The push for non-thermal food processing methods has emerged due to the challenges associated with thermal food processing methods, for instance, high operational costs and alteration of food nutrient components. Non-thermal food processing involves methods where the food materials receive microbiological inactivation without or with little direct application of heat. Besides being well established in scientific literature, research into non-thermal food processing technologies are constantly on the rise as applied to a wide range of food products. Due to such remarkable progress by scientists and researchers, there is need for continuous synthesis of relevant scientific literature for the benefit of all actors in the agro-food value chain, most importantly the food processors, and to supplement existing information. This review, therefore, aimed to provide a technological update on some selected non-thermal food processing methods specifically focused on their operational mechanisms, their effectiveness in preserving various kinds of foods, as revealed by their pros (merits) and cons (demerits). Specifically, pulsed electric field, pulsed light, ultraviolet radiation, high-pressure processing, non-thermal (cold) plasma, ozone treatment, ionizing radiation, and ultrasound were considered. What defines these techniques, their ability to exhibit limited changes in the sensory attributes of food, retain the food nutrient contents, ensure food safety, extend shelf-life, and being eco-friendly were highlighted. Rationalizing the process mechanisms about these specific non-thermal technologies alongside consumer education can help raise awareness prior to any design considerations, improvement of cost-effectiveness, and scaling-up their capacity for industrial-level applications.

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Agriculture is the backbone of Tanzanian economy. It accounts for about one-third of the gross domestic product (GDP), provides 85 percent of all exports and saves as a livelihood to over 80 percent of the total population. Maize is the primary staple crop; it's grown in nearly all agro-ecological zones in the country. Tanzania is a major maize producer in Sub-Saharan Africa. In the last four decades, Tanzania has ranked among the top 25 maize producing countries in the world. In the 2013/14 growing seasons Tanzania produced over half billion metric tons of maize of these maize smallholder farmers produced around 85%. Despite the steady production of maize over the past three decades, post-harvest losses of maize remained significant, up to 30-40 % in some rural areas. Post-harvest handling, poor infrastructure, weather variability, biotic factors such as insects and pests, bacteria, pathogens, viruses, and fungi, often aggravate such losses. Mycotoxin producing fungi pose a major risk. Mycotoxins are toxic secondary metabolites of fungi that frequently contaminate the maize in the field and/or during storage. Mycotoxin contamination of maize poses a health risk to humans and animals if not properly managed. The most important mycotoxins in Tanzania are the aflatoxins, fumonisins and Ochratoxin. The objective of this paper was to review current literature on the production trends, consumption, post-harvest losses, and mycotoxins contamination of maize and to provide strategies to control and prevent postharvest losses and mycotoxins contamination in Tanzania. Agriculture is the backbone of Tanzanian economy. It accounts for about one-third of the gross domestic product (GDP), provides 85 percent of all exports and saves as a livelihood to over 80 percent of the total population. Maize is the primary staple crop; it's grown in nearly all agro-ecological zones in the country. Tanzania is a major maize producer in Sub-Saharan Africa. In the last four decades, Tanzania has ranked among the top 25 maize producing countries in the world. In the 2013/14 growing seasons Tanzania produced over half billion metric tons of maize of these maize smallholder farmers produced around 85%. Despite the steady production of maize over the past three decades, post-harvest losses of maize remained significant, up to 30-40 % in some rural areas. Post-harvest handling, poor infrastructure, weather variability, biotic factors such as insects and pests, bacteria, pathogens, viruses, and fungi, often aggravate such losses. Mycotoxin producing fungi pose a major risk. Mycotoxins are toxic secondary metabolites of fungi that frequently contaminate the maize in the field and/or during storage. Mycotoxin contamination of maize poses a health risk to humans and animals if not properly managed. The most important mycotoxins in Tanzania are the aflatoxins, fumonisins and Ochratoxin. The objective of this paper was to review current literature on the production trends, consumption, post-harvest losses, and mycotoxins contamination of mai...

Abstract.The knowledge of physical and thermal properties in cereals, grains, and oilseeds establishes an essential engineering tool for the design of equipment, storage structures, and processes. The physical properties and thermal properties for Chia, Kañiwa, Farro, and Triticale grains were investigated at three levels of moisture content: 10%, 15%, and 20% (d.b.). Physical properties included 1000-seed weight, dimensions, mean diameters, surface area, volume, sphericity, and aspect ratio. Results indicated 1000-seed weight increased linearly with moisture content from 2.0 to 3.5 g for chia, 2.5 to 4.0 g for kañiwa, 42.7 to 48.3 g for farro, and 51.0 to 53.7 g for triticale. The porosity for farro and triticale increased from 38.71% to 44.1%, 40.37% to 44.65%, respectively, as moisture increased. Angle of repose increased as moisture content increased, as did values of L, a*, and b* for all grains. Thermal properties of kañiwa, farro, and triticale showed high correlation to moisture content. A negative relationship was observed for the specific heat capacity and thermal conductivity, while the thermal diffusivity had a positive linear increase trend with moisture content. This study showed that physical and thermal properties varied from grain to grain as a function of moisture content, and these data will be useful for future application development. Keywords: Chia, Farro, Grains, Kañiwa, Moisture, Physical properties, Thermal properties, Triticale.

The worldwide decline and overexploitation of ocean fisheries stocks had provided an incentive for the rapid growth of aquaculture. The aquaculture industry has been recognized as the fastest-growing food production system globally, with a 10% increase in production per year and is one of the most reliable and sustainable growth markets for manufactured feeds. Extrusion technology has been extensively used in the modern aquatic feed manufacturing, due to nutritional, physical properties improvements and cost effectiveness of feeds. Cost related to aquatic feed remains the biggest challenge, especially for small-scale producers. In order to understand costs and potential breakeven points, a single screw extruder and three different production scenarios (0.2, 2 and 20 t/day) throughput were used to develop techno-economic models for small-scale producers of extruded aquatic feeds. The results show annualized capital costs decreased as production capacity increased. Thus, aquatic feed producers could use this tool to evaluate annual costs and benefits to determine processing economics. Producers will have to consider the ingredients used, though, as raw ingredients constitute the greatest cost for the production of feeds.

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