BASIC UNIT OPERATIONS IN FOOD PROCESSING

The processing operation in manufacturing of food products varies depending on type of products or raw materials There are many operations commonly applied in most processing of food products, e.g. material handling, cleaning, sorting, grading, peeling, mechanical separation, size reduction, mixing, forming, packaging.
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Material Handling

Movement of raw materials or products during storage and processing Care must be taken to : - maintaining sanitary conditions or minimizing contaminations - maintaining raw material/product quality - minimizing raw material/product loss - minimizing microbial growth Factors concerned : time, temperature, humidity Equipment : conveyors, elevators, trucks, pneumatic equipment, pump
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Cleaning

Removing contaminants Wet cleaning : soaking, spraying, flotation washing and ultrasonic cleaning Dry cleaning : Separation by air, magnetism or physical methods
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Sorting

Separation of foods into categories on the basis of a measurable physical property Shape & size sorting Color sorting Weight sorting

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Grading

The assessment of a number of attributes to obtain an indication of overall quality of food By trained operators, for example : Meats are examined for tenderness, fat distribution, carcass size Wheat flour is assessed for protein content, dough extensibility, color
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Peeling

Removing unwanted materials and to improve appearance of the final product.

Flash

steam peeling Knife peeling Abrasion peeling Caustic peeling Flame peeling
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Mechanical Separation

Centrifugation Filtration Expression

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Centrifugation

The separation of immiscible liquids (such as an oil-in-water emulsion), or solids from liquids by application of centrifugal force. Equipment : Liquid-liquid centrifuges Centrifugal clarifiers Desludging, decanting or dewatering centrifuges
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Filtration

To clarify liquids by the removal of small amounts of solid particles (for example wine, beer, oils and syrups), or To separate liquids from the solid part of a food by cake filtration (for example fruit juices) Equipment: Pressure filters Vacuum filters
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Expression

The extraction of oils and juices. It is frequently combined with size reduction to maximize the yield of product
Equipment : Batch presses Continuous presses

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Size Reduction

Size reduction of solid foods Size reduction in liquid foods

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Size Reduction of Solid Foods

Chopping, cutting, slicing and dicing Large to medium ( stewing steak, cheese, sliced fruit canning) Medium to small (bacon, sliced beans and diced carrot) Small to granular (minced or shredded meat, flaked fish or nut and shredded vegetables) Milling to powders or pastes of increasing fineness

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Size Reduction of Liquid Foods

Emulsification or homogenization (mayonnaise, milk, essential oils, butter, ice cream and margarine)

Equipment : High-speed mixers Pressure homogenizers Colloid mills Ultrasonic homogenizers

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Mixing

To obtain an uniform mixture from two or more components Solids mixing Liquids mixing

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Mixing
Equipment : 1. Mixer for low- or medium-viscosity liquids : paddle agitator, impeller agitators, powderliquid contacting devices 2. Mixer for high-viscosity liquids and pastes : vertical-shaft impellers, twin-shaft horizontal blades planetary mixers, continuous rotorstator mixers, multi-agitator systems 3. Mixer for dry powder and particulate solids : tumbling mixers, ribbon mixers, vertical screw mixers 31/10/2013

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Forming

To mould foods that have a high viscosity or a dough into a variety of shapes and sizes Many designs of moulding and forming equipment made specifically for individual products. Bread moulders Pie and biscuit formers Confectionery moulders Extruder
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Packaging
To protect foods from microbial cantamination, physical dirt, insect invasion, light, moisture pickup, flavour pickup, moisture loss, flavour loss, physical abuse, attractiveness and labeling

Ex. Metal can, glass/plastic bottle, paper and paperboard, plastic/metalic film, laminates

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