Food Preservation Essay

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FOOD PRESERVATION The term food preservation refers to any one of a number of techniques used to prevent food from spoiling. The following are the general methods of food preservation:  application of heat, such as canning and preserving, pasteurization, evaporation, sun-drying, dehydration and smoking,  application of cold, as ill cold storage, refrigeration and freezing,  the use of chemical substances such as salt, sugar, vinegar, benzoic and lactic acids,  fermentation, examples being acetic, lactic, alcoholic, etc.,  such mechanical means as vacuum, filtration and clarification processes, devices or agents for preventing chemical deterioration or bacteriological spoilage (the use of oil, paraffin and water glass are included here),  combinations of two or more of the above. Food preservation has become an increasingly important component of the food industry as fewer people eat foods produced on their own lands, and as consumers expect to be able to purchase and consume foods that are out of season. Food spoilage can be attributed to one of two major causes:  the attack by pathogens (disease-causing microorganisms) such as bacteria and molds, or  oxidation that causes the destruction of essential biochemical compounds and/or the destruction of plant and animal cells. The various food preserving methods are all designed to reduce or eliminate one or the other (or both) of these causative agents. For example, a simple and common method of preserving food is by heating it to some minimum temperature. This process prevents or retards spoilage because high temperatures kill or inactivate most kinds of pathogens. The addition of compounds known as BHA (butylated hydroxyanisole) and BHT (butylated hydroxytoluene) to foods also prevents spoilage in another different way. These compounds are known to act as antioxidants, preventing chemical reactions which cause
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