CANNING OF FRUITS AND VEGETABLES

History
During the first years of the Napoleonic wars, the French
government offered a hefty cash award of 12,000 francs to
any inventor who could devise a cheap and effective
method of preserving large amounts of food. The larger
armies of the period required increased and regular
supplies of quality food. In 1809, Nicolas Appert, a French
confectioner and brewer, observed that food cooked inside
a jar did not spoil unless the seals leaked, and developed a
method of sealing food in glass jars which was referred to
as APPERTIZATION and now known as CANNING.
Canning
• Canning was invented by Nicholas Appert in 1910 so
also termed as Appertization.
• Canning is a method of preservation of food in which the
food is processed and hermetically sealed in containers
(of metal, glass, thermo stable plastic, or a multi-layered
flexible pouch) through agency of heat.
 Canning provides a shelf life typically ranging from one
to five years, although under specific circumstances it
can be much longer.
 Heating is the principle factor to destroy the
microorganisms and the permanent sealing is to prevent
re-infection.
Why Canning?
 The high percentage of water in most fresh foods makes
them very perishable. They spoil or lose their quality for
several reasons.
 Microorganisms live and multiply quickly on the surfaces
of fresh food and on the inside of bruised, insect-
damaged, and diseased food. Oxygen and enzymes are
present throughout fresh food tissues. Proper canning
practices minimize the effects of these microorganisms.
 Main objective of canning is to preserve the food by the
application of heat so that it can be safely eaten at a later
time. Safety of the consumer is the primary concern when
food is canned.
Foods that are canned
(a)Low acid foods: Meat, fish, poultry, dairy fall into a pH
range of 5.0 to 6.8. This large group is commonly referred
to as the low acid group.
(b)Acid foods: With pH values between 4.5 and 3.7. Fruits
such as pear, oranges, apricots and tomatoes fall in this
class.
(c) High acid foods: Such as pickled products and
fermented foods. The pH values range from 3.7 down to
2.3, also Jams and Jellies are in this classification.
Flow chart
Selection
 For canning, fruits and vegetables should be absolutely
fresh.
 The fruit should be ripe, but firm and evenly matured.

 It should be freefrom all unsightly blemishes,insectdamage

and malformation.
 Over-ripe fruit is generally infected with microorganisms
and would yield a pack of poor quality.
 The vegetables should be tender and reasonably free from
soil, dirt etc.
Sorting & Grading
 After the preliminary sorting, the fruits and vegetables
are graded.
 The grading is done with respect to size, color etc.

 Generally done by hands or the grading machines (screen

graders, roller graders, rope or cable graders etc.).
Washing
 The graded fruits and vegetables are washed with water
in different ways such as soaking or agitation in water,
washing with cold or hot water sprays , etc.
 Vegetables may preferably be soaked in a dilute solution
of potassium permanganate to disinfect them.
 Spray washing is the most efficient method.
Peeling, Coring, pitting
 Peeling of fruits and vegetables can be done in many
ways:
1. by hand or with knife
2. by machine
3. by heat treatment(Scalding)
4. by lye solution (dipping the fruits and vegetables in
a solution of boiling caustic soda or lye solution of
strength 1-2%for 30 seconds to 2 minutes.
• Cores and pits in fruits are removed by hand or by
machine.
Blanching
 Treatment of fruits and vegetables with boiling water or
steam for short periods followed by cooling prior to
canning, is called ‘blanching’.
 Blanching is done with the objective of:
 Loosening the skin of the fruit or vegetable.

 Eliminate the no. of microorganisms.

 Inactivating the enzymes, thus preventing the
possibility of discoloration.
 Improving the flavor by reducing the astringency in
some foods.
Can Filling
 The cans are washed and subjected to a steam jet remove
any adhering dust or foreign matter.
 Before filling of the contents(fruits and vegetables) a
small amount of syrup(for fruits) or brine(for vegetables) is
poured in the can so as to provide a medium to the
contents.
 Can filling can be done by machine or hand filling can
be also employed.
 In India, filling by hand using rubber gloves is the
common practice.
Syruping & Brining
 The cans are filled with hot sugar syrup for
fruits(concentration 35-40%) and hot brine for
vegetables(concentration 1-2%).
 The syrup or brine should be added to the can at a
temperature of 79°C to 82°C, leaving a headspace in the
can so that when the filled can is closed on the double
seaming machine, the headspace left inside ranges from
o.32 cm to 0.47 cm.
 Objective of this step is to improve the taste of the
canned product and to fill up the inter space between
fruits and vegetables.
Lidding & Clinching
 Cans after being filled, are covered loosely with lid
and passed through the exhaust box.
 Lidding is now replaced by CLINCHING in which the
lid is partially seamed to the can by a single first roller
action of double seamer.
Exhausting
• By exhausting, risk of corrosion of tin plate and pin
holing during the storage and discoloration of the
product is reduced as the oxidation process is
prevented.
• Cans are passed through a trough of water at 82-
87°C or a moving conveyor belt through a steam box.
The time varies from 5-25 min. on the nature of the
substance.
• During exhausting, expelling of all the gases takes
place which prevents spoilage of the canned product by
ceasing the chemical reactions and also the bulging
of can.
Sealing
 After exhausting, the cans are sealed by special closing
machines known as double seamers.
 There are hand operated as well as semi-automatic and
fully automatic seamers.
Processing/Sterilization
 Processing consists of heat treatment which is sufficient
to eliminate the growth of spoilage causing
microorganisms.
 All fruits can be satisfactorily processed at 100°C and
vegetables at 116-120°C.
Washing & cooling
 After the cans are closed, they pass through a detergent
spray washer to remove grease and other material. The
washing should consist of hot water (66°C) then by
suitable pre-rinse, detergent spray wash. Followed by a
fresh warm water rinse (66°C).
 Immediately after processing, the cans are COOLING
in water to a temperature of 36°C to 42°C. to avoid
thermophilic spoilage or can rust. If the cans are cooled
much below 36°C, they may not dry thoroughly and
rusting well result. If the cans are cased at temperatures
much over 42°C, thermophilic spoilage may occur.
Labelling & Storage
 After the completion of the canning process, the cans are
labelled, packaged and stored at a clean and dry place.
 Storage temperatures of sterile canned meat products
should not be above 21.1°C, because higher
temperatures markedly accelerate deterioration during
storage, thus limiting shelf life.
Can materials
For canning the various materials used are tin, steel, plastic
and glass containers with metal closures. Although the
wide variety of containers for canned foods, the metal
ones are preferred because:
1) It has a high conductivity of heat. 2) It cannot easily be
broken.
3) Being opaque, so any possible bad effects of light on
food stuffs are avoided.
4) Be able to withstand the stresses imposed during
thermal processing and cooling.
5) Be able to withstand the subsequent handling, which
includes transportation, storage and distribution.
Defects in Can
1 Swell: bulging of both can ends by positive internal
pressure due to gas generated by microbial or chemical
activity. Either hard or soft swell.
2 Flipper: a can with normal appearance but one end flips
out when the can is struck against a solid object but
snaps back to the normal under light pressure.
3 Springer: a can bulged from one end which if forced
back into normal position, the opposite end bulges.
4 Leakage: perforated can.
5 Overfilled can: has convex ends due to overfilling and
not regarded as spoiled
Microbial Spoilage
Advantages of Canning
PACKAGING OF PRODUCTS
Introduction
•Packaging is one of the more important steps in the long
and complicated journey from grower to consumer
•Bags, crates, hampers, baskets, cartons, bulk bins, and
palletized containers are convenient containers for handling,
transporting and marketing fresh produce
•More than 1,500 different types of packages are used for
produce and the number continues to increase as the
industry introduces new packaging materials and concepts
•Packing and packaging materials contribute a significant
cost to the produce industry; therefore it is important that
packers, shippers, buyers, and consumers have a clear
understanding of the wide range of packaging options
available.
Packaging is defined as a mean or system by which a fresh
produce or processed product will reach from the
production centre to ultimate consumer in safe & sound
condition at an affordable price.
Requirements of Packaging
•They must be non-toxic and compatible with the specific
foods
•Sanitary protection
•Moisture and fat protection
•Gas and odour protection
•Light protection
•Resistance to impact
•Transparency
•Tamper proofness
•Ease of opening
•Pouring features
•Reseal features
•Ease of disposal
•Size, shape, weight limitations
•Appearance, printability
•Low cost
•Special features
Function of Packaging
•To assemble the produce into convenient units for
handling
•To protect the produce during storage and marketing
(protection)
Types of packages
Natural materials
i) Wood
• Pallets
• Pallet Bins
• Wire-Bound Crates
• Wooden Crates and Lugs
• Wooden Baskets and Hampers
• Corrugated Fiberboard
ii) Pulp Containers
iii) Paper and Mesh Bags
iv) Plastic Bags
v) Shrink Wrap
vi) Rigid Plastic Packages
vii) Plastic field boxes
Natural materials
Baskets and other traditional containers are made from
bamboo, rattan, straw, palm leaves etc.
Disadvantages:
• They are difficult to clean when contaminated with decay
organisms.
• They lack rigidity and bend out of shape when stacked for
long-distance transport.
• They cause pressure damage when tightly filled.
• They often have sharp edges or splinters causing cut and
puncture damage.
Wood pallet bins
• They are primarily used to move produce from the field
or orchard to the packing house.
• Pallet bin can add up to big problems when several
hundred are stacked together for cooling, ventilation, or
storage. It is also important that stress points be adequately
reinforced.
Wooden crates & lugs
• Once extensively used for apples, stone fruit, and
potatoes have been almost totally replaced by other types of
containers.
• Advances in material handling have reduced their use to a
few specialty items, such as expensive tropical fruit.
Wooden basket & hampers
• Used for a wide variety of crops .They are durable and
nested for efficient transport when empty.
• However, cost, disposal problems, and difficulty in
efficient palletization have severely limited their use to
mostly local grower markets where they may be re-used
many times.
Corrugated fiberboards
• It is manufactured in many different styles and weights.
Because of its relativity low cost and versatility, it is the
dominant produce container material and will probably
remain so in the near future.
• Both cold temperatures and high humidity reduce the
strength of fiberboard containers. Unless the container is
specially treated, moisture absorbed from the surrounding
air and the contents can reduce the strength of the container.
• Cabbage, melons, potatoes, pumpkins, and citrus have all
been shipped successfully in these containers. The container
cost per produce is as little as one fourth of traditional size
containers. Some bulk containers may be collapsed and re-
used.
Pulp containers
Made from recycled paper pulp and a starch binder are
mainly used for small consumer packages of fresh produce.
Pulp containers are available in a large variety of shapes and
sizes and are relatively inexpensive in standard sizes.
• Can absorb surface moisture from the product
• Biodegradable
• Made from recycled materials
• Recyclable.
Paper & mesh bag
 Potatoes and onions are the only produce items now
packed in mesh bags.
 In addition to its low cost, mesh has the advantage of
uninhibited air flow. Good ventilation is particularly
beneficial to onions. Supermarket produce managers like
small mesh bags because they make attractive displays that
stimulate purchases.
 Have several serious disadvantages. Large bags do not
palletize well and small bags do not efficiently fill the
space inside corrugated fiberboard containers. Bags do not
offer protection from rough handling. Mesh bags provide
little protection from light or contaminants.
Plastic bags
• Plastic bags (polyethylene film) are the predominant
material for fruit and vegetable consumer packaging.
• Besides the very low material costs, automated bagging
machines further reduce packing costs. Film bags are clear,
allowing for easy inspection of the contents, and readily
accept high quality graphics.
Shrink wrap
• Shrink wrapping has been used successfully to package
potatoes, sweet potatoes, apples, onions, sweet corn.
• Shrink wrapping with an engineered plastic wrap can
reduce shrinkage, protect the produce from disease, reduce
mechanical damage and provide a good surface for stick-on
labels.
Rigid plastic package
• Packages with a top and bottom that are heat formed
from one or two pieces of plastic are known as clamshells.
• Clamshells are most often used with consumer packs of
high value produce items like small fruit, berries,
mushrooms, etc.
Plastic field boxes
• They are usually made of polyvinyl chloride or
polyethylene.
• They are durables and can last many years. They are
designed in such a way that they can nest inside each other
when empty to facilitate transport.
Intelligent packaging
Package function switches on and off in response to
changing external or internal conditions and communicate
to the consumer about the status of the product
Examples-
1. Breathable polymers
2. Time temperature integrators
Methods of packaging
•Field Packing – products are placed in their shipping
materials during the harvesting process. The filled
containers are then taken to a precooling facility where field
heat is removed. Field packing is a common practice for
strawberries as this method ensures optimal freshness.
•Shed Packing – products are processed and packed indoors
at a central location. Produce is brought in from the field to
the packing shed in field crates, bins or trucks. Products are
precooled at the shed.
•Repacking – products are taken out of one container,
regraded and placed in another. This might often occur at
store or distribution warehouse level, when smaller
containers are required for consumers.
Cost effectiveness of packaging
• The use of packaging represents an added cost in
marketing and the price of the marketed product must
take account of the capital outlay and unit-packaging cost
as well as expected profit.
• To make an exact assessment of the added value is
difficult because many factors may offset the cost of
packaging.
For example:
• Losses should be significantly reduced
• Presentation and quality of the product may make it more
desirable, a competitive advantage.
• Marketable life of the produce may be extended.