
the form of sub-cellular structures called granules that are embedded in a matrix
of protein.
• The developing endosperm contains protein bodies which become a continuous
phase as the grain matures. There is generally a gradient of more protein and less
starch per cell from the outer to the inner region of the endosperm.

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STRUCTURE OF CEREAL GRAIN
• The diameter, shape, size distribution and other characteristics of starch granules
vary with different cereals. Starch granules range in size from 3-8m in rice; 2-30m
in corn, and 2-55m in wheat.
• Reserve proteins in the endosperm are in the form of smaller protein bodies that
range in size from 2-6m that become disordered and adhere to the starch granules
in the mature grain of species like wheat.

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NUTRITIONAL COMPOSITION OF CEREALS
• Cereals are of plant origin which yield edible grains which are consumed directly
or in modified form as major part of diet and also feed to livestock. Rice and
wheat are most important cereals forming part of human food.
• Cereal grains consist of about two third carbohydrates, mainly in form of
digestible sugars and starches.
• These grains are also an important source of several other nutrients such as
protein, calcium, iron, vitamin B complex and dietary fiber.
• Cereal grains contain 10-14%moisture, 58-72%carbohydrate, 8-13%protein, 2-
5%fat and 2-11%indigestible fiber. They also provide about 300-350 kcal/100g of
grains.
• Cereals are deficient in vitamins A, D, B12 and C.

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PROXIMATE COMPOSITION OF CEREAL GRAINS

Protein Fiber Calorific value

Cereal Moisture % Carbohydrates % Fat % Ash %
% % (kcal/100 gm.)
Wheat
(Triticum aestivum, Tri 11 69 13 2 3 2 340
ticum durum)
Rice
11 65 8 2 9 5 310
(Oryza sativa, L.)
Corn
11 72 10 4 2 1 352
(Zea mays, L.)
Sorghum
11 70 12 4 2 1 348
(Sorghum bicolor L.)
Barley
14 63 12 2 6 3 320
(Hardeum vulgare L.)
Oats
13 58 10 5 10 4 317
(Avena sativa)
Rye
11 71 12 2 2 2 321
(Secale cereale)

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POST-HARVEST PHYSIOLOGY OF CEREALS
• Post-harvest technologies with respect to cereals constitute an inter-disciplinary science
and techniques applied to cereals after harvest for the purpose of preservation,
conservation, quality control/enhancement, processing, packaging, storage, distribution,
marketing, and utilization to meet the food and nutritional requirements of consumers in
relation to their needs.
• The processing of cereals may be by traditional or modern methods. They are the basic
ingredients of many diets especially for people with low income. Each type of cereal crop
require a specific post-harvest treatment however, certain general principles apply to most
of them.
• Cereals undergo several processing stages between harvest stage and consumption. The
post harvest technology in cereals is split into three (3) distinct areas.
• The first is the preparation of harvested cereals grain for storage. The second is referred to
as primary processing which involves further treatment of the grain to clean it, remove
the husk or reduce the size. Then, the products from this primary processing are still not
consumable. The third stage which is known as the secondary processing is transforming
the grains into edible products.

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POST-HARVEST PHYSIOLOGY OF CEREALS
• The primary processing step involves several different processes
designed to clean, sort and remove the inedible fraction from the
grains.
• Primary processing of cereals includes cleaning, grading, hulling,
milling, pounding, grinding, tempering, parboiling, soaking, drying
and sieving.
• Secondary processing is basically for adding value to cereals. It is the
utilization of the primary products (whole grains, flakes or flour) to
make more interesting products and then add variety to the diet.
• Secondary processing of cereals include fermentation, baking, puffing,
flaking, frying and extrusion.

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METHODS OF POST-HARVEST TECHNOLOGY OF CEREALS
There are six (6) methods/steps involved, these are:
1. Harvesting
2. Milling
3. Threshing
4. Winnowing
5. Drying
6. Storage
Harvesting: There is an optimum time for harvesting cereals which depend
mainly on the maturity of the crop and the climatic condition. This has a
significant effect on the quality of the grain during storage. Grain not fully
ripened contains a higher proportion of moisture and will deteriorate quickly
than mature grains because the enzyme systems are still active.
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METHODS OF POST-HARVEST TECHNOLOGY OF CEREALS
Milling: Milling requires the following steps:
i. Washing: The grain is washed or rinsed for a short time to soften the outer layers and then
hulled at once.
ii. Pounding: The hulls and bran are detached from the grain by pounding in a wooden mortar
for 5mins.
iii. Sun drying: The pounded grain is exposed in a shallow layer for a short time to facilitate
winnowing.
iv. Winnowing: Most of the hulls and bran are removed.
v. Washing: This involve longer washing to remove the remaining hulls by floatation and to
increase the moisture content of the grain substantially from 10-12% up to about 25%.
vi. Resting: A conditioning period in which the grain is exposed to the sun for 1-2hrs.
vii. Pounding: The grain is pounded again for about 5mins.
viii. Sieving: The flour produced in the previous step is hand sieved and collected and the
residue returned for further pounding.
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METHODS OF POST-HARVEST TECHNOLOGY OF CEREALS
Threshing: The threshing process is the removal of grains from the rest
of the plant. It involves three different operations. They are separating
the grain from the panicle, sorting the grain from the straw and
winnowing the chaff from the grain.
Winnowing: Winnowing process is the separation of the grain from the
chaff or straw. It is traditionally carried out by lifting and tossing the
threshed material so the lighter chaff and straw get blown to one side
while the heavier seeds fall vertically. Hand-held winnowing baskets are
mainly used to shake the seeds to separate the dirt and chaff. They are
effective but slow. There is a range of winnowing machines that use a
fan to create artificial wind and this speeds up the winnowing process.

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METHODS OF POST-HARVEST TECHNOLOGY OF CEREALS
Drying: Before storage or further processing, cereals need to be dried.
The cost-effective method is to spread out in the sun to dry. In humid
climates, it can be necessary to use an artificial dryer. Cereal grains
must be dried to 10-15% moisture before storage.
Storage: Dried cereal grains are stored in bulk until required for
processing. The grains must be inspected regularly for signs of spoilage
and the moisture content tested. If the grain has picked up moisture, it
must be re-dried. They must be stored in rodent proof containers.

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METHODS OF POST-HARVEST TECHNOLOGY OF CEREALS

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BENEFITS OF CEREALS
• Cereals and products are an important source of energy, carbohydrate, protein and
fibre.

• They contain a range of micronutrients such as vitamin E, some B vitamins,

sodium, magnesium and zinc.

• Some cereal products contribute significant amounts of calcium and iron as a

result of the process of fortification.

• Regular consumption of cereals specifically whole grains play a role in the

prevention of chronic diseases.

Products of cereal grains includes; spaghetti, macaroni, biscuit, bread, noodles,

breakfast cereals such as goldenmorn, cornflakes, pastries such cookies, biscuits,
doughnuts, semolina, cornmeal etc.
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