■The followings are guide to On -the farm processing , which is lacking, resulting in wanton wastages of agricultural produce.

……..@WufasAgronet, we are Food Security ( processing ) Advocates.
✅Earned FAO Top Fan barge
✅Member NAAJ, PAAJ, IFAJ & AFAN.
✅Consultancy Services in Human Capital and Value Chain Development .

CLASSES OF FOODS
-WATER
-BEVERAGES ( Alcoholic & Non alcoholic )
-CEREALS.
-DAIRIES
-DRY MIX
-FRUITS & VEGETABLES.
-ROOTS & TUBERS.
-OILS

●WATER TREATMENT
Foods produced with poor quality water will result in substandard products that won’t stand market competition.
An integrated water treatment equipment incorporates four consecutive operations to produce very high quality water :
— Prefilter : Blocks passage of sand , dirt, rust and other foreign bodies up tp 5micron.
— Carbon Filter : Removes chemicals like industrial solvents, byeproducts of chlorination and chlorine. Eliminates unpleasant taste and odour. The activated carbon bed is shielded with one micron filter.
–Iron Remover : Eliminate dissolved iron in water up to 5 ppm without use of chemicals
— Polishers : Provides additional treatment for the removal of chemicals and reduces TDS (Total Dissolved Solid) in water.
— Ultraviolet Sterilizer : kills or neutralises Bacteria , Virus, Fungi, Algae , Yeast and other living organism in water through exposure to a strong UV light at a wavelength of 254 nanometer.
The serial action of these components allows a triple treatment of water : Mechanical,Chemical and Physical.

BEVERAGE
•Alcoholic beverages are produced through fermentation of sucrose contained in the aqueous solution of the beverage eg Beer or by direct addition of ethanol to the prepared beverages eg Gin, Brandy etc.
• Non-alcoholic beverages are fashioned to imitate fruits, containing water, lemons, sweetening and flavours eg Orange juice, Pineapple juice, Apple juice etc.

CEREALS
These are grains of various sizes and shapes . Consisting morphologically of epicarp, endosperm and the germ.
The Epicarp is the outer layer rich in minerals and other extraneous components , the endosperm is the carbohydrate pack about 75% of the grain, while the germ is the reproductive segment.
— Processing / Milling of Cereals into its flour is commonly done with Wheat,Barley, Sorghum,Maize.
• Noddles Production
Cereal based pasta comes under different names : Spaghetti, macaroni ,pasta etc.
Processing summary -> Pregelling/ hydrolysis -> mixing with other ingredients -fortification ->dough extrusion into shapes and sizes -> resting and conditioning -> drying -> packaging.
— Rice milling removes the epicarp only while the endosperm is boiled for consumption.Classification are Hard grained rice and Soft grained rice eg. Ofada
•Milling of rice involves : Cleaning-> Hulling–> Parboiling–> Pearling (removal of the aleurone layer to give whiteness )- Packaging.
• Maize ( Corn ) Cleaning –> Degerming-> Hulling – >Milling of the endosperm for flour eg Custard .

DAIRY
DAIRIES are milk products into different states of production eg. Set yoghurt, Drinking yoghurt, Stirred yoghurt, Frozen yoghurt, Cottage cheese, Sour cream etc.
PROCESSING
•Set (Greek) yoghurt — is one in which the acidification and coagulation process takes place in the retail container.
As follows -> Milk in clean portable water –> Homogenization -> Heat treatment -> ( 90-95°c in 3-5minutes ) -> Cooling 45°c –>addition of Culture -> filling into container –> Incubation for 6hrs -> blast cooling 30minutes.
•Drinking Yoghurt : Milk solution in clean portable water -> homogenisation -> Heat treatment(90-95°c in 5 minutes )- > Cooling 45°c to acidification-> Addition of culture ->Incubation for 6hrs -> Agitation to smoothness -> Filling -> Cold storage.
• COTTAGE CHEESE : High quality skimmed milk solution pasteurised at 72°c 15sec -> cool @35°c -> cheese cultured -> Rennet –> Incubation -> Curd cutting -> Scalding & packaging.
•FROZEN YOGHURT
Yoghurt -> Icemix structural treatment -> Compression -> Packaging.
•SOUR CREAMS.

DRY MIX
This involves compounding of processed flour with other ingredients eg. Corn flour with colour and flavour eg . Custard powder.

FRUITS AND VEGETABLES
Shelf life of Fruits and vegetables are subject to Temperature control /RH of their respiratory activities . At right the right Relative humidity the water retention of the fruit and vegetables secure drying out. Ensuring freshproducts.
• Tomatoes processing -Cleaning-> -Blending\ Scalding -> Extraction -> Salting-> Pasteurisation -> filling -> Curing Q/C.
• Pineapple products
Processing summary – Sliced- Pineapple fruit is dressed by cutting off the top and bottom and the centre is cored (removal of woody tissue) -> Sliced -> filled into cans -> addition of sugar syrup – sealed pasteurised @98°c for 10mins.
•Pineapple juice –
Pineapple flesh crushed ->core removed -> juice extracted while the flesh is fed into a tank ,water added ensuring maximum extraction ->Sugar syrup added -> pasteurised -> Cooling -Packaging.
• MANGO
Processing summary -> Cleaning -> slice flesh out ->crush with water addition -> preservatives ->packaging -> pasteurised.

ROOTS AND TUBERS
These are Yams, Potatoes, Cassava, Carrots, Ginger etc.
Nigeria is the global largest producer of yam tubers 62%. Large percentage are wasted before marketing due to lack of adequate storage and processing.
•Ginger a veritable source of spices , processing involves drying and milling into powdery form.
•Carrot is seasonal it lacks adequate storage for off season demand.
•Potatoes , processing involves making into fried chips.
• Cassava an economical tuber has many derivatives both domestic and industrial into foods such as Garri, Fufu, Starch etc. While industrial into ethanol, high quality Cassava flour, sweetenérs, bakers yeast etc.

OILS
Oil mills , There are 2 types methods of extraction ▪○Pressing and Solvent extraction or both.
General impurities found in oil are:
— Fat insoluble particles dispersed in oil eg tissue particles, dust,mineral matters.
— Materials held in colloidal suspension eg phosphatides, carbohydrates, nitrogen containing compounds.
— Fat soluble substances eg di glyceride,carotenoids,chlorophyl etc.
Process summary — Storage of seed -> Cleaning ->Mild roast -> Pressing->Crude oil -> Filtration ->Neutralisation -> Centrifugation -> Oil storage -> packaging.

At WufasAgronet, we are Competent and Reliable Food Technologists into Human Capital and Value Chain development consultancy. For Global competitiveness and International best practices.
Email: wufasagronet @ gmail.com