IMPROVING QUALITY MANAGEMENT in the MINIMALLY-PROCESSED (MP) FRUITS and VEGETABLES INDUSTRY in Turkey

1. IMPROVING QUALITY MANAGEMENT in the MINIMALLY-PROCESSED (MP) FRUITS and VEGETABLES INDUSTRY in Turkey Assoc.Prof.Dr. Güner ÖZAY Aylin SEYLAM KÜŞÜMLER THEMATIC NETWORK THIRD WORKSHOP

2. MP Fruits and Vegetables • MP fruits and vegetables are fresh, raw fruit or vegetables processed in order to supply a ready-to-eat or ready-to-use product. • Products are packaged in sealed pouches, or in plastic trays pealed with polymeric films. • A shelf life of several days after refrigeration is necessary for feasible transport and retail of final products. • They can be used as ingredients for cooked dishes, but many instances they are consumed raw. THEMATIC NETWORK THIRD WORKSHOP

3. Harvesting and Field Processing Farm markets Raw material Bulk CA/MA/Air Storage at (-1°C to +4 °C) or (+13 °C to 18 °C) Consumer Central processing/preservation, raw or cooked (pasteurization) bulk and/or consumer packaging Refrigerated CA/MA Transportation Distribution to wholesale; CA/MA cold storage, reprocessing cooking, consumer and/or portion size packaging Distribution to retail; cold storage and display Transportation Sale to home Food Service Processing and distribution system for MP fruits and vegetables Cold storage Cold storage Heat Heat Serve Serve THEMATIC NETWORK THIRD WORKSHOP Serve Serve

4. Key requirements for MP fruit & vegetable processing • Good quality raw material • Correct cultivar variety • Correct cultivation • Harvesting and storage conditions • Strict hygiene and good manufacturing practices, use of HACCP principles • Low temperatures during processing • Careful cleaning and/or washing before and after peeling THEMATIC NETWORK THIRD WORKSHOP

5. Key requirements for MP fruit & vegetable processing • Good quality water (sensory, microbiology, pH) for washing • Use of mild additives in washing water for disinfection or the prevention of browning • Gentle peeling • Gentle cutting, slicing and/or shredding • Correct packaging materials and packaging machines • Correct temperature and humidity during distribution and retailing THEMATIC NETWORK THIRD WORKSHOP

6. Critical factors to maintain quality and shelf-life • Using the highest quality raw product • Reducing mechanical damage before processing reducing piece size by tearing or slicing with sharp knives • Rinsing cut surfaces to remove released cellular nutrients and kill microorganisms • Centrifugation to the point of complete water removal or even slight desiccation • Packaging under a slight vacuum • Maintaining storage temperature at 1°C to 2 °C during storage and handling THEMATIC NETWORK THIRD WORKSHOP

7. Strength of Fresh-Produce Industry • Very short shelf-life products require preservation methods that will prolong their shelf-life • Decrease expense and increase hygiene in catering industry • Increased consumer demand in convenient, ready-to-use, ready-to-eat fresh like produce containing only natural ingredients THEMATIC NETWORK THIRD WORKSHOP

8. Weakness of Fresh-Produce Industry • Short shelf-life • New cultivars need to be selected and created or hybrids adapted to meet the requirements of minimal processing • Greater opportunity for contamination by pathogenic organisms • Require good sanitation and cold chain conditions and temperature control • Active packaging films and edible films, as well as more permeable plastic films that better match the respiration activity of fruits and vegetables need to be further developed THEMATIC NETWORK THIRD WORKSHOP

9. MP Fruits and Vegetables in Turkey • Several fruits and vegetables can be used for minimal processing THEMATIC NETWORK THIRD WORKSHOP

10. The fruit and vegetable plants are generally located in the Aegean and Marmara Regions. THEMATIC NETWORK THIRD WORKSHOP

11. Regional Agricultural Output of Turkey THEMATIC NETWORK THIRD WORKSHOP

12. Fruit production values in Turkey (1000 Tonnes) • Source:Republic of Turkey, Prime Ministry State Institute of Statistics (SIS) THEMATIC NETWORK THIRD WORKSHOP

13. Vegetable production values in Turkey (1000 Tonnes) • Source:Republic of Turkey, Prime Ministry State Institute of Statistics (SIS) THEMATIC NETWORK THIRD WORKSHOP

14. MP Fruit and Vegetables • Common minimally processed fruit and vegetables include; • Shredded lettuce and cabbage • Washed and trimmed spinach • Washed and cut leek, carrot • Washed and sliced pumpkin, Jerusalem artichoke • Cauliflower and broccoli florets • Packaged mixed salad, etc. THEMATIC NETWORK THIRD WORKSHOP

15. Number of Factories • In Turkey, although there is not exact data about MP fruit and vegetable producing factory, it is assumed that the amount of them is > 25. • Some companies have specialised in the production of MP fruit and vegetables, whereas others offer these products in their assortment of food products. THEMATIC NETWORK THIRD WORKSHOP

16. Packaging Industry of Turkey • The production of plastic packaging in Turkey stagnated in the early seventies, but since 1980 there has been a rapid growth. • Almost all kind of plastic packaging products such as all bags and sacks, containers, as well as laminated packaging material are produced in Turkey. THEMATIC NETWORK THIRD WORKSHOP

17. Production of Basic Plastic Packaging Raw Materials (Quantity:Tons) Source: Petkim-Petro Kimya Holding A.Ş. THEMATIC NETWORK THIRD WORKSHOP

18. Packaging materials • PVC are primarily used for overwrapping, PP and PE used for bags, are most widely used films. • Multilayered films, often with ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA), can be manufactured with different gas transmission rates. • Products are often packaged under partial vacuum or after flushing with different mixtures of gases. THEMATIC NETWORK THIRD WORKSHOP

19. Packaging Companies • Asaş • Established in 1978, in Ankara • Produced all the known flexible packaging products THEMATIC NETWORK THIRD WORKSHOP

20. Super Film • Established in 1996, in Gaziantep • One of the major BOPP supplier for both domestic and international markets • Capacity is 30 000 ton/year THEMATIC NETWORK THIRD WORKSHOP

21. Korozo • Since 1973, produce flexible packaging in İstanbul • Leading manufacturer in Turkey and internationally respected supplier of flexible packaging materials THEMATIC NETWORK THIRD WORKSHOP

22. Polinas • Established in 1985, in İzmir • Annual capacity 100,000 tonnes • One of the world’s leading manufacturer of BOPP, CPP, MOPP films • In BOPP film production; number 5 in Europe, number 10 in the world THEMATIC NETWORK THIRD WORKSHOP

23. Food Processing/Packaging Machinery and Equipment Industry in Turkey • The Turkish food processing machinery industry produces every kind of machinery and equipment required for food processing industry and all the parts and accessories thereof. • The majority of food processing machinery and equipment manufacturers in Turkey range from small to medium sized companies. • The line of products manufactured by the companies varies substantially from highly automated equipment to manual and basic models. THEMATIC NETWORK THIRD WORKSHOP

24. Food Processing/Packaging Machinery and Equipment Industry in Turkey • Turkish MP fruit and vegetable producers are highly equipped to meet the specifications of end-users such as colour, grade, cut, allowable levels of extraneous matter and bacteria count, moisture content, packaging and storage requirements, etc. • Although there exist some local producers of machines, in some big factories it is preferred to construct the high-technology machines from EU especially. • Some of these foreign companies have representatives in Turkey and they give technical support and training to the personnel in the factories. THEMATIC NETWORK THIRD WORKSHOP

25. Consumer concerns and attitude • Convenience and simplicity are important. • Interest in ready-to-cook and ready-to-eat food is increasing. • More fresh-like, more natural, chilled, ready-to-eat or ready-to-heat foods typically produced in single-serving packages, is the enlarging segment of the market. • The traditional long-shelf life ambient-storage products are also affected by consumer trends. THEMATIC NETWORK THIRD WORKSHOP

26. Human resources skills and education needs • There exits many food engineering, food technology departments in the Universities including programmes on food preservation, packaging, and processing. • There exists some private institutions and little governmental laboratories give technical advice and experimental support to the fruit and vegetable industry. THEMATIC NETWORK THIRD WORKSHOP

27. Legislative and legal matters • Water vapor and gas permeabilities, gas composition within the package and migration from packaging films should be measured and controlled for efficient MP products. • Safety and quality of the MP food should be controlled by laboratories, especially accreditated ones, like TUBITAK-MRC FSTRI laboratories. • Food Factories are subjected to periodical quality checks and audits (once/three months) by the Inspectors from local Municipal Councils/Ministry of Health to ensure that packed foods strictly conform to the specified or approved quality standards. THEMATIC NETWORK THIRD WORKSHOP

28. Legislative and legal matters • In Turkish Food Codex, there exists some regulations about the fruit and vegetables transportation temperatures and controls about temperature fluctuations during transportation and also in storage; like • Labelling, presentation and advertising of foodstuffs for sale to be ultimate consumer • Plastic materials and articles intended to come into contact with foodstuffs • Monitoring of temperatures in the means of transport, warehousing and storage of quick-frozen foodstuffs • Hygiene of foodstuffs THEMATIC NETWORK THIRD WORKSHOP

29. R&D activities about MP Fruit and Vegetables • TUBITAK-MRC FSTRI laboratories with a quite rich machinery park, has the facilities for pilot scale applications for unit processes applied within the fruit and vegetable industry. • Almost all type of foodstuffs including MP fruit and vegetables can be produced at the laboratories. THEMATIC NETWORK THIRD WORKSHOP

30. R&D activities in TUBITAK-MRC FSTRI • Examples of the projects, in addition to fresh CA and MAP applications; • Modified Atmosphere Storage of Peeled Garlic –2001 • Production of Packaged Fresh-Cut Spinach-2002 • Production of Packaged Fresh-Cut Carrot-Leek Mix - 2002 THEMATIC NETWORK THIRD WORKSHOP

31. THANK YOU THEMATIC NETWORK THIRD WORKSHOP