Kiwifruit peeling by infrared heating technology: Effects of operational parameters on peeling performance

مجله پژوهشهای علوم و صنایع غذایی ایران

Article 8, Volume 14, Issue 4 - Serial Number 52, September and October 2018, Pages 629-644   

Document Type: Research Article

DOI: 10.22067/ifstrj.v14i4.64826

Authors

Zahra Mohammadi¹; Mahdi Kashani-Nejad^{* 1}; Aman Mohammad Ziaiifar¹; Mohammad Ghorbani²

¹Department of Food Process Engineering, Gorgan University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Basij Square, Gorgan, Iran.

²Department of Food Science and Technology, Gorgan University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Basij Square, Gorgan, Iran.

Abstract

Introduction: The commercial lye peeling method used in kiwifruit processing industry is water and energy intensive process and has negative impact on the environment. Infrared (IR) technology has been proposed as an alternative to food processing technologies with attractive merits such as uniform heating, high heat transfer rate, reduced processing time and energy consumption, and improved product quality and safety. However, no previous reports were found on the feasibility of kiwifruit peeling using IR heating technology. Therefore, the goal of this research was to develop a new and sustainable peeling technology for kiwifruit using IR radiation heating.

Materials and methods: A lab scale IR dry-peeling system for kiwifruit was designed and constructed. The system consisted of two major sections including the IR heating and rotating rollers. The rotating kiwifruits (Actinidia deliciosa cv Hayvard) were heated using a ceramic IR element. The effects of IR radiation power (250-850 W), distance between IR emitter and sample (10-70 mm) and heating time (45-125 s) on the peeling performance of kiwifruit were investigated. The lye peeling method including 15% NaOH solution at 95 ͦC for 4 min was selected as a control treatment. The operating parameters of IR peeling were optimized using RSM.

Results and Discussion: The second-order polynomial models predicted by RSM showed a significant fitting (p < 0.0001), and the lack of fit for all fitted models was found to be not significant (p > 0.1105). The validation experiments were in good agreement with the predicted values by the fitted models. The heating with a power of 446 W at the distance of 70 mm for 125 s were found as the optimum operating conditions for kiwifruit IR peeling. The comparison of the peeling performance of kiwifruit peeled by IR and by lye peeling showed that both the IR and lye peeling could produce a satisfactory peelability (> 90%) and ease of peeling (> 4.5) for kiwifruit. The IR peeled kiwi had significantly low weight loss (4.5% vs. 11.7%), surface temperature (64.1 ͦC vs. 95 ͦC) and color difference (2.4 vs. 11.4) and high firmness (57.5 N vs. 40 N) compared to lye peeled treatment. Because the dry-peeling is a chemical- and water- free process, residuals of kiwifruit skins after IR peeling could be easily utilized as value-added by products. Based on the research results, it is concluded that IR dry-peeling has a promising potential for commercialization. This investigation should also help kiwifruit processing industry in developing the environmentally safe IR peeling technique to produce high quality products from kiwifruit.

Keywords

Infrared radiation; kiwi; lye peeling; Response surface methodology

References

امام جمعه، ز. و علاالدینی، ب.، 1384، بهبود شاخص‌های کیفی کیوی خشک شده و فرمولاسیون آن با استفاده از پیش فرایند اسمز، مجله علوم کشاورزی ایران، 36 (6)، 1427-1421.

زکی‌پور ملک آبادی، ا.، حمیدی اصفهانی، ز. و عباسی، س.، 1389، فرمولاسیون لواشک از ضایعات کیوی، نشریه پژوهش‌های علوم و صنایع غذایی ایران، 6 (4)، 270-263.

Bagheri, H., Kashaninejad, M., Ziaiifar, A. M., & Aalami, M. 2016. Novel hybridized infrared-hot air method for roasting of peanut kernels. Innovative Food Science & Emerging Technologies, 37, 106-114.

Goksel, Z. & Atak, A. 2014. Kiwifruit Processing Studies. Paper presented at the VIII International Symposium on Kiwifruit 1096.

Gomez‐Lopez, M., Garcia‐Quiroga, M., Arbones‐Maciñeira, E., Vazquez‐Oderiz, M. L., & Romero‐Rodriguez, M. A. 2014. Comparison of different peeling systems for kiwifruit (Actinidia deliciosa, cv Hayward). International Journal of Food Science and Technology. 49(1): 107-113.

Guldas, M. 2003. Peeling and the physical and chemical properties of kiwi fruit. Journal of food processing and preservation. 27(4): 271-284.

Li, X., Pan, Z., Atungulu, G. G., Zheng, X., Wood, D., & Delwiche, M. 2014 a. Peeling of tomatoes using novel infrared radiation heating technology. Innovative Food Science & Emerging Technologies. 21: 123–130.

Li, X., Zhang, A., Atungulu, G. G., Delwiche, M., Milczarek, R., Wood, D., & Williams, T. 2014 b. Effects of infrared radiation heating on peeling performance and quality attributes of clingstone peaches. LWT - Food Science and Technology. 55: 34-42.

Maskan, M. 2001. Kinetics of colour change of kiwifruits during hot air and microwave drying. Journal of Food Engineering. 48: 169-175.

Pan, Z., Li, X., Bingol, G., McHugh, T. H., & Atungulu, G. 2009. Development of infrared radiation heating method for sustainable tomato peeling. Applied Engineering in Agriculture. 25(6):935–941.

Richardson, R. 2001. Thermal technologies in food processing. Woodhead Publishing, Boca Raton.

Rock, C., Yang, W., Goodrich-Schneider, R., & Feng, H. 2012. Conventional and alternative methods for tomato peeling. Food Engineering Reviews. 4(1): 1-15.

Salehi, F., Kashaninejad, M., Asadi, F., & Najafi, A. 2016. Improvement of quality attributes of sponge cake using infrared dried button mushroom. Journal of food science and technology, 53(3), 1418-1423.

Seyedabadi, M., Kashaninejad, M., Mahoonak, A., & Maghsoudlou, Y. 2016. Effect of ultrafiltration process on quality characteristics of sour orange juice. Journal of Food Science & Technology (2008-8787), 13(52.(

Wang, Y., Li, X., Sun, G., Li, D., & Pan, Z. 2014. A comparison of dynamic properties of processing-tomato peel as affected by hot lye and infrared radiation heating for peeling. Journal of Food Engineering. 126: 27–34.

Wang, B., Venkitasamy, C., Zhang, F., Zhao, L., Khir, R.,& Pan, Z. 2016. Feasibility of jujube peeling using novel infrared radiation heating technology. LWT-Food Science and Technology. 69: 458-467.