Abstract:
Importance of minimally processed fruits has already attained a very stable
position in the market. Fresh-cut products are preferred over processed one
because consumers are now aware of the commonly nutritional losses, desired
sensory attributes such as colour and flavour and increased demand for „natural-
like‟ attributes. The cut fruits are also used in preparation of chips, dry products
salads and a wide variety of products. But the cutting of fruits and other
vegetables were done manually which was found to be a difficult job at the same
time affected the quality and uniformity of the products. Thus, the need of the
hour was to develop a multi-fruit slicer cum dicer which could minimise all the
mentioned problems. The fruits to be sliced or diced were fed into the machine
using a belt conveyor towards the blade drums. The conveying drums properly
guided the fruits into the blade. Later, the slices and dices could be collected from
the collecting tray. The capacity of the machine was 25 kg/hr and could be used
very easily by common people.
