Chapter Two - Canned Citrus Processing

Abstract

In the past century, canned foods have become popular in the international market because they are easy to carry, convenient to eat, and have a long shelf life. Since the 1980s, more than 45million tons of canned food were produced worldwide, and more than half of those cans contained fruits and vegetables. China exports more than 10million tons of canned fruits and vegetables, which are worth approximately 12billion US dollars. With the development of science and technology, new characteristics that improve the canning industry have emerged. The entire canning procedure has become automated. New techniques allow continuous production of canned products, and improved packing materials promote the safe consumption of the canned products. In addition, material storage is optimized, the pattern of canned products are transferred from general to specialized production, and the separation between empty can manufacturing and canned product preparation greatly improves production efficiency. Applying biological enzymes and fast freezing technology to the citrus slices as well as other modern techniques allows low energy consumption and less waste discharge in the canned product industry, as well as environment protection.