A seminar and demonstration event was successfully held at UC Davis to disseminate a sustainable IR dry-peeling technology for fruits and vegetables. The new technology was developed by the research team led by Dr. Zhongli Pan of the Healthy Processed Foods Research Unit of USDA-ARS and Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, UC Davis. It eliminates the uses of water and chemicals and generation of wastewater in peeling of fruits and vegetables. The research project was supported by the Specialty Crop Block Grant from the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) and California League of Food Processors (CLFP). The representatives from CLFP, fruit and vegetable processors, and food processing equipment manufacturers attended the event. The peeling demonstration was conducted by using a newly developed pilot scale IR heating system to peel tomatoes and pears. The IR dry-peeling technology showed much better peeling performance and produced much firmer products without using water/steam and chemicals compared to the current hot lye and steam peeling. It serves as an urgently needed alternative for reducing the negative environmental impact and need in water in the food industry.
