### Characteristics and Methods of Producing Snacks Based on Fruits and Vegetables  
Snacks are most often associated with unhealthy and high-energy products. However, it is difficult to determine the exact impact of snacks on the body because they are different from ordinary meals [1]. There is no single, clearly established definition of a snack. This term can generally be described as eating or drinking food or drinks between main meals. In the related literature, most definitions are based on the time of a day, amount, location of food consumption, its type, and a combination of those factors [6]. Fruit and vegetables are most often used for producing a healthy snack due to the high content of nutrients. Additionally, such raw fruit and vegetables are susceptible to mechanical damage, environmental conditions, and microorganisms, which makes them difficult to keep fresh in this form. In addition, they are available seasonally, therefore all kinds of processing methods are used for producing various forms of snacks with high quality and attractive sensory value [7; 8; 9]. Dried fruit and vegetables in the form of chips, such as apples, strawberries, carrots, tomatoes, and beets account for undoubtedly the simplest form of pro-health snacks. They are not only fat-free products but also low in calories ones. Drying the raw fruit and vegetables to reach low water content results in the achievement of the desired texture characterised by high brittleness and crunchiness, which, for this type of product, is a quality indicator [4; 10]. In addition, reducing the water content concentrates nutrients and allows to obtain a product proving the pro-health value that is higher than fresh fruit or vegetables have [11; 12; 13]. The most common method of producing fruit or vegetable chips is convective drying. [PERSON] and [PERSON] [14] assessed the quality and sensory attractiveness of crisps made from fruit and vegetables for direct consumption. The analysis covered snacks made of banana, pear, celery, and red beet, obtained by impregnating them in sugar solutions (some variants with the addition of spices) and subsequent convective. The sensory analysis has shown that consumers see high potential in such snacks. For all the tested samples, their appearance, taste, and crispness are highly esteemed. It also concluded that celery crisps are the most attractive product according to consumers. [PERSON] [15], on the other hand, assessed the texture of fruit and vegetable snacks available in the market. Apple, strawberry, tomato, pepper, carrot, and beetroot crisps were tested. It was concluded that the tomato crisps had the highest hardness, which could result in the lack of acceptance of the product by consumers. Carrot chips, on the other hand, had the best texture as they had the greatest crispness, which was an important quality indicator for snack products [4; 16; 17; 18]. Due to the course of the freeze-drying process and its main feature, which is the removal of water by passing the liquid phase of the solvent, this process has many advantages, which makes it widely applicable. The main advantage of freeze-drying is that this process allows to remove almost 100% of the water from the dried product or leaves only a small amount of it. Such low water content in products facilitates long-term food preservation [17]. Examining the effect of convective drying and freeze-drying on the colour of fruit has shown that the freeze-drying process made it possible to maintain the colour similar to the original raw product. In the conducted consumer study, the taste, colour, and general quality of the lyophilates were assessed better than the convection-dried product [19]. Analysing the influence of drying methods on the properties of dried Japanese quince chips [PERSON] et al. [12] showed that freeze-drying was the best drying method as compared to the convective drying. The product was characterised by the lowest water activity and content, as well as the lowest colour changes as compared to product.