DEHYDRATION OF FRUITS AND VEGETABLES REPUBLIC OF CYPRUS Dr Panicos Hadjigeorgiou Department of Agriculture

DEHYDRATION OF FRUITS AND VEGETABLES In Cyprus there are no sizeable manufacturing units producing dehydrated fruits and vegetables. There are, however, numerous traditional family size units operating in the areas of agricultural production using traditional methods of drying such as sun-drying on nets, mainly for fruits. There are no units for dehydration of vegetables.

The main crops intended for drying are to a large extend vines and to a lesser extend figs, cherries and apricots. Table 1 shows the area, production and utilisation of the grape variety “Sultana”. The Geographic location of the production is the south-eastern to eastern part of the island in the Limassol and Paphos districts. The harvesting period is in August – September.

TABLE 1 Area, Production and Utilization of grape variety “Sultana”

There is only one small scale factory for the production of raisins located in the Limassol district. Operating since 1985 it employs on average 15 personnel (seasonal) with a yearly production capacity of 300 tonnes The Technology used is old (1980) with no new Technology and machinery acquisition The Product trade mark is “VISANTIA”

Research Institutions Supporting Industrial Curing of Fruits and Vegetables. Agricultural Research Institute, Nicosia, Cyprus A research team at the ARI, comprising one Agricultural Mechanical Engineer and one Post- harvest Physiologist are working on a pilot mechanical drier designed to produce mass- energey transer data useful in the design of industrial scale dessicators. Among the deliverables of the project is the production of dessication curves for various horticultural commodities.

Such curves correlate the drying progress (decreasing fresh weight of product) to the temperature and velocity of air flowing through the dessicator. Energy requirement is correlated to the fresh initial mass of dried products. Other useful data produced include the determination of the drying process´s end point in terms of the final product´ s water activity (a w) vis-à-vis its subsequent shelf- life as well as the final product´s quality characteristics (e.g. color, skin detachment, nutritive value etc).

The mechanical dessicator is monitored through tailor-made software allowing on-line observation of the drying process. Work has so far been conducted on tomato and grapes.

All legislation concerning Fruits and Vegetables are fully harmonised with the EU legislation (Council Reg. E.C. No. 2201/96).