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Phase 5 (2012 Deadline)
The Establishment of Fruits and Vegetables Processing Center in the Institute of Food Science and Nutrition, University of Sargodha, Pakistan Mian Nadeem Riaz, Texas A&M University
Sarfraz Hussain, University of Sardodha Project Overview A large portion of fruit and vegetable crops in Pakistan are wasted at the post-harvest stage before they reach market. Technologies for fruit and vegetable processing that convert the produce to high-quality, stable and nutritious products hold the promise to significantly reduce these losses. The overarching goal of the proposed project is to establish a Fruit and Vegetable Processing Center at the University of Sargodha in Pakistan which will serve as a Center of Excellence for Pakistan’s entire fruits and vegetables industry through the development of infrastructure, training and research. Progress Reports 2014: Funds provided for the first year were mostly utilized for the purchase of equipment and machinery to be utilized for graduate student training. Most of this equipment has been ordered or has already arrived, and the majority of the renovation for the Fruit and Vegetable Processing Center has already been completed. The equipment and facility will be valuable in graduate student training. As part of that training, Dr. Hussain recruited nine MS and four PhD. Students to work on this project, and they are being helped by five MS and one PhD. Student under the direction of Dr. Nadeem. Dr. Riaz visited the Institute of Food Science and Nutrition at the University of Sargodha in February and met with the PI and Co- PI from Pakistani side as well as other staff members to discuss project progress and future plans. The funds for the second year will bring opportunities to run the machinery and lab equipment. The training program for the general public has gone well. The Center provided several one day trainings in rural areas, most of which had a female target audience. Participants have been taking keen interest in the training to develop small food businesses and to save postharvest losses of fruits and vegetables. Dr. Sarfraz Hussain attended a one day seminar on post-harvest technology in April in Faisalabad and gave a presentation there on how to increase the post-harvest shelf life of fresh vegetables. He also submitted two articles with colleagues on topics related to this project to the International Journal of Agriculture and Applied Sciences and to the Journal of Agricultural Research.
2015: A “Fruits and Vegetables Processing Lab” and a “Food Analysis Lab” have been established using funding from this project. The masters and Ph.D. students supervised by the PI and Co-PI are conducting research using these facilities. Undergraduate students are also performing experiments/practicums in these labs. The impact of these facilities is that students are getting better research facilities like machinery, equipment, chemicals, glassware and raw materials for their research and the number of publications have been increased since the labs established. One book entitled “Processing of Fruit and Vegetables” has been published as training material, which has been provided to the students and participants of training programs, has valued impact on their skills for processing and preservation of fruits and vegetables. They are now familiar with how to prepare jam, squashes, juices, ketchups, pickles, chutneys and many other products. Two International Seminars at IFSN under this project in collaboration with the U.S. PI at the Institute of Food Science and Nutrition, University of Sargodha were held. Many participants from academia, research organizations, industry and farmers attended the seminars and shared their problems. All the machinery and lab equipment received up till now is installed. About 50 Students enrolled in MSc. Hons. and PhD have started research work using these facilities.
2016: A Sensory Evaluation Lab has been established using funding from this project. The M.Sc. (Hons.) and Ph.D. students supervised by the PI and Co-PI are conducting research using these facilities. Undergraduate students are also performing experiments/practicals in these labs. The impact of these labs is that students are getting better research facilities like machinery, equipment, chemicals, glassware and raw materials for their research and the number of publications has increased since the labs were established. The training program has increased participants' skills for processing and preservation of fruits and vegetables. They are now familiar with how to prepare jam, squashes, juices, ketchups, pickles, chutneys and many other products. About 40 Students enrolled in the M.Sc. (Hons.) and PhD programs have started research work using these facilities.
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