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Food quality attributes in drying Department of Food Science & Nutrition, Sultan Qaboos University, PO Box-34, Al-Khod 123, Muscat, Oman. Abstract Purpose of review: This article presents an overview and classification of quality attributes of dried food products. Findings: The quality of final dried products depends upon many factors including the raw material, pretreatment, method of processing/drying and processing conditions. The quality of dried products is also influenced by storage conditions such as packaging, use of additives and storage temperature. Directions for future research: A large number of food products are dried in a variety of dryers with diverse process conditions. There is a need to develop simple generic rules/guidelines for optimising the quality of dried food products. Keywords: physical; chemical; microbiological; nutritional quality parameters Stewart Postharvest Review 2006, 2:8 Published online 01 April 2006 DOI: 10.2212/spr.2006.2.8 |