Entrepreneurial Skill Development through Aonla Processing in Punjab, India

Indian economy is predominantly dependent on agriculture and allied sectors as they are the important source of raw material and demand for many industrial products. As one among the allied sector, food processing sector is nowadays gaining attention amid entrepreneurs across the country. Famer’s interest as an entrepreneur is constantly increasing in terms of investment which creates a promising atmosphere for affluent growth of food processing industry. Ministry of Food Processing Industries, Govt. of India is a wing which is actively engaged in promoting entrepreneurial activities in fruits and vegetables processing sector. However, there exists a definite demand to attract the small and marginal farmers to avail this entrepreneurship facility so that it can help in improving their livelihood and become a source of their family income. This particular case study is a representation of facilities availed by some entrepreneurs in ICAR-CIPHET Abohar for aonla processing. Such kind of information may become a source of encouragement for the farmers who are having a desire to promote themselves as farmer cum businessman.

Foam mat drying characteristics of mango pulp.

Abstract Mango is widely preferred because of its excellent flavour and nutritional quality. Mango pulp fro m Dussehri variety was foam mat d ried using 0, 3, 5, 7, and 9% egg white as foaming agent and then dried at air dry ing temperature of 65, 75 and 85 o C. Weight loss was used to estimate change in mo iture ratio with respect to time and effective diffusivity. Seven thin layer drying models were fitted to get the best fit model, which was selected on the basis of various statistical parameters. Wang and Singh model was found to be best in almost all cases. Nutrit ional status in terms of total carotenes was estimated and it was observed that there was significant effect of drying temperatures and egg white concentration. Based on above parametres it was resolved that foam mat d rying using 3% egg white at 65 o C air dry ing temperature was the best combination

Preparation and characterization of whey protein isolate films reinforced with porous silica coated titania nanoparticles

Whey protein isolate (WPI) films embedded with TiO2@@SiO2 (porous silica (SiO2) coated titania (TiO2)) nanoparticles for improved mechanical properties were prepared by solution casting. A WPI solution of 1.5 wt% TiO2@@SiO2 nanoparticles was subjected to sonication at amplitudes of 0, 16, 80 and 160 μm prior to casting in order to improve the film forming properties of protein and to obtain a uniform distribution of nanoparticles in the WPI films. The physical and mechanical properties of the films were determined by dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and tensile testing. Water vapor permeability (WVP) measurements revealed that the water vapor transmission rates are slightly influenced by sonication conditions and nanoparticle loading. The DMA results showed that, at high sonication levels, addition of nanoparticles prevented protein agglomeration. The thermal stability of the materials revealed the presence of 3–4 degradation stages in oxidizing the protein films. The addition of nanoparticles strengthens the WPI film, as evidenced by tensile stress analysis. Sonication improved nanoparticle distribution in film matrix; such films can potentially become effective packaging materials to enhance food quality and safety

Kinetika sušenja tankog sloja listova kane

Henna leaves are well known for their cosmetic agent with anti-carcinogenic, anti-inflammatory, analgesic and antipyretic properties. To investigate the effect of different drying conditions on kinetics of henna leaves, the laboratory models of tunnel dryer was employed and the leaves were dried at 40, 45, 50, 55, 60 and 65°C. Drying of henna leaves prominently occurred in falling rate period and drying was faster at higher temperature. Twelve thin layer-drying models were fitted to the experimental moisture ratio data. Among the mathematical models investigated, the Midilli-Kucuk model satisfactorily described the drying behavior with highest r2 values. The effective moisture diffusivity (Deff) of basil leaves increased with the increase in drying air temperature. Effective moisture diffusivity of henna leaves ranged from 2.24•10-10 to 4.31•10-10 m2•s-1 and activation energy was 27.03 kJ•mol-1. The dried leaves were ground to make the powder and the powder had average particle size of 0.2069 mm with a fineness modulus of 1.3685.Listovi kane su dobro poznati po svojim kozmetičkim agensima sa anti-kancerogenim, anti-inflamatornim, analgetskim i anti-piretičkim svojstvima. Laboratorijski modeli tunelske sušare su korišćeni za sušenje listova na 40, 45, 50, 55, 60 i 65°C i ispitivanje uticaja različitih uslova kinetiku sušenja listova kane. Period sušenja listova kane se skraćivao i sušenje je bilo brže pri višoj temperature. Dvanaest modela sušenja tankog sloja je poređeno sa eksperimentalnim podacima o odnosima vlage. Među matematičkim modelima koji su ispitivani, model Midilli-Kucuk je na zadovoljavajući način opisao ponašanje pri sušenju sa najvišim vrednostima r2. Efektivna difuzija vlage (Deff) listova povećala se sa povećanjem temperature vazduha za sušenje. Efektivna difuzija vlage listova kane iznosila je od 2.24•10-10 do 4.31•10-10 m2•s-1, a energija aktivacije 27.03 kJ•mol-1. Osušeni listovi su mleveni u prah sa prosečnim dimenzijama čestica od 0.2069 mm i modulom finoće 1.3685

Effect of Packaging Materials and Ethylene Absorbent on Shelf Life of Bell Pepper

An ethylene absorbent flush storage structure was developed using a plastic container and experiment was carried out to study the effect of ethylene absorbent (3% KMn04 solution) and different packaging materials (open, jute and HOPE) on shelf life of bell pepper. Physico-chemical properties such as physiological loss in weight, moisture content, size, bulk density, firmness, total soluble solids, ascorbic acid, colour, and spoilage of bell pepper were studied with respect to packaging material inside the ethylene absorbent flush storage. The ambient temperature and RH during the storage period varied from 17 to 32°C and 74 to 95.5%, respectively. Fresh bell pepper had 128.38 Mg/100g of ascorbic acid and 90-95% moisture content on wet basis (w.b.). The quality of the bell pepper was evaluated based on the spoilage, shrinkage and change in colour. Minimum physiological loss in weight was 3.45% in open samples, moisture loss was 30.81 %, decrease in size was 2.38% and minimum decrease in ascorbic acid (17.96%) and change in shape was observed injute bag samples after 24 days of storage period inside the ethylene absorbent flush storage. Maximum increase in bulk density was 12.33% in HOPE bag after 12 days of storage. TSS increased at initial stages and decreased at later stage. The spoilage showed increasing trend throughout storage period irrespective of packaging materials. An ethylene absorbent flush storage with three percentage of KMn04 solution increased the shelf life of bell pepper up to 12 days in HOPE packed samples and 24 days in open and jute bag samples

Characterization of Natural Fibre-based Nano-composite Materials: A Review

A composite material is produced from two (or more) distinct constituent materials with different physical and chemical properties, which together result in a material with entirely different properties. Natural biopolymer packaging leads to new product developments in the food packing and packaging industry, which includes carriers for functionally active substances, individual packaging of particulate foods and nutritional supplements. The nanocomposite material has a range of benefits in the extrusion procedure of bottles for dairy foods, fruit juices, beer and carbonated drinks in which it plays a role of oxygen barrier; or its layers to act as an enhancer of shelf life in variety of products such as cheese, cereals, processed meats, boil-in-bag foods and confectionary items. In order to utilize these benefits of nanocomposite material for a particular use, one needs to have an in-depth knowledge of the surface properties as well as internal structure, its chemical constituents and their interactions and its stability at high processing temperatures. Advanced instrumentation technologies like Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FE-SEM), Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Thermogravimetric analyses (TGA), Nuclear Magnetic resonance (NMR) help researchers in examining all these characteristics for its specific application. The present review is focused on characterization of cellulosic fibres and cellulose nanocrystals derived from agricultural waste. This analysis also helps to understand the processes and changes accompanied with the process in these characteristics during production of cellulosic fibres and cellulose nano-crystals from agricultural waste

Transformation of food packaging from passive to innovative via nanotechnology: concepts and critiques

This research article was published by Springer, 2016In recent decades, there is a global advancement in manufacturing industry due to increased applications of nanotechnology. Food industry also has been tremendously changing from passive packaging to innovative packaging, to cope with global trends, technological advancements, and consumer preferences. Active research is taking place in food industry and other scientific fields to develop innovative packages including smart, intelligent and active food packaging for more effective and efficient packaging materials with balanced environmental issues. However, in food industry the features behind smart packaging are narrowly defined to be distinguished from intelligent packaging as in other scientific fields, where smart materials are under critical investigations. This review presents some scientific concepts and features pertaining innovative food packaging. The review opens new research window in innovative food packaging to cover the existing disparities for further precise research and development of food packaging industry