Processing Technology, Chemical Composition, Microbial Quality and Health Benefits of Dried Fruits

Abstract

Fresh fruits have high moisture content and deteriorate quickly if not handled properly. Use of storage technologies like refrigeration and controlled atmospheres are very much expensive because of continuous energy requirement throughout the whole supply chain. So, drying of fruits is being utilized to minimize the postharvest losses and provide an ease in storage, transport, and availability through out the year. Fruits in dried form reperesent concentrated form of important nutrients and serve as valuable healthy foods. The routine consumption of dried fruits is advised to achieve the full advantage of their inherent vital nutrients and other bioactive compounds. Fruits are dried by various drying techniques including conventional (solar drying, shade drying) and novel (microwave, infrared, freeze and hybrid drying) drying methods , etc. Drying of fruits using conventional metods such as sun or open‐air drying is time consuming and may lead to the inferior quality along with microbial contamination. Numerous studies have revealed that dried fruits may contain food-borne pathogens including bacteria, yeasts and moulds, which can be responsible for the outbreak of life-threatening diseases. In this review, the drying of fresh fruits by different drying methods, their chemical composition, microbial quality, and health benefits has been discussed.