Development and performance evaluation of hand-operated mango seed decorticator.

Mango seed kernel, a by-product of mango fruit can be consumed as the safe food if properly processed. A hand operated mango seed decorticator was developed to substitute the unhygienic and unsafe existing method. The device consisted of four major sections such as frame support, feeding unit, sliding unit and decorticating unit. Provisions were made to position the seeds inside the seed holder and the splitting blades to penetrate and break open the stony endocarp along the cleavage. The performance of the machine was evaluated and was compared to that of traditional method. The device resulted in higher whole kernel recovery (85.95 ± 1.53%), decortication capacity (1.92 ± 0.04 kg h-1) than traditional method with 58.37 ± 1.76% and 1.10 ± 0.09 kg h-1, respectively. Traditional method incurred higher material loss with broken kernels making them unsafe for consumption if not processed quickly. Statistical analysis also indicated that the efficacy of traditional method was dependent on personal skill as there was operational variability in the data set with higher coefficient of variation. Therefore, the developed mango seed decorticator is expected to assist in utilization of mango kernel as safe food as well as to reduce the drudgery of the operation. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13197-021-05256-5.

Isolation, characterization, modification and uses of taro starch: A review.

Taro is a major root crop utilized widely for diverse food and non-food applications. Taro corms are processed into various forms before consumption, which makes them digestible and palatable, extends the shelf life and reduces post-harvest losses. Taro corm contains starch as the major carbohydrate, accounting up to 70-80% of the whole dry matter. The starches obtained from different cultivars and sources significantly differ in physical, chemical, thermal, morphological, and functional properties, which can be explored for varied applications. Starch quality also controls the end-quality of food and industrial products. Several starch modification methods have been studied to improve its positive attributes and to eliminate deficiencies in its native characteristics. These modification methods, which can be categorised into physical, chemical and enzymatic, have proved to improve the characteristics and applications of starch. This review aims to compile the information about the chemical composition, characterization, isolation and modification methods, with an objective of its increased use in food or non-food industries. In addition, challenges and issues in the small-scale processing of taro are discussed. The information available in this review may help in a better understanding and utilization of taro starch.

Development of a packaging, storage and transportation cabinet for paddy straw mushroom.

Shelf-life of paddy straw mushroom could be extended to 3 days by pre-cooling mushrooms in air at 14 °C for 2 h followed by packing in 75 µ thick high impact polystyrene punnets with 1.2% perforations as primary package and subsequently stored in expanded polystyrene (EPS) cabinet as secondary package. The EPS cabinet has been designed for transportation of mushroom with ice as cooling aid to maintain the optimum storage temperature. Temperature profile inside the cabinet was studied under no-load and full-load condition. The temperature inside the cabinet with 6 kg pre-cooled paddy straw mushroom (packed in 24 number of punnets @ 250 g mushroom per punnet having 1.2% perforations) and 6 kg ice in the partition chamber, was maintained at optimum storage temperature of 15 ± 2 °C (92 ± 1% RH) up to 18 h. Results of the study suggest that the technology could be successfully adopted by the paddy straw mushroom growers and traders for storage, transportation and marketing for loss reduction and higher return.