LET US PRESERVE FOOD

We preserve and store foods when they are produced and available in plenty so that we can use them when they are not in season, are less easily available and therefore expensive. We must have noticed that there is hardly any food that does not spoil over a period of time. Delay in the use of fresh foods alters the freshness, taste and nutritive value of these foods. Thus, they become less desirable and ultimately unfit for consumption. Depending upon the perishability, the foods can be divided into three categories:

i) Non-perishable foods do not spoil easily and can be stored under proper conditions for several months e.g. whole cereals, pulses, oilseeds, etc.

ii) Semi-perishable foods can be kept for about a week to a month’s time e.g. flours, roasted oilseeds, biscuits, potatoes, onions, etc.

iii) Perishable foods cannot be kept for more than a day or two without affecting their quality e.g. milk and milk products, eggs, meat, fish, vegetables, etc.

Depending on their degree of perishability, foods can be categorised as non-perishable, semi-perishable and perishable foods. Main causes of food spoilage are microbial growth or action of micro-organisms, enzyme action and damage by insects and rodents.

Preservation of food aims at destroying the agents of food spoilage or slowing down their activity. Preservation helps in storing the foods when the availability of foods is in plenty so as to use these at a time when they are less easily available and are expensive.

We commonly use methods like cold storage, freezing, refrigeration, boiling, sterilisation, pasteurisation, canning, dehydration, chemical preservation and dry storage for preserving and storing a variety of foods.

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