FOOD PRESERVATION

Food preservation is the process of treating and handling food to prevent them from deterioration
and spoilage. It protects the food from unwanted microbial growth.

Deterioration of food results in loss of quality attributes, including flavour, texture, color, and other
sensory property. Nutritional quality is also affected during food deterioration. So, once the food is
deteriorated it cannot be eaten and has to be thrown away.

Food preservation is necessary because:-

1. It prevents and reduce the loss of food in the production system and extend its shelf-life.
And it also helps destruction of pathogenic microorganisms that may cause foodborne
illness.

2. Food preservation increases the safe storage period of foodstuffs.

3. It is useful for seasonal food products which are not available

throughout the year. It increases the availability of out of season
foodstuffs. In production season, the yield of product is high, So the
product that are not consumed during season can be used in
processed form for long period of time.

4. People who live far away from production area will also get that
food product.

5. Processed food will reduce the wastage of food and offer the
consumer many convenient features that make preparation at home
easier and faster.

6. Food preservation plays an important role in wars and space

missions.

Factors that Cause Deterioration and Spoilage of Food

Physical, biological and microbiological, and chemical and biochemical factors

Physical factors :- Light and other forms of radiation, heat, cold, moisture loss, or gain, and the
application of force that may alter the structure of the food.

Chemical and biochemical factors:- Include reactions of food components with oxygen or with each
other, and reactions catalysed by enzymatic activity. These and other chemical reactions affect
sensory qualities of food and can significantly alter the nutritional value of products
Biological factors :- It include birds, rodents, insects, and parasites. These may consume or destroy
the food and contaminate it with pathogenic or spoilage microorganisms

Traditional Methods of Food Preservation

1. Acidification

In this acid is used for preservation of food. This is done by fermentation of food or by
addition of acid and acid food. It is a very common method to preserve foods that does not
require a high level of technology or special equipment. The acid acts as a preservative by
controlling microbial growth.

2. Thermal Processing

It is the process in which combination of temperature and time is used to eliminate micro-
organisms from food product.
Blanching, pasteurization, commercial sterilization, and sterilization are different kinds of
thermal processing.
Blanching is a mild heat treatment utilized mostly for enzyme inactivation but it also serves
other functions. Although it reduces the number of containing microorganisms on the surface
of foods, it is not intended as a sole preservation method.
Pasteurization involves heating the product under atmospheric pressure without exceeding

the boiling point of water.

Sterilization destroys all pathogenic and spoilage microorganisms in foods and inactivates
enzymes by heating. All canned foods are sterilized in a retort (a large pressure cooker) and
called commercial sterilization which indicates that no viable organisms are present. This
process enables food to have a shelf life of more than two years

3. Concentration by Evaporation
 It includes partially removing water from liquid foods by the application of heat. This method
has a high level of energy consumption and is therefore it is more expensive. It offers the
convenience of a concentrated product that the consumer can dilute at home and it
PRESERVATION OF FOOD reduces the cost of transportation and packaging.

4. Dehydration or drying
In drying or dehydration, water is removed from the food by hot air or heated surface driers.
Dehydration reduces the weight and bulk of the food, lowering transportation and packaging
costs. Dehydration has a significant effect on the sensory properties of food. Prunes or raisins
are consumed in dehydrated form or used as ingredients in recipes.
Freeze-drying or lyophilization is a method that accomplishes dehydration of the food by
sublimating the water.

5. Refrigeration or Chilled Storage

Chilled storage in refrigerated chambers at temperatures above freezing. Refrigeration

temperatures usually range from 0 to 7 degree Celsius. The low temperature will lower the
rate of metabolic reactions in unprocessed fruits and vegetables. The microbial growth is
slow at low temperature because metabolic reactions of microorganisms are enzyme-
catalyzed and their rate depends on temperature. It has very mild effects on sensory and
nutritive attributes of products. Refrigeration will preserve perishable foods for days or
weeks, depending on the food.

6. Freezing
In ancient time foods were frozen with the help of ice and snow. Nowadays, food is frozen
using several types of industrial mechanical refrigerators through cooled surfaces, and
cooled liquid or air. Cryogenic freezing uses liquid nitrogen or carbon dioxide in solid or
liquid form in direct contact with the food. -18 degree Celsius or less temperature is
maintained for storage of frozen food. A proportion of the water in the food is frozen and
the concentration of solutes in unfrozen water increases, lowering the water activity.
Freezing usually stops microbial growth but it does not destroy bacteria and moulds. Fish
and seafood, meats, fruits, and vegetables have been sold in frozen form for a long time.
7. Salting, Sugaring, and Curing
The addition of large amounts of salt or sugar to food is an old method of food preservation.
When salt or sugar is added water moves from inside the cells to the outside solutes by
osmosis, causing a partial dehydration of the cell, known as plasmolysis, that interferes with
microorganism multiplication.
Salt has been used to preserve butter, cheese, and milk curds and sugar has been used to
preserve jams.
Curing is a method to preserve meats that also changes the flavour, colour, and tenderness
of the product. It’s main purpose is to produce characteristic products with unique flavour
and to preserve the red colour of meat after cooking. The main ingredients for curing are
sodium chloride, sodium nitrate and/or sodium nitrite, sugar, and spices.

8. Smoking
It is used for fish and meats. The smoke is obtained by burning hickory or a similar wood and
it contains formaldehyde and phenolic compounds that have antimicrobial properties. The
heat also dries the food, increasing preservation.

9. Chemical Preservatives
chemical substances are used to inhibit the growth of microorganisms in foods. Sodium
benzoate, sodium and calcium propionate, sorbic acid, ethyl formate, and sulphur dioxide are
 examples of commercially used food preservatives. Antioxidants ((BHT), tertiary butylated
hydroquinone (TBHQ), and propyl gallate)prevent oxidative rancidity of fats and oils.

Non traditional Methods of Food Preservation

1. Irradiation
Irradiation is a preservation method where food is exposed to radiation. Irradiated food
does not become radioactive. Machine or radionuclide radiation sources are used. Machine
sources include electron accelerators and X-ray generators, and radionuclide sources include
radioactive materials that give off ionizing gamma-rays. Bacteria, moulds, yeasts, and insects
are inactivated by irradiation.
2. Microwave and Radiofrequency Processing
Electromagnetic waves of certain frequencies gener ate heat in foods by dielectric and ionic
mechanisms. Microwave and radiofrequency heating have the advantage that they require
less time than conventional heating, particularly for solid and semisolid foods. Food does not
heat uniformly during this process.

3. Ohmic and Inductive Heating

electric currents are passed through the food in order to heat it. This process is also known
as Joule heating, electrical resistance heating, electro heating, and electro conductive
heating. . Inductive heating is a process that induces electric currents within the food by the
use of oscillating electromagnetic fields generated by electric coils. n advantage of ohmic
heating is its ability to heat materials in a fast and uniform fashion, including products with
particulates.

4. High-Pressure Processing (HPP)

also known as high hydrostatic pressure (HHP) or ultrahigh pressure (UHP) processing.
During HPP, liquid or solid foods are subject to pressures between 100 and 800 MPa, at
temperatures below 0 C to above 100 C and for times ranging from a millisecond pulse to
more than 20 min. Temperatures ranging from 45 to 50 C during treatment appear to
 increase the inactivation of pathogens and spoilage microorganisms. The effect of HPP works
instantaneously PRESERVATION OF FOOD and uniformly throughout the mass of food,
independent of size, shape, and food composition

5. Pulsed Electric Fields (PEF)

This method involves the application of pulses of high voltage (20–80 kV cm-1 ) to foods
placed between two electrodes. Application of PEF is restricted to foods that can withstand
high electric fields, have low electrical conductivity, and do not contain or form bubbles.

6. Ultraviolet (UV) Light

This type of processing involves the application of radiation from the UV region of the
electromagnetic spectrum. Microbial inactivation occurs by DNA mutations upon absorption
of the UV light and exposure must be at least 400 J m-2 in all parts of the product. Critical
factors during UV light processing include the transmissivity of the product, the radiation
path length, the geometric configuration of the reactor and the power, the wavelength, and
physical arrangement of the UV source.
7. Other Alternative Technologies
High-voltage arc discharge, pulsed light technology, oscillating magnetic fields (OMF),
ultrasound, and pulsed X-rays are other types of technology that have been explored for
their potential to inactivate microorganisms and may show promise for use in food
preservation.

DIVYA KUMAWAT
20190101027