Food Processing and Quality

Running head: Food Processing and Quality
Food Processing and Quality
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1Food Processing and Quality
Contents
Introduction:...............................................................................................................................2
What is food processing?.......................................................................................................2
What is thermal and non thermal food processing?...............................................................2
What are the important ingredients of food that affect its nutritional quality?......................3
Effect of thermal and non thermal food processing on the nutritional quality of food
ingredients such as proteins, carbohydrates, fats, fibre and phenolics:.....................................4
Effect of Thermal Processing.................................................................................................4
Effect of Non Thermal Processing.........................................................................................7
Effect of important food ingredients on the nutrient quality of food:......................................11
Protein:.................................................................................................................................11
Carbohydrate:.......................................................................................................................11
Fat:........................................................................................................................................12
Fibre:....................................................................................................................................13
Phenolics:.............................................................................................................................13
Diseases that can occur due to the absence of these ingredients in food:................................14
Protein Deficiency................................................................................................................14
Carbohydrate Deficiency:....................................................................................................15
Fat Deficiency:.....................................................................................................................15
Fibre Deficiency:..................................................................................................................16
Phenolics Deficiency:...........................................................................................................17
Conclusion:..............................................................................................................................17

2Food Processing and Quality
References:...............................................................................................................................20

3Food Processing and Quality
Introduction:
What is food processing?
Processing of food can be understood as the physical or chemical methods that are
used to convert cooked ingredients into the final product. The process combines raw
ingredients to product finished products that is marketable which can be prepared and
consumed easily. The process involves several types of actions such as macerating, mincing,
emulsification, pickling, pasteurization, liquefaction as well as cooking (like grilling,
broiling, frying, or boiling) (Sun, 2014). It can also involve processes of packaging (by
slicing, dicing or freezing and drying), preservation or canning of the finished product.
Processing food helps in the better preservation, distribution and marketing of the products
and also protects it from contamination by pathogens or toxic substances. It also helps to
maintain year long availability of the products and makes the food easy to prepare and
consume (Lelieveld et al., 2014; Maga, 2018).
What is thermal and non thermal food processing?
Thermal processing utilises a combination of temperature and time in order to remove
microbes or pathogens in the food. This type of food processing uses high temperatures for
the preservation of food, and to ensure its safety from pathogens, and it is the most commonly
used strategies of food processing used in the food industry (determined as a Critical
Control Point, CCP) (Bauman, 2018). The two main categories of temperatures used in
thermal processing include pasteurization and Sterilization (Bornhorst et al., 2017). These
processes ensure the reduction or destruction of microbe activity in the food and also to
reduce or destroy enzymatic activity and also produce desirable physical or chemical changes
in the food, meeting a certain quality standard. The milder thermal processes include

4Food Processing and Quality
Blanching and Pasteurization, while more severe thermal processing involves sterilization,
canning, baking, frying and roasting (Erdoğdu & Boz, 2015; Sevenich & Mathys, 2018).
Blanching can be done at 100oC with hot water or steam at or near atmospheric
pressure, and can be used to destroy enzyme activity in vegetables or fruits. Pasteurization is
used for milk, and uses mild heat (less than 100oC) to destroy enzyme activity and certain
microbes (such as non spore forming yeast, bacteria or moulds). In sterilization, high
temperatures are used (110 to 121oC) under high pressures to destroy or kill heat resistant
microbes such as the spores of Clostridium or Baccilus (Orsat et al. 2017; Gao et al., 2016;
Teixeira, 2015).
Non thermal processing of food involves strategies that do not require heat, in order to
killing or inhibiting microbes in the food. This process helps to preserve the volatile
compounds in the food and preserve the food at a better quality compared to thermal
processing (Santhirasegaram et al., 2015). Different technologies can be used in the non
thermal processing of food, such as using ultra high pressures, pulsed x ray, ionising
radiations, high voltage arc discharges, ultrasound, magnetic fields, pulsed light or electric
fields, cold plasma technology, hurdle technology and dense phase carbon dioxide
(Buniowska et al., 2017; Trudeau, 2016).
What are the important ingredients of food that affect its nutritional quality?
Important ingredients found is most foods include: Carbohydrates, fats, proteins, fibre
and phenolics (Sahidi & Ambigaipalan, 2015; Zanini et al., 2015; Wang et al., 2016).
Additionally, processed food can include several types of ingredients such as: preservatives,
sweeteners, colour additives, flavours and spices, flavour enhancers, fat replacers, nutrients,
emulsifiers, stabilizers, thickeners, binders, texturizers, pH control agents, acidulants,
leavening agents, anti-caking agents, humectants, yeast nutrients, dough strengtheners and

5Food Processing and Quality
conditioners, firming agents, enzyme preparations and gases. These ingredients help to
maintain and improve the safety and freshness, nutritional value, taste, texture as well as
appearance of the food, and also to improve the shelf life of the food product (Fletcher, 2014;
Elizabeth et al., 2017).
Effect of thermal and non thermal food processing on the nutritional quality of food
ingredients such as proteins, carbohydrates, fats, fibre and phenolics:
Nutritional quality of food as well as its safety is affected by the destruction of
essential amino acids, interactions with various ions of metals, a reduced digestibility of the
food, inhibition of proteolytic and glycolytic enzymes and the production of toxic or anti
nutritional compounds in the food (Chiang & Quek, 2017). The Millard Reaction or
Enzymatic Browning is a significant process that involves the interaction of amino acids,
proteins and peptides with vitamin C and reducing sugars (Abdel-Razek et al., 2017).
Effect of Thermal Processing
The glycation of protein by sugars caused by Thermal Processing can negatively
affect the nutritional value of proteins. The bioavailability of the proteins is reduced by the
cross linkages formed and the destruction of reactive amino acids such as lysine. The loss in
the nutritional quality can be associated with the reduction in nitrogen digestibility due to
impaired absorption from the intestine for heat treated casein, casein-starch and casein-
glucose, thus showing an overall reduction in digestibility of these proteins (Milkovska-
Stamenova et al., 2017; Renzone et al., 2015). It has also been proposed that the reduction in
the intestinal absorption of the lysine derivatives induced by the Millard Reaction is the basis
of the reduction of the nutrient value of food after thermal processing. Also, apart from the
physiological changes to the properties of the non enzymatic Millard’s Reaction Products,
thermal treatment of food can also cause the formation of toxic products such as