Fruits and Vegetable Products

Hello,, Viewers
Welcome to the lecture series of Food Technology,
In Today’s lecture I am going to deliver the lecture on “Fruits and Vegetable Products.
This episode divided into the following five sections
1. Introduction
2. General properties of Fruits and Vegetables
3. Chemical compositions in Fruits and Vegetables

4. Fresh fruit and vegetable storage and

5. Conclusion
1. Introduction
Fruit and Vegetables are an important source of both digestible and indigestible carbohydrates. The
digestible carbohydrates are present largely in the form of sugars and starch while indigestible cellulose
provides roughage which is important to normal digestion.
Fruits and vegetables are also important sources of minerals and certain vitamins, especially Citrus fruits,
green leafy vegetables and tomatoes are excellent sources of vitamin C and vitamin A. The precursors of
vitamin A, including beta-carotene and certain other carotenoids are to be found particularly in the yellow-
orange fruits, vegetables and in the green leafy vegetables.
The main objective of fruit and vegetable processing is to supply wholesome, safe, nutritious and
acceptable food to consumers throughout the year.
Fruit and vegetable processing projects also aim to replace imported products like squash, yams, tomato
sauces, pickles, etc., besides earning foreign exchange by exporting finished or semi-processed products.
The fruit and vegetable processing activities have been set up, or have to be established in developing
countries for one or other of the following reasons:
 diversification of the economy, in order to reduce present dependence on one export commodity;
 government industrialization policy;
 reduction of imports and meeting export demands;
 stimulate agricultural production by obtaining marketable products;
 generate both rural and urban employment;
 reduce fruit and vegetable losses;
 improve farmers' nutrition by allowing them to consume their own processed fruit and vegetables
during the off-season;
 generate new sources of income for farmers
 develop new value-added products;
2. General properties of Fruits and Vegetables
Fruits and vegetables have many similarities with respect to their compositions, methods of cultivation and
harvesting, storage properties and processing. In fact, many vegetables may be considered fruit in the true
botanical sense. For example tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplant are classified as fruits on this basis.
However, the important distinction between fruit and vegetables has come to be made on usage basis.
Those plant items that are generally eaten with the main course of a meal are considered to be vegetables.
Those that are commonly eaten as dessert are considered as fruits. That is the distinction made by the
food processor, certain marketing laws and the consuming public.
Fruit as a dessert item, is the mature ovaries of plants with their seeds. The edible portion of most fruit is
the fleshy part of the vessel surrounding the seeds. Fruit in general is acidic and sugary. They commonly
are grouped into several major divisions, depending principally upon botanical structure, chemical
composition and climatic requirements.
Berries are fruit which are generally small and quite fragile.
Grapes are also physically fragile and grow in clusters.
Melons are large and have a tough outer layer.
Drupes ie stone fruit contain single pits and include such items as apricots, cherries, peaches and plums.
Pomes contain many pits, and are represented by apples, quince and pears.
Citrus fruit like oranges, grapefruit and lemons are high in citric acid. Tropical and subtropical fruits
include bananas, dates, figs, pineapples, mangoes, and others which require warm climates, but exclude
the separate group of citrus fruits.
Compositions of vegetables and fruit not only vary for a given kind in according to botanical variety,
cultivation practices and weather, but change with the degree of maturity prior to harvest, and the condition
of ripeness, which is progressive after harvest and is further influenced by storage conditions.
Most fresh vegetables and fruits are high in water content, low in protein, and low in fat. In these cases
water contents will generally be greater than 70% and frequently greater than 85%.
Commonly protein content will not be greater than 3.5% or fat content greater than 0.5 %. Exceptions exist
in the case of dates and raisins which are substantially lower in moisture but cannot be considered fresh in
the same sense as other fruit.
Legumes such as peas and certain beans are higher in protein; a few vegetables such as sweet corn
which are slightly higher in fat.
3. Chemical compositions in Fruits and Vegetables

Water
Vegetal cells contain important quantities of water. Water plays a vital role in the evolution and reproduction
cycle and in physiological processes. It has effects on the storage period length and on the consumption of
tissue reserve substances.
In vegetal cells, water is present in following forms:
 bound water or dilution water which is present in the cell and forms true solutions with mineral or
organic substances;
 colloidal bound water which is present in the membrane, cytoplasm and nucleus and acts as a
swelling agent for these colloidal structure substances; it is very difficult to remove during
drying/dehydration processes;
 Constitution water, directly bound on the chemical component molecules and which is also
removed with difficulty.
Vegetables contain generally 90-96% water while for fruit normal water content is between 80 and 90%.
Mineral substances
Mineral substances are present as salts of organic or inorganic acids or as complex organic combinations;
chlorophyll, pectin, etc., they are in many cases dissolved in cellular juice.
Vegetables are richer in mineral substances as compared with fruits. The mineral substance content is
normally between 0.60 and 1.8% and more than 60 elements are present; the major elements are: K, Na,
Ca, Mg, Fe, Mn, Al, P, Cl, S.
Among the vegetables which are especially rich in mineral substances are: spinach, carrots, cabbage and
tomatoes.
Mineral rich fruit includes: strawberries, cherries, peaches and rasp-berries. Important quantities of
potassium (K) and absence of sodium chloride (NaCl) give a high dietetic value to fruit and to their
processed products. Phosphorus is supplied mainly by vegetables.
Vegetables usually contain more calcium than fruit; green beans, cabbage, onions and beans contain more
than 0.1% calcium. The calcium/phosphorus ratio is essential for calcium fixation in the human body; this
value is considered normal at 0.7 for adults and at 1.0 for children. Some fruit are important for their Ca/P
ratio above 1.0: for example in pears, lemons, oranges and some mountain fruits and wild berries.
Even if its content in the human body is very low, iron (Fe) has an important role as a constituent of
hemoglobin. Main iron sources are apples and spinach.
Salts from fruit have a basic reaction; for this reason fruit consumption facilitates the neutralization of
noxious uric acid reactions and contributes to the acid-basic equilibrium in the blood.
Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates are the main component of fruit and vegetables and represent more than 90% of their dry
matter. From energy point of view carbohydrates represent the most valuable of the food components; daily
adult intake should contain about 500 g carbohydrates.
Carbohydrates play a major role in biological systems. They are produced by the process of photosynthesis
in green plants. They may serve as structural components as in the case of cellulose; they may be stored
as energy reserves as in the case of starch in plants; they may function as essential components of nucleic
acids as in the case of ribose; and as components of vitamins such as ribose and riboflavin.
Carbohydrates can be oxidized to furnish energy, and glucose in the blood is a ready source of energy for
the human body. Fermentation of carbohydrates by yeast and other microorganisms can yield carbon
dioxide, alcohol, organic acids and other compounds.
Fats
Generally fruit and vegetables contain very low level of fats, below 0.5%. However, significant quantities are
found in nuts (55%), apricot kernel (40%), grapes seeds (16%), apple seeds (20%) and tomato seeds
(18%).
Organic acids
Fruit contains natural acids, such as citric acid in oranges and lemons, malic acid of apples, and tartaric
acid of grapes. These acids give the fruits tartness and slow down bacterial spoilage.
We deliberately ferment some foods with desirable bacteria to produce acids and this give the food flavor
and keeping quality. Examples are fermentation of cabbage to produce lactic acid and fermentation of
apple juice to produce first alcohol and then acetic acid to obtain vinegar.
Organic acids influence the colour of foods since many plant pigments are natural pH indicators.
With respect to bacterial spoilage, a most important contribution of organic acids is in lowering a food's pH.
Under anaerobic conditions and slightly above a pH of 4.6, Clostridium botulinum can grow and produce
lethal toxins. This hazard is absent from foods high in organic acids resulting in a pH of 4.6 and less.
Acidity and sugars are two main elements which determine the taste of fruit. The sugar and acid ratio is
very often used in order to give a technological characterization of fruits and of some vegetables.
Nitrogen-containing substances
These substances are found in plants as different combinations: proteins, amino acids, amides, amines,
nitrates, etc. Vegetables contain between 1.0 and 5.5 % while in fruit nitrogen-containing substances are
less than 1% in most cases.
Among nitrogen containing substances the most important are proteins; they have a colloidal structure and,
by heating, their water solution above 50°C, one-way reaction makes them insoluble. This behavior has to
be taken into account in heat processing of fruits and vegetables.
From a biological point of view vegetal proteins are less valuable then animal ones because in their
composition all essential amino-acids are not present.
Vitamins
Vitamins are defined as organic materials which must be supplied to the human body in small amounts
apart from the essential amino-acids or fatty acids.
Vitamins function as enzyme systems which facilitate the metabolism of proteins, carbohydrates and fats
but there is growing evidence that their roles in maintaining health may extend yet further.
The vitamins are conveniently divided into two major groups, those that are fat-soluble and those that are
water-soluble. Fat-soluble vitamins are A, D, E and K. Their absorption by the body depends upon the
normal absorption of fat from the diet. Water-soluble vitamins include vitamin C and several members of the
vitamin B complex.
Vitamin A or Retinol
This vitamin is found as such only in animal materials - meat, milk, eggs. Plants contain no vitamin A but
contain its precursor, beta-carotene. Man needs either vitamin A or beta-carotene which he can easily
convert to vitamin A. Beta-carotene is found in the orange and yellow vegetables as well as the green leafy
vegetables, mainly carrots, squash, sweet potatoes, spinach and kale.
A deficiency of vitamin A leads to night blindness, failure of normal bone and teeth development in the
young and diseases of epithelial cells and membrane of the nose, throat and eyes which decrease the
body's resistance to infection.
Vitamin C
Vitamin C is the anti-scurvy vitamin. Lack of it causes fragile capillary walls, easy bleeding of the gums,
loosening of teeth and bone joint diseases. It is necessary for the normal formation of the protein collagen,
which is an important constituent of skin and connective tissue. Vitamin C, also known as ascorbic acid, is
easily destroyed by oxidation especially at high temperatures and is the vitamin most easily lost during
processing, storage and cooking.
Excellent sources of vitamin C are citrus fruits, tomatoes, cabbage and green peppers.
Enzymes
Enzymes are biological catalysts that promote most of the biochemical reactions which occur in vegetable
cells.
Some properties of enzymes important in fruit and vegetable technology are the following:
 in living fruit and vegetables enzymes control the reactions associated with ripening;
 after harvest, unless destroyed by heat, chemicals or some other means, enzymes continue the
ripening process, in many cases to the point of spoilage - such as soft melons or overripe bananas;
 because enzymes enter into a vast number of biochemical reactions in fruits and vegetable, they
may be responsible for changes in flavour, colour, texture and nutritional properties;
 The heating processes in fruit and vegetables manufacturing/processing are designed not only to
destroy micro-organisms but also to deactivate enzymes and so improve the fruit and vegetables'
storage stability.
In fruit and vegetable storage and processing the most important roles are played by the enzymes classes
of hydrolases; lipase, invertase, tannase, chlorophylase, amylase, cellulase and oxidoreductases;
peroxidase, tyrosinase, catalase, ascorbinase, polyphenoloxidase.
The Flavonoids; Pigments and color precursors belonging to this class are water-soluble and commonly
are present in the juices of fruit and vegetables. The flavonoids include the purple, blue, and red
anthocyanins of grapes, berries, plump, eggplant, and cherry; the yellow anthoxa-thins of light colored fruit
and vegetables such as apple, onion, potato, and cauliflower. The colorless catechins and
leucoanthocyanins are found in apples, grapes, tea, and other plant tissues. These colourless tannin
compounds are easily converted to brown pigments upon reaction with metal ions.
4. Fresh fruit and vegetable storage
Once fruit is harvested, any natural resistance to the action of spoiling micro-organisms is lost. Changes in
enzymatic systems of the fruit also occur on harvest which may also accelerate the activity of spoilage
organisms.
To prevent spoilage of fruits must include:
 care to prevent cutting or bruising of the fruit during picking or handling;
 refrigeration to minimise growth of micro-organisms and reduce enzyme activity;
 packaging or storage to control respiration rate and ripening;
 use of preservatives to kill micro-organisms on the fruit.
A principal economic loss occurring during transportation and storage of produce such as fresh fruit is the
degradation which occurs between the field and the ultimate destination due to the effect of respiration.
Methods to reduce such degradation are as follows:
 refrigerate the produce to reduce the rate of respiration;
 vacuum cooling;
 reduce the oxygen content of the environment in which the produce is kept to a value not above
5% of the atmosphere but above the value at which anaerobic respiration would begin. When the
oxygen concentration is reduced within 60 minutes the deterioration is in practice negligible.
Temporary storage
This step should be as short as possible and better completely eliminated. Vegetables can be stored in:
a. simple stores, without artificial cooling;
b. in refrigerated stores; or, in some cases,
Simple stores should be covered, fairly cool, dry and well ventilated but without forced air circulation
which can induce significant losses in weight through intensive water evaporation; air relative humidity
should be at about 70-80%.
Refrigerated storage is always preferable and in all cases a processing centre needs a cold room for this
purpose.
Requirements and functions of food containers
The following are among the more important general requirements and functions of food packaging
materials/ containers:
a. they must be non-toxic and compatible with the specific foods;
b. sanitary protection;
c. moisture and fat protection;
d. gas and odour protection;
e. light protection;
f. resistance to impact;
g. transparency;
h. tamper proofness;
i. ease of opening;
j. pouring features;
k. reseal features;
l. ease of disposal;
m. size, shape, weight limitations;
n. appearance, printability;
o. low cost;
p. special features.
Primary and secondary containers
The terms primary and secondary containers have been used. Some foods are provided with efficient
primary containers by nature, such as nuts, oranges, eggs and the like. In packaging these, we generally
need only a secondary outer box, wrap, or drum to hold units together and give gross protection.
Other foods such as milk, dried eggs and fruit concentrates often will be filled into primary containers such
as plastic liners which are then packaged within protective cartons or drums. In this case the secondary
container provided by the carton or drum greatly minimises the requirements that must be met by the
primary container.
Except in special instances, secondary containers are not designed to be highly impervious to water vapor
and other gases, especially at zones of sealing, dependence for this being placed upon the primary
container.
Since primary containers by definition are those which come in direct contact with the food, we will be far
more concerned with them than with secondary containers.
Hermetic closure
Two conditions of the greatest significance in packaging are hermetic and non-hermetic closure.
The term hermetic means a container which is absolutely impermeable to gases and vapours throughout its
entirety, including its seams.
Such a container, as long as it remains intact, will automatically be impervious to bacteria, yeasts, moulds,
and dirt from dust and other sources since all of these agents are considerably larger than gas or water
vapour molecules.
On the other hand, a container which prevents entry of micro-organisms, in many instances will be non-
hermetic. A container that is hermetic not only will protect the product from moisture gain or loss, and from
oxygen pickup from the atmosphere, but is essential for strict vacuum and pressure packaging.
The most common hermetic containers are rigid metal cans and glass bottles, although faulty closures can
make them non-hermetic. With very rare exceptions flexible packages are not truly hermetic for one or
more of the following reasons.
First, the thin flexible films, even when they do not contain minute pinholes, generally are not completely
gas and water-vapour impermeable although the rates of gas and water vapour transfer may be
exceptionally slow; second, the seals are generally good but imperfect; and third, even where film materials
may be gas- and water-vapour-tight, such as certain gages of aluminium foil, flexing of packages and
pouches leads to minute pinholes and crease holes.
Films and foils; plastics
Films and foils have different values for moisture and gas permeability, strength, elasticity, inflammability
and resistance to insect penetration and many of these characteristics depend upon the film's thickness.
Plastic sheets
 Cellophane paper can be used for packing of dried products, mainly for dried fruit leathers.
 Polyethylene sheets have a variety of uses. They are flexible, transparent and have a perfect
resistance to low temperatures and impermeability to water vapour. An important advantage is that
these sheets can be easily heat-sealed. Utilization is in forms of sheets and bags. It is a good
packing material for primary protection of dehydrated products. If a good protection is needed to
prevent flavour and gas losses, it will be necessary to combine polyethylene with other materials.
Laminates
Various flexible materials such as papers, plastic films, and thin metal foils have different properties with
respect to water vapour transmission, oxygen permeability, light transmission, burst strength, pin holes and
crease hole sensitivity, etc. and so multi-layers or laminates of these materials which combine the best
features of each are used.
Laminations of different materials may be formed by various processes including bonding with a wet
adhesive, dry bonding of layers with a thermoplastic adhesive, hot melt laminating where one or both layers
exhibit thermoplastic properties, and special extrusion techniques.
Glass containers
As far as food packaging is concerned, glass is chemically inert, although the usual problems of corrosion
and reactivity of metal closures will of course apply. The principal limitation of glass is its susceptibility to
breakage, which may be from internal pressure, impact, or thermal shock, all of which can be greatly
minimized by proper matching of the container to its intended use and intelligent handling practices.
Coatings of various types can markedly reduce breakage. These coatings, commonly of special waxes and
silicones, lubricate the outside of the glass. As a result, impact breakage is lessened by bottles and jars
glancing off one another rather than sustaining direct hits when they are in contact in high speed filling
lines.
5. Conclusion
Fruit and Vegetables are an important source of both digestible and indigestible carbohydrates. Fruit and
vegetables are also important sources of minerals and certain vitamins, especially vitamins A and C. The
systematic harvesting, storage, processing and packaging of fruits and vegetables are very essential to
avoid the spoilage and to access throughout the year. Fruit and vegetables have many similarities with
respect to their compositions, methods of cultivation and harvesting, storage properties and processing.
Thank you