Drum-dried fruit flakes developed
Anew type of snack foods for the health-conscious has been developed by scientists of the Industrial Technology Development Institute of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST).
These are the fruit flakes that are processed by means of drum drying. Drum drying is an effective method of drying liquid, slurry, and pureed food materials. This results in longer shelf life. This technology can dry very viscuous foods and heat-sensitive materials that require short- time low temperature drying. Kitchen staples like cereal, dried fruit, starch, and yeast are some of the products of drum drying.The DOST, through the Industrial Technology Development Institute, developed prototypes of fruit products using drum drying.
The technology can be harnessed by Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to produce healthy drum-dried fruit flakes. Fruit flakes are crunchy
on-the-go food items with the characteristic color, aroma and flavor of the original material. It can be eaten as a healthy snack, or used as food ingredient in other consumer products. The technology has product prototypes from mango, banana and makapuno fruits. Further, it may be used in producing flakes from squid, flavored beef, tinola rice, and pumpkin soup. The drum drying technology is ready for commercialization.