MODERN
METHODS OF FOOD STORAGE
Food
can be stored in different ways which can be categorized in traditional way or
modern ways in this article we are going to see how can food be stored in
modern ways.
Food
spoilage can be explained as any change that causes the food to be unprofitable
to human consumptions and this condition can be cause by the poor storage of the
food which can lead to the contamination of the food by microorganism, the food
to be infected by insects or by certain type of enzymes.
But
also both physical and chemical changes of plant tissues or animal tissues may
promote food storage for instance an animal meat or food obtained from plants
if not well preserved they begin to spoil soon after being harvested
REFRIGERATION
This
is the process of temporary store food at low temperature of up to 4C in order
to slow down the growth of microorganisms also the process refrigeration can be
done in refrigerator or cold rooms where heat is slowly changed from low
temperature to high in order to preserve the food,
At
low temperature, most of the microorganism can’t grow and increase in number but
also the enzymes that causes the rotting of the food cannot function quickly at
low temperature, hence slow down the rate of the destruction of the food, for
those who has no refrigerator can also use ice boxes with ice for cooling of
the food but this can’t sustain for a very long time
at
low temperature Food that can be refrigerated include milk, fresh fruit and
vegetables, juice and butter
FREEZING
Freezing
involves storing food at very low temperature (below -10C) in order to stop the
growth of microorganism, food is frozen in freezers, this can be a long term
food preservation method, the bacterial cannot function well at a very lower
temperature and cause the food to stay safe for a long period of time, foods
that can be frozen include poultry, fish and meat
Most
of the soft drinks concentrates like orange squash which have much sugar amount
are also prepared based on this principle.
PASTEURIZATION
This
method of preservation was named after its inventor, LOUIS PASTEUR, it involves
heating food to very high temperatures for a short time in order to kill
microorganism that can cause food spoilage, In the market, generally milk is
sold after the pasteurization has been done to maintain the nutrient contents
and the flavor, examples of foods that can be pasteurized are milk and fruit
juice
LIQUEFACTION
This
method involves the making of liquids from solid foods, it is mostly applied to
fruits whereby juice is made out of them, the juice is then pasteurized and put
into cans or containers, other foods products can also be put into cans or
container for example meat, butter, blue band, tomatoes and so on
Once
the food is preserved into the container it reduces the change of the food to
be contaminated by the microorganism or bacterial and causing the food to rot,
this method can help the food to remain for long time without going bad
Once
the fruits are made in juice and put into cans or container then can be put in
the fridge or freezer to lower its temperature this make it more efficiency when
it comes to preserve the food
CUNNING
AND BOTTLING
In
this method, food is preserved by heating it in airtight vacuum sealed bottles
or cans, first the container is filled with food then the air is pumped out to
form a vacuum, this make it impossible for the microorganism to survive
The
container is sealed and heated to kill microorganism and enzymes, but not
enough to overcook the food
Food
that can be bottled or canned include tomatoes, fruits and fruit juices, beef,
fish and baked beans, bottled and canned foods can be kept for months or even
years
USING
ADDITIVES
Chemicals
such as sodium benzoate, sodium chloride and vinegar are added to food to slow
down the growth of microorganisms, this is commonly done to preserve fish and
mean
DRYING(DEHYDRATION)
Food
is dried using either hot blasts of air form a vacuum dryer or freezer after
drying the food is then sealed in moisture proof containers
The
drying of the food helps to kill all the microorganism and hence leave the food
to be safe after a long period of time, microorganism can’t stay alive in a
very dry place for long time, hence this is one of the best way to preserve the
food from spoil
IRRADIATION
The
food can be exposed to ionizing radiation either as β- particles or γ- rays.
The radiation is capable of killing bacteria, molds and
pests
among others, irradiation uses rays of energy to stop growth of microorganisms
in stored foodstuffs for example in onions, beans or potatoes, this makes foods
last longer, it also prevents sprouting in onions and potatoes
advantage of using modern ways to
preserve the food
long
time duration
the
food that has been stored using the modern preservation methods can remain safe
for a very long time because it ensures that the microorganism will not be able
to survive in such condition for example the freezer allow the food to freeze
at very low temperature below - 4C which make it impossible for any bacterial
to function
disadvantage of using modern ways of
food preservation
very
expensive
the
modern methods of food preservation cannot be used by the people in the
villages since there are some tools that may need to be bought for example a
freezer is expensive, using irradiation ways to preserve the food you will need
that technology in order to accomplish this
FINAL THOUGHTS
Modern way of preserving the food has become
the best one now days, people who are still using traditional way to preserve
the food a very rare but however there is still big cost in using modern way to
store food compared to traditional ways which are cheap.