Food and Agricultural Process Engineering

What is Post Harvest Technology?

It is the technology, which deals with various processing operations comprising of threshing, cleaning, grading, drying / dehydration, storage, milling, transportation, handling, packaging, etc. are carried out after the harvest till it reaches the consumer. Engineering applications in performing all these processing operations are coming under Post Harvest Engineering.

What is post harvest loss?

We all know that after harvest, the food commodities, should be consumed immediately or should be processed and stored for further consumption. If there is any delay in processing / mishandling could lead to huge loss of the harvested produce and it is termed as post harvest loss. The post harvest loss is accounted in the order of     10-20% for durable commodities (cereals, pulses, etc.,) and 20-40% for perishable commodities (fruits & vegetables) annually.

Why cleaning and grading are necessary?

Food materials which are cleaned and graded can fetch more value in the market. Therefore, it is necessary to clean and grade the food materials. Various cleaning and grading mechanisms are available based on the food materials and requirement.

Whether sun drying is advisable?

Though we are having enough sunshine, when we dry the food materials using sun shine, the time taken for drying is more due to fluctuation in the temperature and hence quality of the materials gets affected. Therefore, to get good quality and to dry the food material in controlled condition, it is better to use mechanical dryers.

What is parboiling?

It is the process of gelatinization of starch in paddy. Due to parboiling, the milling outturn and nutritional retention are improved in parboiled rice.

Advantages of rubber roll sheller over conventional paddy milling?

Conventionally, Engleburg hullers are used for milling and polishing of paddy grains. But there are more wastage due to breakage and mixing of bran with husk during milling.
Whereas in the case of the rubber roll sheller, it removes only the husk and subsequently bran will be separated using conical polisher. Thereby the breakage of rice is reduced and the bran can be effectively used for extraction of edible oil. Hence, it is practiced in all modern rice mills.

Why storage is important?

Agricultural produces are to be stored from the harvest to next to safeguard against a following crop of low yield or poor quality, against speculation in price, market demand, and against shortage or famines.

What is meant by cold storage?

It is the low temperature storage in the range of 0-10°C recommended for perishable food products. By properly maintaining the low temperature and relative humidity, the fresh quality of the fruits and vegetables can be extended by reducing respiration rate of living tissues even up to one year using cold storage.

What is the difference between controlled and modified atmospheric storages?

Shelf life of fruits and vegetables can be extended by reducing the oxygen (O2) level in the storage air or increasing the carbon dioxide (CO2) level as a supplement to refrigeration. The required O2/CO2 level is monitored in the case of controlled atmospheric storage.
Whereas in modified atmospheric storage, the gas composition is altered due to natural respiration and it is not monitored during storage.

Whether a turmeric boiler is available?

       Yes. The department of Food and Agricultural Process Engineering has been developed an improved turmeric boiler to boil the rhizome under hygienic condition using steam. The capacity of the unit per day is 5000 kg and the cost of the unit is Rs. 12000/-.

Whether mini pulse milling equipment is available?

Yes. The department of Food and Agricultural Process Engineering has been developed a mini pulse milling equipment with a capacity of 30 kg/h. The milled pulses can also be graded into dehusked and broken. The entire unit can be operated using a single phase one hp motor.

How to dehusk arecanut?

Arecanut can be dehusked at two stages namely at green and dried conditions. For further details about the machinery refer web page:
http://www.tnau.ac.in/aecricbe/aetc/proc5-2.htm

How to get the details of seed extractors?

The details of seed extractors for tomato, chilli, brinjal, coffee pulper cum washer and white pepper can be obtained from the web page:
http://www.tnau.ac.in/aecricbe/aetc/agproc1d.htm

How to preserve sugarcane juice?

Sugarcane juice can be preserved for six months after thermal processing.
For further details about processing and preservation, go to web page:
    http://www.tnau.ac.in/aecricbe/pages/technology.htm

Further Details

Professor and Head
Department of Food and Agricultural Process Engineering
Agricultural Engineering College and Research Institute
Tamil Nadu Agricultural University
Coimbatore-3
Ph: 0422- 6611272 / 6611282       
Fax: 0422-6611455     

Professor and Head
Post Harvest Technology Centre
Agricultural Engineering College and Research Institute
Tamil Nadu Agricultural University
Coimbatore-3
Ph: 0422-  6611268