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TRIMMING, CLEANING AND REMOVAL OF EXCESS MOISTURE
SPECIFIC TRIMMING PROCEDURES

TRIMMING – is the general term for cutting or removing unwanted parts, those likely to
be rejected by consumers, or those that can shorten storage life.
Dehanding – separation of hands and removal of stalks in banana.
Deflowering – removal of the floral or stylar remnants of banana.
Dethorning – removal of thorns in roses.
Topping – trimming of the tops and the vegetative parts of carrot, garlic, onion bulb and radish.
Dehusking – removal of the husk of sweet corn, baby corn and durian.
Desilking – removal of the silk in baby corn and sweet corn.
Detopping – removal of crowns of pineapple fruits.
OBJECTIVES OF TRIMMING
Facilitates handling – it also caters to the demands of the consumer.
 Thorns in most varieties of roses make handling difficult. Their removal is important if
roses are to be sold to flower shops.
 Stalk of the banana bunch – in the process of separating the hands, the detached stalk is
thrown away. Dehanding is best done with a dehanding knife curved to fit the crown as
practiced in the banana packinghouses in Davao, Philippines. In Thailand and Myanmar,
about 10cm of the stalk is retained when dehanding for the local markets. This is also
done in some areas in the Philippines when hands belonging to the same bunch are far
from each other.
 Husk of baby corn – consumers expect that baby corn is already dehusked and desilked.
It also makes them more appealing.
 Crown of pineapple – large pineapple fruits are detopped up to shoulder level with the
use of a knife.
 Wrapper leaves of cabbage – while consumers in the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia and
Malaysia want their cabbage green, Singaporeans prefer cabbage almost white so all
distinctly green leaves are removed.
Reduce likelihood of diseases – if the crop is still marketable, damaged or rotten parts or those
likely to be sources of inoculum should be trimmed right away as in leafy vegetables.
For export or institutional buyers, remnants of floral parts of beans or of banana should be
removed since they usually harbor microorganisms.
Leafy parts of onion and garlic are trimmed up to 2-3cm above the neck. If green tops are not
removed, the bulbs are likely to rot since the tops are succulent. Topping up to the neck leaves
the bulbs open, and thereby accessible to microorganisms. If the bulbs are harvested with dried
tops, the latter need not be removed since the moisture content has reached a relatively low level
before harvest. In this case, topping may be done if consumers prefer so. The dried leaves are
needed if the bulbs are to be braided or bundled.
Minimize damage – pedicels of fruits can cause mechanical damage.
Stub of pineapple should be trimmed down smoothly to less than 6cm below the base of the fruit.
Mango fruits are positioned upside-down after trimming to allow the latex to drip.
The protruding stem of a lanzones bunch is best cut off.
In the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia, one to four wrapper leaves of cabbage are
left for protection depending on the number of times the produce is transferred, the distance of
the market and the transport conditions. The heads are trimmed of the wrapper leaves upon
reaching the market.
Minimize transpiration – the leaves of calamondin (calamansi), radish and carrots are often left
intact to convince customers of the freshness of the produce. However, it is important that these
commodities are sold immediately since the leaves provide greater surface area for transpiration.
Retards sprouting in onion – removal of roots after harvest retards sprouting.
PURPOSES OF CLEANING
 To meet the demands of consumers – cleaning must remove dirt, latex of sapota ( chico ),
banana, mango; chemical residues, mealy bugs on soursop ( guyabano ), sugar apple
(atis), jackfruit, and lanzones; sooty mold on citrus, lanzones; and other extraneous
materials such as leaves and stones.
Delatexing – is called removal of latex
 To render commodity more saleable – clean produce commands a better price than dirty
commodity.
 To reduce microbial load – vegetable crops such as lettuce and bittergourd (ampalaya)
may have high microbial loads of coliforms and parasitic protozoa and helminths which
are worms (Acevedo 2001). Failure to sanitize may allow continued growth and
proliferation of microorganisms leading to decay or becoming a health hazard.
CHOOSING THE CLEANING METHOD

Nature of the commodity – varying surface topography of fruits and vegetables can aid or
prevent attachment of organisms such that produce with more crevices or cracks on surfaces such
as lettuce and strawberry will tend to support higher microbial load (Raiden et al. 2003).
Need for maximum elimination of dirt – the more exacting the market, the more efficient
cleaning is.
Minimum water consumption – where availability and cost of the water is a problem, the
method has to be maximized or other methods are considered.
Prevention of injury – the method should not injure the commodity.
Rate of cleaning output – large enterprises use mechanized methods of cleaning for a more
efficient operation.
Consumer demand – exporters generally demand clean produce so washing is usually practiced
for exported fruits. Local buyers are less strict with the cleanness of the produce that they
purchase.
Presence of latex - in the case of bananas, the common practice is to place fruit hands in water
immediately to coagulate exuded latex.
Type of commodity – the following crops are not washed:
 Onion and garlic – dirt does not stick much due to slippery skin. Outer skin also peels off
after some time in storage.
 Strawberry, mushrooms and florist crops – these are too fragile to wash.
 Potato/ sweet potato before storage – absorption of water will cause sprouting if stored at
high temperatures. These crops can be washed after storage or before sale.
Care in harvesting – if crop does not come in contact with dirt, no cleaning is necessary in
fruits and fruit vegetables.
Season – vegetables, especially leafy vegetables, are harvested dirty during the rainy season so
they are usually washed.
METHODS
Washing – in washing fruits, use water that is not colder than the fruit because the fruit might
take in water. For hot water-treated fruits, the treatment itself takes the place of washing.
However, in large-scale operations, washing the fruit before hot water treatment may be
necessary to prevent the accumulation of dirt and latex in the hot water tank.
 Spray washing – this method makes use of a jet of fresh clean water which comes in
contact with the commodity, reducing risk of infection.
 Soak and rinse – the produce is placed in a soaking tank for a few minutes to loosen dirt,
and then rinsed in a second tank or spray nozzles are used.
Local practice is to use tubs of water, either basins or vertically cut metal or plastic drums.
Another version in rural areas is immersing containers with the commodity in rivers or
irrigation ditches several times. Root crops (ginger, carrots, radish) are washed this way in
areas where tap water is not available.
Wiping – tomato, muskmelon, cucumber, gourds and citrus are generally wiped. Wiping citrus is
primarily for the removal of sooty mold.
Dry brushing - ginger is brushed without using water to remove clods of soil and, in lanzones to
remove mealy bugs and aphids. In durian, small brush (sometimes a broomstick) is used to
remove adhering dirt and insects on the fruit.
Forced air – durian is subjected to pressurized air to remove dirt and insects. Silk in baby corn is
sometimes also removed by forced air.
Removal by hand - soil particles in root crops and silk in baby corn are removed by hand.
WATER ELIMINATION
Water elimination refers to the removal of surface moisture after washing or waxing or when
commodities are harvested wet. It is a more preferable term than drying since the latter connotes
dehydration. It is an important process and is necessary for maintaining the quality of the
produce:
 Moisture on the surface of produce encourages the spread and growth of microorganisms,
hence it should be removed. Where commodities have been sprayed or dipped in
fungicide solution after harvest, the commodities need not be dried before packing as in
bananas, since the fungicide will not allow the growth of fungi.
 Water elimination before fungicide or wax application removes excess surface water,
thereby preventing dilution of the fungicide solution. If no drying is done after washing,
sprayed fungicide is diluted, so a higher concentration of the fungicide is needed. Water
elimination before and after waxing has to be thorough.
METHODS OF WATER ELIMINATION

Drip drying – crops exposed to low relative humidity at 250C or higher need only to be drip-
dried. Place commodities in a slatted rack to allow water to drip off. This is especially
appropriate when relative humidity is low and volumes are small. Moisture evaporates rapidly.
Use of foam rollers and dry heat – produce is passed through a series of foam rollers before
entering a tunnel of dry air. Each foam roller is squeezed dry with a solid roller positioned
underneath which is then wiped dry with a rubber wiper at the bottom.
Dry air in tunnels – produce is passed under a canopy which is equipped with a fan and heater
that blows warm air over the produce. Excess heating of the surface has to be prevented and
should be considered in the design of the drier.
Use of high velocity air – for large volumes of produce in need of fast drying, high velocity air
is blown to the crops. The air supplied may be heated if the temperature is relatively low. In
some operations, heated dry air is brought in through tunnels. Overhead blowers can also be
operated at high velocity to hasten water elimination. Blowers are used for banana, durian and
vapor heat-treated mango. In smaller enterprises, for occasional need, ordinary electric fans are
used.

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TRIMMING, CLEANING AND REMOVAL OF EXCESS MOISTURE

SPECIFIC TRIMMING PROCEDURES

CHOOSING THE CLEANING METHOD

METHODS OF WATER ELIMINATION

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