1 week Ago
Ludhiana: In a breakthrough that could revolutionise the preservation of fruits and vegetables, Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) has been granted a patent for its groundbreaking magnetic field-assisted freezing process for horticultural produce. This innovative technology preserves freshness, texture and nutritional quality of fruits and vegetables for an extended duration, at least two months to be precise, without any damage. This marks a significant advancement in post-harvest storage solutions.
The research was led by Mahesh Kumar, additional director research (agricultural engineering), PAU. He said, "One of the properties of water is that when it is frozen, it crystallises and expands. So when fruits and vegetables are kept inside freezers or refrigerated, the water inside fruits and vegetables also crystallises and expands, thereby causing damage to cells and membranes in them, which makes them go bad.
" Citing an example, he said, "For instance, when a tomato is frozen, it turns into a juicy mesh within a short time. Another phenomenon that makes fruits and veggies go bad is the movement of water within them. Water moves from cell to cell due to osmotic pressure, which leads to biochemical reactions, making fruits and vegetables perish.
" On the new technology that works on the dipolar characteristic of water, he said, "When a magnetic field is created around water, it in a way binds water, preventing its movement. In the new technology that we have patented, when a magnetic field is created at low temperatures, it prevents crystallisation of water inside fruits and vegetables, thus preventing cell or membrane damage.".
