ABSTRACT
Raw materials are processed in the food industry to produce ˜nal products of high quality and acceptable safety levels. They present established harvest times and usually seasonally varied composition. The composition of raw materials (in desirable/utilizable components) and their characteristic properties (geometry, color, susceptibility) may inœuence the quality of ˜nal products; however, proper handling and storage is necessary prior to their use in product manufacture. Raw material handling includes all the necessary activities prior to or between food processes applied by personnel either manually or by means of equipment. Although food processing includes common or speci˜c operations and methods which have been investigated and developed for this purpose, raw materials signi˜cantly affect the production ef˜ciency and cost.
