Food Processing and Spoilage

Food Processing Techniques

Cereal Processing: Common steps include cleaning, hulling, milling, puffing, and fermenting. Cereal processing can improve the taste and nutritional value of the products.
Meat Processing: Involves steps such as butchering, aging, and curing to improve shelf-life, flavour, and safety of meat products.
Fruit and Vegetable Processing: These can be canned, frozen, or converted into jams and jellies to enhance their storage life and convenience.
Dairy Processing: Procedures such as pasteurisation, homogenisation, and fermentation help in making dairy products safe and palatable.

Microbial Spoilage: Caused by the growth of microorganisms like bacteria, yeast, and mould that can make food inedible and unsafe.
Enzymatic Spoilage: Involves changes in food caused by enzymes present in the food, leading to attribute loss, such as browning in cut fruits.
Oxidative Spoilage: Due to oxidative rancidity, this can affect the taste, smell, and appearance of the food, as seen in rancid fats and oils.
Physical Spoilage: Results from physical damage to the food, such as bruising of fruits, leading to accelerated spoilage.

Refrigeration and Freezing: Cold temperatures slow down microbial growth and enzyme activity, delaying spoilage.
Drying: By removing water, drying inhibits microbial growth and slows down enzymatic reactions.
Canning: The heat treatment during canning can kill microbes, and the airtight seal prevents recontamination.
Pickling: The acidic environment created by vinegar or brine inhibits microbial growth.
Sterilization: Involves heat-treatment at high temperatures to kill all types of microorganisms completely, often used for preserving milk and baby foods.

Physical Contamination: Occurs when physical objects, like hair, dirt, or pieces of packaging, get into food.
Chemical Contamination: Occurs when harmful chemicals, like cleaning agents or pesticides, come in contact with food.
Biological Contamination: Caused by harmful microorganisms, such as bacteria, virus, or parasites in the food.
To prevent contamination, key measures include proper hand-washing, using clean equipment, correct storage and cooking at right temperatures.