Volume 13, Issue 2, February 2015, Pages 615–627
J.T. Liberty1, C.O. Akubuo2, W.I. Okonkwo3, and D.I. Kwino4
1 Department of Agricultural & Bioresources Engineering, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Enugu State, Nigeria
2 Department of Agricultural & Bioresources Engineering, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Enugu State, Nigeria
3 Department of Agricultural & Bioresources Engineering, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Enugu State, Nigeria
4 Department of Agricultural & Bioresources Engineering, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Enugu State, Nigeria
Original language: English
Copyright © 2015 ISSR Journals. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
At the time of harvest, most foods are likely to contain contaminants, to have components which are inedible or to have variable physical characteristics (for example shape, size or colour). It is therefore necessary to perform one or more of the unit operations of cleaning, sorting, grading or peeling to ensure that foods with a uniformly high quality are prepared for subsequent processing. This paper examines the role of unit operations in agricultural products processing. The study adopted a desk review of existing literatures on unit operations in processing. Benefits of food processing include toxin removal, preservation, easing marketing and distribution tasks, and increasing food consistency. In addition, it increases seasonal availability of many foods, enables transportation of delicate perishable foods across long distances and makes many kinds of foods safe to eat by de-activating spoilage and pathogenic micro-organisms.
Author Keywords: Contaminants, Deterioration, Unit operations, Processing.
J.T. Liberty1, C.O. Akubuo2, W.I. Okonkwo3, and D.I. Kwino4
1 Department of Agricultural & Bioresources Engineering, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Enugu State, Nigeria
2 Department of Agricultural & Bioresources Engineering, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Enugu State, Nigeria
3 Department of Agricultural & Bioresources Engineering, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Enugu State, Nigeria
4 Department of Agricultural & Bioresources Engineering, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Enugu State, Nigeria
Original language: English
Copyright © 2015 ISSR Journals. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Abstract
At the time of harvest, most foods are likely to contain contaminants, to have components which are inedible or to have variable physical characteristics (for example shape, size or colour). It is therefore necessary to perform one or more of the unit operations of cleaning, sorting, grading or peeling to ensure that foods with a uniformly high quality are prepared for subsequent processing. This paper examines the role of unit operations in agricultural products processing. The study adopted a desk review of existing literatures on unit operations in processing. Benefits of food processing include toxin removal, preservation, easing marketing and distribution tasks, and increasing food consistency. In addition, it increases seasonal availability of many foods, enables transportation of delicate perishable foods across long distances and makes many kinds of foods safe to eat by de-activating spoilage and pathogenic micro-organisms.
Author Keywords: Contaminants, Deterioration, Unit operations, Processing.
How to Cite this Article
J.T. Liberty, C.O. Akubuo, W.I. Okonkwo, and D.I. Kwino, “The Role of Unit Operations in Agricultural Products Processing,” International Journal of Innovation and Scientific Research, vol. 13, no. 2, pp. 615–627, February 2015.