Drying Fruits

Drying Fruits and Vegetables

Food drying is one of the oldest methods of preserving food for later use. It can either be an alternative to canning or freezing, or compliment these methods. Some fruits and vegetables suitable for drying include grapes, apples, pears, peaches, plums, apricots, bananas, cantaloupe, strawberries, blueberries, carrots, celery, corn, green beans, potatoes, and tomatoes.

How Drying Preserves Fruits and Vegetables?

Drying removes the moisture from Fruits and Vegetables so bacteria, yeast and mold cannot grow and spoil the food. Drying also slows down the action of enzymes (naturally occurring substances which cause foods to ripen), but does not inactivate them. Because drying removes moisture, fruits and vegetables becomes smaller and lighter in weight. Fruits and vegetables can be dried in the sun, in an oven or in a food dehydrator by using the right combination of warm temperatures, low humidity and air current. In drying, warm temperatures cause the moisture to evaporate. Low humidity allows moisture to move quickly from the food to the air. Air current speeds up drying by moving the surrounding moist air away from the food.

How exactly does humidity affect product such as fruits and vegetables?

Relative humidity affects fruits and vegetables in numerous ways. To better understand this phenomenon, you must first look at the way in which humidity works. When there’s a high concentration of water vapor in the air, objects in the surrounding environment become saturated with moisture. On the other hand, environments with low humidity will sap the moisture from surrounding objects. This phenomenon is nature’s own way of balancing the environment.

It is necessary to use effective packing method to ensure that drying fruits and vegetables are not absorbed moisture during the storage and transportation. To prevent these life-threatening conditions, keeping moisture levels in check is important. If the packaging has a leak, moisture poses a high risk, especially for dry products such as dried fruits and vegetables because it enables mold growth and accelerates the process of food spoilage. dried fruits and vegetables also run the risk of being affected by moisture, as flavors tend to evaporate more readily in humid climates.

Using Sandry desiccant to preserve dried fruits and vegetables

Moisture content plays a significant role in establishing proper conditions for the preservation, storability, packaging and shipping of food products. Drying nuts and seeds yields a deliciously crispy, raw, and nutritious snack. Now, if fruits and vegetables are stored in an environment with high humidity, they may absorb moisture and thereby lost crispness. Moreover, microorganisms often grow in environments with high humidity, so reducing the humidity will help inhibit microbial growth. Properly stored, dried fruits and vegetables can be stored for much longer periods.

Using the Sandry desiccant to preserve dried fruit and vegetable products is very effective. The Sandry desiccant will absorb the moisture in the package, making the product dry.If vegetables are dried to a very low moisture content (1-3% for vegetables, 5-7% for fruits) and stored in a tight glass or plastic container with desiccant, the storage time can be extended.

Desiccant

Application - Food

MAJOR CAUSES OF FOOD DETERIORATION

Oxygen absorb

Picture 1: Preservative nut, jam fruit by Oxygen Absorber

All food changes over time. Food does eventually become harmful or unpleasant to eat. Milk going so, fruit becoming mouldy and meat becoming putrid which can cause food poisoning.

Bacteria

Growth and activities of micro-organisms, principally bacteria, yeasts, and molds spoil food by growing in the food and producing substances which alter colour, texture and odour of the food, making it unfit for human consumption.

Oxidation

Oxidation, a common cause of food spoilage, changes the composition of food, especially fat and vitamin C. Oxygen from the air can oxidize unsaturated fats producing objectionable flavors and colors. Natural pigments such as chlorophyll and carotenoids change their colors, which is promoted by light and heat. Besides, oxygen provides a favorable environment development for aerobic bacteria.

Humidity

When the air humidity is higher than 10%, it will facilitate the growth of microorganisms, especially decaying bacteria and fungi. Not only that, it also absorbed into the food that changes the state and structure of the food.

Moisture in inappropriate amounts and places is damaging to food. Because of this, much effort is put into reducing the water content of dry foods in order to prolong their shelf lives. Once it is reduced to the desired level the product can then be packaged for storage.

Other factors: temperature, light, mechanical impacts, etc

APPLICATION
SANDRY® OXYGEN ABSORBER

The main constituent of SANDRY® is a specially treated iron powder. SANDRY® is capable of absorbing or eliminating oxygen within a sealed container to make oxygen concentrations in the packaging approximately equal to zero (about 0.2% or less). It creates an oxygen-free condition, which helps prevent food deterioration and reduce the damage caused by oxidation. As a result, food is better preserved, or in other words, it's good tastes and freshness are still retained. Moreover, using SANDRY® helps retain the nutrition content of the original product for long periods of time.

SANDRY® MOISTURE ABSORBER

SANDRY® moisture absorber is simple to use. It preserves the freshness of your products and prolongs their self-life.

Oxygen Absorber

Dried fruits and vegetables are considered as best source of essential nutrients as they provide protein, fatty acids, potassium, dietary fibers and bioactive compounds. They also provide benefits to human health by reducing the chances of obesity, cardiovascular illnesses as well as they overcome the possibilities of diabetes. Dried fruits and vegetables have high shelf life as compared to fresh fruits so they are best alternative of fresh fruits for long time usage.

Dried fruits and vegetables are susceptible products for mold contamination and growth, and consequent mycotoxin production. Numerous studies revealed high incidences or high levels of contamination of these products with mycotoxins.

The Anti mold protect dried fruits and vegetables from insect damage and extend the shelf life by preventing mold growth which eliminates the need for additives like BHA, BHT, and sorbates, etc. The Anti mold is non-toxic, which is good to know, as it is in direct-contact with our food!

Why use anti mold?

The increasing societal demand for less processed and more natural food products, while conserving those products’ quality, safety, and shelf-life has raised the question of chemical preservative replacement. Using anti mold for dried fruits and vegetables are natural alternatives of interest for use in food as tools to fight fungal spoilage and to answer consumer demands and legislation. Anti mold has the potential to fill a substantial gap in today’s technologies that are used to ensure food safety.

The anti mold suppresses mold generation and maintains moisture in food by controlling air quality inside packaging. The sachet includes ethanol absorbed into iron powder and emits evaporated gaseous ethanol. Moreover, the anti mold are used to remove oxygen from a container. This does nothing to help control moisture, but it simply removes the oxygen.

How store dried fruits and vegetables?

Dried fruits vegetables need to be properly packaged to prevent reabsorption of moisture and microbial deterioration. Pack food in clean, dry, airtight containers. Store packaged dried fruit in a dry, cool location away from light.

Because an anti mold is not reusable and is useless if left open to the environment, they are not meant for containers you get into constantly. They are for long-term storage.

Anti mold for dried fruits and vegetables

Anti mold is used to remove oxygen from sealed dried fruits vegetables pouch to create oxygen free condition for long-term food storage.

These anti mold sachets protects your dried fruits and vegetables from:

- Insect damage and

- Preserve product quality

When used with proper packaging and sealing, the oxygen in the packaging is greatly reduced. Our anti mold sachets bring the oxygen level down reliably to 0.01% or less.