Assam HS Skill Food Processing flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Water activity

Ratio of the vapour pressure of water in a food to that of pure water at the same temperature. It predicts microbial growth and chemical stability better than percentage moisture.

Blanching

Mild heat treatment of vegetables or fruit, usually 70-100 degrees Celsius for a few minutes, that inactivates enzymes such as peroxidase and polyphenol oxidase before freezing or drying.

Hurdle technology

Deliberate combination of several mild preservation factors, such as low pH, reduced water activity, chilling and modified atmosphere, so that each hurdle alone need not be severe.

Critical control point

A process step at which control can be applied and is essential to prevent, eliminate or reduce a significant food safety hazard to an acceptable level.

HACCP seven principles

Hazard analysis, determination of critical control points, establishment of critical limits, monitoring, corrective actions, verification, and record keeping. Pre-requisite programmes such as GMP must exist first.

Sanitising versus cleaning

Cleaning removes soil, grease and residues with detergent; sanitising then reduces microorganisms on that clean surface. Sanitising a soiled surface is ineffective because soil shields microbes.

Maillard reaction

Browning between reducing sugars and amino groups of proteins or amino acids on heating. It produces colour and flavour, is favoured by pH above six and intermediate moisture.

Atwater energy factors

Metabolisable energy values used in nutrition labelling: carbohydrate 4 kilocalories per gram, protein 4, fat 9, alcohol 7, and dietary fibre about 2.

Starch gelatinisation

Irreversible swelling and disruption of starch granules in hot water, typically 60-75 degrees Celsius, thickening the mixture; on cooling the starch retrogrades and may release water.

D-value

Decimal reduction time: the heating time at a stated temperature needed to reduce a microbial population by ninety percent, that is by one log cycle.

z-value

The temperature change in degrees Celsius required to change the D-value of a microorganism tenfold. A small z-value means the organism is strongly temperature sensitive.

Freeze-drying

Lyophilisation: water is frozen and then sublimed under vacuum below the triple point, giving a porous product that rehydrates easily and retains aroma and structure.

Irradiation dose ranges

Up to 1 kilogray for sprout inhibition and insect disinfestation, 1-10 kilogray for pathogen and spoilage reduction, and above 10 kilogray for sterilisation. No radioactivity remains.

Lag phase

Initial period of the microbial growth curve in which cells adapt and synthesise components without net increase in number. Its length depends on inoculum history and conditions.

Thermophile and psychrotroph

Thermophiles grow optimally between 45 and 70 degrees Celsius; psychrotrophs grow at refrigeration temperatures and cause spoilage of chilled foods such as Pseudomonas and Listeria.

Flat-sour spoilage

Spoilage of low-acid canned foods by thermophilic Bacillus species that produce acid without gas, so cans remain flat while the contents turn sour.

Indicator organisms

Microorganisms such as coliforms and Escherichia coli whose presence signals faecal contamination or poor processing hygiene rather than causing illness themselves.

Modified atmosphere packaging

Packaging in which the headspace gas is adjusted, usually lowering oxygen to one to five percent and raising carbon dioxide, to slow respiration and microbial growth.

Retort pouch

Flexible laminated pouch, typically aluminium foil with polymer layers, that is heat processed like a can but heats faster because of its thin profile.

Sulphite preservatives

Salts such as sodium metabisulphite that inhibit moulds and enzymatic browning in dried fruit and juices; they must be declared and avoided for sulphite-sensitive consumers.

Degree of milling

The extent to which bran and germ are removed from brown rice. Higher milling gives whiter rice but lower yield and greater loss of thiamine and minerals.

Paneer

Indian acid-coagulated dairy product made by adding citric acid or sour whey to hot milk, then draining and pressing the curd; it is a semi-hard, non-melting cheese.

Jam versus jelly

Jam is made from crushed or comminuted fruit boiled with sugar to about 65 percent soluble solids; jelly is made from clear strained fruit extract and must set firm and transparent.

Kjeldahl protein estimation

Digestion of the sample with sulphuric acid, distillation of ammonia and titration. Crude protein equals nitrogen multiplied by 6.25 for most foods.

Refractometer Brix reading

Optical measurement of soluble solids, mainly sugars, in a solution. It is used to check jam, juice and syrup strength against product standards.

Triangle test

Discrimination sensory test in which panelists receive three coded samples, two identical and one different, and must identify the odd sample.

Plate heat exchanger

Compact heat exchanger of closely spaced corrugated plates giving high heat transfer per unit volume and easy opening for cleaning; suited to milk pasteurisation but not viscous products.

Predictive maintenance

Maintenance scheduled from measured condition indicators such as vibration, oil analysis, thermography and ultrasound, so faults are corrected before breakdown occurs.

Clean-in-place

Automated circulation of detergent and sanitising solutions through equipment at controlled velocity, temperature and contact time, avoiding manual dismantling of pipelines and tanks.

Break-even quantity

Fixed costs divided by contribution per unit, where contribution is selling price minus variable cost per unit. It gives the output at which total revenue equals total cost.

FSSAI central licence

Food business licence required for large manufacturers above the turnover threshold, importers, exporters and certain categories, issued under the Food Safety and Standards Act.

Statutory label elements

Mandatory Indian food label information includes product name, ingredient list, net quantity, nutrition information, veg or non-veg mark, licence number, batch, dates and storage conditions.