The unit operation blanching was introduced to the desiccated coconut production process to ensure the
destruction of pathogenic bacteria. However, research has shown that even after introducing the
blanching process, certain bacteria are able to survive. As a result, incorporation of DC into other food
products without additional treatment can be of significant risk. Steam sterilization is a proven thermal
processing method in food industry. Therefore it could be introduced into the DC production process in
place of hot water blanching.
Further, one of the main problems of the DC production process is the generation of large quantity of
waste water due to discharge of coconut sap, blanching operations and equipment washing processes.
