Punjab PSEB Senior Secondary NSQF Food Processing cheat sheet

Food processing converts raw agricultural produce into stable, safe, value-added forms; food manufacturing is the industrial-scale subset using machinery and continuous lines.

India is among the world's largest producers of milk, pulses, wheat, rice, fruit and vegetables; processing levels remain low compared with production, so wastage at farm and mandi level is high.

Sectors: organised (licensed factories), unorganised (household, cottage, halwai), and cooperative (e.g. dairy cooperatives).

Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) runs schemes such as PMFME (micro enterprises), PMKSY (integrated cold chain and agro-processing clusters) and Operation Greens (tomato, onion, potato).

APEDA promotes export of scheduled processed products; MPEDA covers marine products; NABARD provides rural credit; FSSAI is the regulator for food safety, not a promoter.

Value addition chain: primary (cleaning, grading, milling), secondary (oil extraction, canning, freezing), tertiary (ready-to-eat, extrusion, retort pouches).

Cold chain gap and seasonality of produce are the two structural reasons for post-harvest losses; losses are highest in fruits and vegetables.

Food processing contributes roughly a tenth of Indian manufacturing output and is a major employment generator, especially for women in grading and packing.

Macronutrients: carbohydrates 4 kcal/g, protein 4 kcal/g, fat 9 kcal/g, alcohol 7 kcal/g; dietary fibre contributes about 2 kcal/g.

Water activity (aw) is the ratio of vapour pressure of food to pure water; most bacteria need aw above 0.90, most moulds tolerate down to about 0.80, xerophilic moulds to 0.65.

Maillard browning needs a reducing sugar plus an amino group and heat; caramelisation needs sugar plus heat only; both are non-enzymatic.

Enzymatic browning in cut fruit is polyphenol oxidase acting on phenols in presence of oxygen; ascorbic acid, citric acid, blanching or sulphiting inhibit it.

Proteins denature on heating, changing solubility and texture; isoelectric point of casein is pH 4.6, the basis of acid coagulation in paneer and chhana.

Essential amino acids cannot be synthesised by humans; cereals are limiting in lysine, pulses in methionine, so cereal-pulse combinations improve protein quality.

Fat oxidation (rancidity) is accelerated by light, heat, metals and oxygen; antioxidants such as BHA, BHT, tocopherols and ascorbic acid retard it.

Vitamins: fat-soluble A, D, E, K are heat-stable but oxidation-sensitive; water-soluble B-complex and C leach into cooking water and are destroyed by heat and alkali.

Bacterial growth curve phases: lag, log (exponential), stationary, death; preservation targets the log phase by extending lag or lowering growth rate.

Cardinal temperatures: psychrotrophs grow near 0-7 C, mesophiles 20-45 C, thermophiles 45-65 C; refrigeration selects for psychrotrophic spoilage organisms.

pH classes: acid foods pH 4.6 or below, acidified and low-acid foods above 4.6; Clostridium botulinum will not grow and produce toxin below pH 4.6.

Spore formers: Bacillus and Clostridium survive boiling; Clostridium botulinum spores need 121 C (F0 3 min) in low-acid canned foods.

Common spoilage: Erwinia and Pseudomonas on vegetables, Botrytis and Penicillium on fruits, Lactobacillus in juices, Bacillus in bread (rope), Aspergillus flavus producing aflatoxin in groundnuts and maize.

Indicator organisms: coliforms and E. coli indicate faecal contamination; standard plate count reflects overall hygiene; yeasts and moulds indicate sugar-rich product spoilage.

Food infection (Salmonella, Listeria) vs intoxication (Staphylococcus aureus toxin, botulinum toxin) vs toxicoinfection (Bacillus cereus) are distinct hazard categories.

Microbial death follows first-order kinetics: D-value is time at a given temperature to reduce population by 90 percent; z-value is temperature change for a tenfold D-value change.

Preservation acts by one or more of: reducing water activity, lowering pH, applying heat, removing oxygen, adding preservatives, irradiation, or low-temperature storage.

Blanching inactivates enzymes and removes tissue gases before freezing or drying; inadequate blanching causes off-flavour and colour loss in frozen vegetables.

Canning: 12D concept for C. botulinum; F0 value of 3 minutes at 121 C is the minimum reference for low-acid canned foods.

Freezing does not sterilise; quick freezing forms small ice crystals, better texture; storage at -18 C or below slows but does not stop enzyme and oxidative changes.

Drying reduces aw; sun drying is cheap but quality-variable; cabinet, tunnel, drum and freeze drying give progressively better quality at higher cost.

Chemical preservatives under FSSAI: permitted classes include benzoic acid, sorbic acid, sulphur dioxide and nitrites, each with product-specific maximum limits.

Irradiation doses: up to 1 kGy for sprout inhibition and insect disinfestation, 1-10 kGy for shelf-life extension, above 10 kGy for sterilisation.

Hurdle technology combines sub-lethal factors (low aw, pH, preservative, chill) so no single factor needs to be severe; used in intermediate-moisture foods.

Size reduction: crushers for coarse solids, hammer and ball mills for fine powders; energy rises sharply as target particle size falls.

Screening and grading use mesh size or density; aspiration separates by aerodynamic drag; magnetic separators remove tramp iron before milling.

Mixing: solid-solid (ribbon blender), solid-liquid (agitator), liquid-liquid (impeller); mixing index measures uniformity.

Heat transfer modes are conduction (solid contact), convection (fluids) and radiation (microwave, infrared); overall heat transfer coefficient U governs equipment sizing.

Evaporation removes water as vapour below boiling under vacuum, protecting heat-sensitive flavours; multiple-effect evaporators reuse vapour to cut steam use.

Drying rate curve has constant-rate and falling-rate periods; critical moisture content marks the transition.

Distillation and solvent extraction separate volatile or soluble components; supercritical CO2 extraction is used for decaffeination and spice oleoresins.

Fluid flow: Reynolds number below 2100 is laminar, above 4000 turbulent; pumps are selected from the system head and flow requirement.

Paddy milling: parboiling (soaking, steaming, drying) gelatinises starch and drives vitamins inward, giving higher head rice recovery and less breakage.

Milling yield terms: brown rice is dehulled paddy; polished rice removes bran and germ, losing thiamine and other B vitamins.

Wheat milling separates endosperm into maida, semolina (suji) and bran; gluten protein quality determines chapati and bread behaviour.

Pulse milling splits cotyledons into dal; pretreatments include oil and water conditioning, and the objective is to minimise broken and powder.

Oil extraction: expeller (mechanical) leaves 5-8 percent oil in cake; solvent extraction with hexane recovers the rest; refining steps are degumming, neutralisation, bleaching and deodorisation.

Antinutritional factors: trypsin inhibitor in soybean, phytic acid in cereals and pulses, lathyrin in khesari dal; heat treatment destroys most heat-labile factors.

Malting: steeping, germination, kilning; germination develops amylase enzymes used in brewing and in malted foods.

Extrusion cooking uses high shear and heat to gelatinise starch and texturise protein, producing snacks and soy-based meat analogues.

Fruit juice operations: washing, sorting, extraction, clarification (enzymatic or fining), pasteurisation, filling; cloudy juices skip clarification.

Jam sets at about 65-68 percent soluble solids with pectin and acid at pH around 3.0-3.3; too little acid or pectin gives a runny gel.

Squash and cordial use preservative (sulphur dioxide or benzoic acid) with minimum fruit juice content prescribed by FSSAI standards.

Dehydration of vegetables uses sulphiting for colour retention in potato and cabbage; rehydration ratio is a quality index of dried product.

Tomato products: paste, puree, ketchup; total soluble solids and consistency (Bostwick) are key quality measures.

Tea processing: withering, rolling, fermentation (for black tea), drying; green tea skips fermentation by enzyme inactivation.

Coffee: dry and wet processing; roasting develops aroma via Maillard reactions; instant coffee uses extraction and spray or freeze drying.

Minimal processing of fresh-cut produce needs low temperature, modified atmosphere and anti-browning dips; shelf life is short.

Milk composition (cow): about 87 percent water, 3.4 percent protein, 3.6 percent fat, 4.8 percent lactose; buffalo milk has higher fat and total solids.

Pasteurisation: 63 C for 30 minutes (LTLT) or 72 C for 15 seconds (HTST); UHT is 135-150 C for 2-4 seconds with aseptic packaging.

Products: cream by centrifugation, butter by churning cream, ghee by clarifying butter, paneer by acid coagulation, cheese by rennet coagulation, yoghurt by Lactobacillus fermentation.

Meat rigor mortis follows slaughter when ATP depletes; conditioning or ageing improves tenderness; pH of normal meat falls to about 5.5.

Meat curing uses salt, nitrite, sugar and smoke; nitrite gives cured colour and inhibits C. botulinum.

Poultry slaughter line: stunning, bleeding, scalding, defeathering, evisceration, chilling; cold chain at 0-4 C is critical.

Fish spoilage begins with autolysis and bacterial action; trimethylamine oxide converts to trimethylamine, giving the fishy odour.

Fish preservation: icing, freezing, canning, salting, drying, smoking; freshness tests include TVB-N, K value and sensory assessment.

FSS Act 2006 created FSSAI; FSSAI issues licences and registration, and sets food standards through regulations including the Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Regulations.

Licence tiers: basic registration for small turnover, state licence for medium, central licence for large or export-oriented units.

HACCP has seven principles: hazard analysis, determine CCPs, set critical limits, monitor, corrective actions, verification, record keeping.

A CCP must be measurable; a critical limit is a value such as 72 C for 15 s, pH 4.6, or a metal detector response.

GMP covers premises, equipment, personnel hygiene and process control; GHP covers cleaning, pest control, water quality and personal hygiene.

Prerequisite programmes (PRPs) must be in place before HACCP; HACCP is built on top of them, not instead of them.

ISO 22000 combines HACCP with management system requirements; ISO 9001 is quality management, not food safety specific.

Recall and traceability: one step back, one step forward records allow withdrawal of a batch; FSSAI mandates traceability for specified categories.

Packaging functions: containment, protection, preservation, information and convenience; primary, secondary and tertiary packaging serve different roles.

Oxygen transmission rate (OTR) and water vapour transmission rate (WVTR) are the key barrier properties; metallised films and aluminium foil give high barrier.

Modified atmosphere packaging lowers oxygen and raises carbon dioxide or nitrogen to slow respiration and microbial growth; vacuum packaging removes oxygen.

Aseptic packaging uses a sterilised package and product, allowing ambient storage of UHT milk and juice in multilayer cartons.

Active packaging interacts with the product (oxygen scavengers, moisture absorbers, antimicrobial films); intelligent packaging indicates condition (time-temperature indicators).

Storage: FIFO and FEFO systems; potatoes and onions need ventilated storage, grains need dry and pest-free godowns with fumigation.

Cold chain segments: farm cooling, refrigerated transport, cold store, retail chiller; any break reduces shelf life and may cause safety failure.

Transport rules: food and non-food must not be carried together; refrigerated vehicles need temperature recorders; FSSAI requires hygienic vehicle conditions.

Project cost = fixed capital (land, building, plant, machinery) plus working capital (raw material, wages, utilities, margin money).

Break-even quantity = fixed cost divided by (selling price per unit minus variable cost per unit); break-even point in value uses contribution ratio.

Contribution margin ratio = (sales minus variable cost) divided by sales; a higher ratio means faster recovery of fixed costs.

Depreciation methods: straight line (cost minus salvage, divided by life) and written-down value (fixed percentage on book value); both affect taxable profit.

Food business licence, GST registration, Udyam registration, FSSAI licence and pollution clearance are common statutory requirements for a food unit.

Marketing mix 4P: product (quality, pack size), price, place (channel), promotion; branding and labelling must comply with FSSAI labelling rules.

Labelling essentials: name of food, ingredients in descending order, net quantity, nutrition information, FSSAI logo and licence number, best-before or use-by date.

Schemes: PMFME credit-linked subsidy, PMKSY, Mudra loans and state-level capital subsidy support small food processing units.

Sampling must be representative: use a sampling thief or quartering for grains and powders; label every sample with product, batch, date and analyst.

Moisture is determined by oven drying at 105 C to constant weight; protein by Kjeldahl (digestion, distillation, titration); fat by Soxhlet extraction with petroleum ether.

Titratable acidity uses standard alkali and phenolphthalein; total soluble solids are read on a refractometer corrected to 20 C.

pH meter calibration uses pH 4.0 and 7.0 buffers; a dirty or uncalibrated electrode gives drifting readings.

Chemical hazards in the lab include corrosive acids and bases, flammable solvents and toxic reagents; work in a fume hood and use personal protective equipment.

Never pipette by mouth; add acid to water, not water to acid; keep a spill kit and eyewash accessible.

Microbiology practice: sterilise media in an autoclave at 121 C for 15 minutes; work near a flame or in a laminar flow hood; disinfect the bench before and after.

Workplace safety: machine guards, lockout-tagout before cleaning, no loose clothing near rotating shafts, and knowledge of fire extinguisher classes (A, B, C, D).