Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture

Agribusiness Agricultural Health Biotechnology Food safety Inclusion Sustainable development

Key concepts in food processing, product development and general concepts of Food Technology

Tiempo de lectura: 3 mins.

These tutorial-style videos are intended to increase a viewer’s understanding of basic concepts of food science.

Dr. Donald Mercer during the “Mango Worshop” in Antigua and Barbuda

IICA Canada, through its Research and Internship Assistance Program (RIAP), is pleased to present a series of tutorial-style videos on key concepts in food processing, product development and general training topics. 

This initiative was triggered as consequence of feedback received after holding a series of workshops sponsored under IICA’s Canada RIAP program on food processing in the Caribbean. Participants of these workshops expressed the need for on line availability of the videos to allow further dissemination to small scale food processors, students and instructors in educational institutions.

Dr. Don Mercer, Associate Professor at Department of Food Science, University of Guelph, developed the instructional material during his participation in the RIAP. Twenty two videos were produced and grouped into three categories relating to processing activities; food products and training.

Instructional videos were produced in a manner that permit viewers to follow the topic using PowerPoint “slides” with an audio commentary. The complete list of the videos including their duration is shown below:

Processing-related Videos:

  1. Reasons for Processing Foods (18:17)
  2. Blanching of Food and Vegetables (15:59)
  3. Chilling and Freezing (31:09)
  4. Beverage formulation (19:32)
  5. Osmotic Dehydration  (16:21)
  6. Solvent Extraction and Precipitation (15:41)
  7. Tofu Making (16:15)

Product-Related Videos:

  1. Mango Leather Preparation (6:41)
  2. Mango Powder preparation (10:22)
  3. Trail Mix preparation (7:04)
  4. Dried product costing (19:29)
  5. Beverage costing exercise (20:56)
  6. Sugar content of beverages (36:31)
  7. Food Safety , Quality and Spoilage (20:07)

Training-Related Videos:

  1. Dimensional Analysis (20:29)
  2. Moisture Calculations ( wet-dry basics)(20:24)
  3. Pressure and Pressure conversion (31:09)
  4. Density determination (28:26)
  5. Basic Statistics (32:57)
  6. Rate Calculations (31:31)
  7. Mathematical modeling (25:50)
  8. Effects of Temperatures on the Kinetics of Chemical reactions (34:36)

Share

Related news​

Brasilia, Brasil

October 31, 2025

Large number of top government officials from the sector set to attend the 2025 Conference of Ministers of Agriculture of the Americas

Tiempo de lectura: 3mins

Participantes del Foro Panamericano de Bioinsumos realizan una gira técnica en el Centro de Investigación La Selva de AGROSAVIA, conociendo prácticas innovadoras para el desarrollo y aplicación de bioinsumos que promueven una agricultura sostenible en América Latina.

Bogotá, Colombia

October 29, 2025

At a forum organized by IICA and its partners, senior Colombian government officials and specialists emphasized that regional cooperation on bioinputs is key to transforming agriculture in the Americas

More than 200 representatives from 18 countries, plus 47 speakers, came together for the Third Pan-American Bioinputs Forum in Colombia, an event consisting of two days of technical and political dialogue and one day of field visits. It was a reaffirmation of the commitment of the Americas to more sustainable, competitive and science-based agriculture.

Tiempo de lectura: 3mins

Ottawa, Canada

October 29, 2025

“Breaking the Pattern” Event Highlights Women’s Crucial Role in Building Climate-Resilient Agriculture

Tiempo de lectura: 3mins