Graduation date: 1954

Graduation date: 1953

Graduation date: 1942

Graduation date: 1991

Presented as Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1934. / Consists of two articles reprinted from Journal of bacteriology, vol. 29, no. 2 (Feb. 1935), p. 173-187, 189-202. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Chicago, 1938. / Reproduced from type-written copy. "Private edition, distributed by the University of Chicago libraries, Chicago, Illinois." Bibliography: p. 74-80.

Th. Ph. D.--Chicago--University of Chicago, 1938. / Bibliogr. p. 74-80.

The purpose of the study is to investigate the competitiveness of the South African deciduous fruit canning industry in the global canned fruit market. The study was done in the Western Cape Province, the province where the deciduous fruit is produced and canned in South Africa. Both local and international literature on the deciduous fruit canning industries was used as part of the analysis. In addition to this, a variety of methods and techniques including descriptive, theoretical, analytical and quantitative were applied. These include: The Balassa’s Revealed Comparative Trade Advantage method, which was used to calculate the competitiveness indices of various canned deciduous fruit products. Time series data on South African and global canned deciduous fruit imports and exports was also used to calculate the competitiveness indices using the RTA method and Excel software. A structured questionnaire was used to collect both qualitative and quantitative data from an array of expert views from key industry stakeholders. These key informants included Chief Executive Officers of various companies and organisations in the fruit canning industry. Data collected was analysed using Excel spread sheet programme, SPSS and the Porter methodology. The competitiveness analysis of this study clearly pointed out that EU subsidies but not SPS conditions, definitely disadvantage the South African fruit canning industry and negatively affect its competitiveness in the EU market. However, it was revealed that the South African deciduous fruit canning industry is competitive on: <ul>(a) labour costs - Being a labour intensive country, South Africa’s labour cost is amongst the lowest when compared with other countries that compete in the EU fruit canning market. (b) product quality - The South African deciduous fruit canning industry has positioned itself world-wide to be the supplier of premium quality and premium priced canned deciduous fruit products. The industry’s second biggest market, Japan, demands mostly premium products, and South Africa is a key player in that market. </ul> Respondents differed in opinion in almost all variables, with the exception of two variables. All respondents viewed starting a new business in the industry is extremely difficult and the trust in the honesty of politicians is very low. <ul> There are variables where 90 percent of all respondents agreed, and these are: (a) The South African fruit canning companies are rated as having the world’s most stringent regulatory standards. (b) Entry to the local market by new competitors at the fruit canning stage of the value chain almost never occurs. (c) The administrative regulations in South Africa are burdensome. (d) Crime in South Africa imposes a significant cost to companies. (e) Companies’ approach to human resources is to invest heavily to attract, train and retain staff. </ul> Due to the nature of the methodology used and varying results that came out, it is difficult for the industry’s competitiveness position to be articulated in one sentence. Copyright / Dissertation (MInstAgrar)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Development / unrestricted

Thesis (M. Sc. (Agronomy)) -- University of Limpopo, 2021 / Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp) is an important annual leguminous crop grown in arid and semi-arid areas in Sub Saharan Africa. Most of the cowpea production in South Africa is mainly used for domestic consumption and, as seed for planting and little gets to be used in food processing, thus, there is a need to expand the utilization of cowpea through food processing. This study aimed to evaluate cowpea genotypes for phenotypic and canning quality traits. Field experiments were conducted at two locations in Limpopo Province, namely Syferkuil Agricultural Experimental Farm and Ga-Molepo village during the 2017/2018 growing season. The field experiment was comprised of 100 cowpea genotypes laid out in an Alpha Lattice Design replicated twice. Cowpea canning analysis was done using tomato puree following ARC-GC in-house method at the Agricultural Research Council-Grain Crops in Potchefstroom, North West Province of South Africa. Collected data on yield was analysed using Genstat 18th edition and XLSTAT 2021.1.1.1081 software for canning quality data. The results revealed significant differences among the cowpea genotypes based on the number of seeds per pod and 100 seed weight for Syferkuil. Significant differences were also observed among the studied genotypes for 100 seed weight at Ga-Molepo. The highest yield recorded across locations was for genotypes RV 555 (875.4 kg/ha), RV 207 (756,3 kg/ha), RV 439 (694.6 kg/ha) and RV 554 (682.3 kg/ha) respectively. The number of pods per plant recorded a high positive association with pod number per plant and number of seeds per pod. Grain yield of RV 558, RV 556, RV 207, RV 439 and RV 553 was high at Syferkuil and at Ga-Molepo RV 353, RV 194, IT99K-494-6, RV 341 and RV 202 recorded the highest yield. The Principal Component Analysis (PCA) revealed the three most important PCs contributing to a total variation of 76.71%. PC1, PC2, and PC3 contributed 51.01, 13.97 and 11.73%, respectively. For canning ability, out of 79 cowpea canned genotypes, only 11 genotypes were spoiled and had a bad odour. About 68 genotypes were suitable for canning including genotypes that had an excellent appearance without cracks or loose skins and even colour. Furthermore, there was vast variability among the genotypes based on yield and yield components as well as canning quality traits. Genotypes with high grain yield and had canning ability are recommended xi for canning. Data produced from this study will add useful information to the database of the characteristics of these cowpea genotypes.

Master of Science / Food Science Institute / Daniel Y.C. Fung / The process of canning or “commercial sterilization” has been studied for more than two centuries. The first to develop canning as a defense against spoilage was Nicholas Appert also known as the “father of canning.” Appert invented a method of preservation by enclosing food in hermetically sealed containers and then heating containers to boiling temperatures for a specific period of time. The canning preservation method has changed over the years, and continues to change for the better. Technology for retorts, or processing vessels, has grown from the traditional steam heating medium to also include water and steam/water spray heating mediums. The once static vessels, now utilize rotation and shaking motions to decrease process time and in turn increase product quality. The product packaging has also evolved to include not only rigid metal containers, but semi-rigid and flexible plastic containers. The variety of packaging adds greater flexibility to the type of food products that can be produced in a shelf stable manner. Canning or “commercial sterilization” is still used today by the food industry as a method of providing safe food with extended shelf life. Today’s goal of commercial sterilization is to continue to produce safe food products that are high in quality and profitable to produce. A variety of processing equipment is available to accomplish those goals, ranging from a basic steam retort to the newest technology on the market known as Shaka. This new retort technology uses reciprocal agitation to shorten processing times and increase the quality of the final products. Studies have shown that the Shaka process reduces processing times better than 20-fold compared to a still process and better than 10-fold compared to a rotary process. As the field of thermal processing continues to evolve, the challenge will be to consistently produce safe, commercially sterile food that exceeds current quality expectations in a shorter process time while using less energy. Shaka, and other new technologies, will help the food industry meet these challenges and expectations by expanding the current capabilities of thermal processing to meet consumer demands.