ABSTRACT
Vitamins are essential to provide support to healthy and regular physiologic functions of body. They are responsible in various ways such as to help growth of body, well functioning of various body systems, metabolic processes, proper cell functioning, etc. Long-term vitamin deficiency can cause several diseases such as scurvy, skin disorders, rickets, anemia, and many more. In this chapter, the effects of different processing techniques (viz., freezing, canning, and nonthermal processing), cooking, and storage condition on vitamin housed by fruits and vegetables (FAV) has been discussed. Stored foods are mostly affected by (1) rise in temperature; (2) oxygen level; and (3) increase in concentration of reactants. Additionally this chapter explores the role of nonthermal processing in reducing enzymatic activity and inactivation of microorganism. This chapter also deals with degradation mechanism and precaution measures to be followed during processing of FAV for maximum retention of vitamins.
