fruits and vegetables

• primary processing prepares raw foods (straight from being picked, harvested or slaughtered) so theyre ready to either be eaten or cooked immediately or used as ingredients to make other food products
• primary stages of processing include transporting food from its point of origin, as well as cleaning, sorting milling etc
• pits are removed from fruit eg peaches and cherries
• fruits are squeezed for fruit juices or dried, eg grapes are sun dried to make raisins
• fruits and vegetables are washed with water to remove dirt, insects and chemical sprays
• fruits and vegetables are sorted into different sizes and shapes
• fruits and seeds are crushed or pressed to extract oils eg olive oil
• washing might be the first primary stage of processing eg when preparing a bag of fruit
• theres lots of fibre in the skin of a potato - peeling the skin removes the important source of fibre