Impact of Processing Factors on Quality of Frozen Vegetables and Fruits
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Impact of Processing Factors on Quality of Frozen Vegetables and Fruits R. G. M. van der Sman1 Received: 29 January 2020 / Accepted: 26 February 2020 © The Author(s) 2020
Abstract In this paper I review the production of frozen vegetables and fruits from a chain perspective. I argue that the final quality of the frozen product still can be improved via (a) optimization of the complete existing production chain towards quality, and/or (b) introduction of some promising novel processing technology. For this optimization, knowledge is required how all processing steps impact the final quality. Hence, first I review physicochemical and biochemical processes underlying the final quality, such as water holding capacity, ice crystal growth and mechanical damage. Subsequently, I review how each individual processing step impacts the final quality via these fundamental physicochemical and biochemical processes. In this review of processing steps, I also review the potential of novel processing technologies. The results of our literature review are summarized via a causal network, linking processing steps, fundamental physicochemical and biochemical processes, and their correlation with final product quality. I conclude that there is room for optimization of the current production chains via matching processing times with time scales of the fundamental physicochemical and biochemical processes. Regarding novel processing technology, it is concluded in general that they are difficult to implement in the context of existing production chains. I do see the potential for novel processing technology combined with process intensification, incorporating the blanching pretreatment—but which involves quite a change of the production chain. Keywords Freezing · Cellular tissue · Food quality · Causal network
Introduction Freezing is a widely used long-term preservation method for foods, where they retain attributes associated with freshness much better than other conventional preservation methods like canning and drying [1]. But especially the texture of cellular foods, like meat, vegetables and fruits, can be strongly impacted by the freezing process. Above all, vegetables often require blanching prior to freezing to prevent enzymatic browning. Blanching already impacts the vegetable texture. Fruits are seldom blanched, but due to their relative softness they are more severely impacted by freezing than vegetables. Via research projects with industry I have learned that significant improvements to the textural quality of fruits and vegetables can still be made. This is also indicated by the wealth of recent studies on the application R. G. M. van der Sman
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Wageningen Food and Biobased Research, Wageningen University and Research, Wageningen, Netherlands
of novel processing to improve the freezing process, like ultrasound and high-pressure freezing. There are several review papers on these novel technologies [2–6], but most of these papers focus on freezing as a single unit operation, without considering i
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