PROCESSED AND PRESERVED FOODS, SEASONINGS AND ADDITIVES
Aug 19, 2015
PROCESSED AND PRESERVED FOODS, SEASONINGS AND ADDITIVES
FOOD PROCESSINGWHAT?
Food processing is the transformation
of raw ingredients into food, or of food
into other forms. Food processing is typically a
mechanical process that utilizes large mixing, grinding, chopping and emulsifying equipment in the production process
HOW? Food processing typically takes
clean, harvested crops or butchered animal products
WHY? To produce attractive,
marketable and often long shelf-life food products
ADVANTAGES OF FOOD PROCESSING1. Toxin removal2. Preservation3. Easing marketing and
distribution tasks4. Increasing food consistency,
improves taste
5. It increases yearly availability of many foods
6. Enables transportation of delicate perishable foods across long distances
7. Makes many kinds of foods safe to eat by de-activating spoilage and pathogenic micro-organisms.
8. Large profit potential for manufacturers
RISKS AND DISADVANTAGES
1. Loss of nutritive value2. Possible Contamination• physical ( hair,
metals,fingernails,stones)• chemical (excess salt, sugar,
acids,cleaning agents• Microbial (Salmonella, E. coli,
parasites,fungi)
Nearly every food preparation process reduces the amount of nutrients in food. In particular, processes that expose foods to high levels of heat, light, and/or oxygen cause the greatest nutrient loss. Nutrients can also be "washed out" of foods by fluids that are introduced during a cooking process. Similar losses also occur when you broil, roast, or fry in oil, and then drain off the drippings
FACTORS TO BE CONSIDERED Hygiene, e.g. measured by number of micro-
organisms per ml of finished product Energy efficiency measured e.g. by “ton of
steam per ton of sugar produced” Minimization of waste, measured e.g. by
“percentage of peeling loss during the peeling of potatoes'
Labour used, measured e.g. by ”number of working hours per ton of finished product”
Minimization of cleaning stops measured e.g. by “number of hours between cleaning stops”
FOOD PRESERVATION
Food preservation is the process of treating and handling food to stop or slow down food spoilage, loss of quality, edibility or nutritional value and thus allow for longer food storage.
METHODS OF PRESERVING FOOD1. Drying - one of the most ancient food
preservation techniques, which reduces water activity sufficiently to prevent bacterial growth.
2. Refrigeration - preserves food by slowing down
the growth and reproduction of micro-organisms and the action of enzymes which cause food to rot
3. Freezing- (0 to -17 C)4. Vacuum packing A vacuum environment, usually in an
air-tight bag or bottle strips bacteria of oxygen needed for survival, slowing spoiling. Vacuum-packing is commonly used for storing nuts to reduce loss of flavor from oxidation.
5. Addition of salt/ curing Salt draws water through Osmosis,
Prague powder(NaNO2 + Salt) gives it a distinctive pink colour)
6. Sugar7. Smoking Chemical components from the smoke of
burning wood: a. Nitrogen oxides form nistrosamines with
meat and fish b. Polycyclic
aromatichydrocarbons,phenols,furans,tar8. ArtificiaL Food Additives Common antimicrobial preservatives include
calcium propionate, sodium nitrate, sodium nitrite, sulfites (sulfur dioxide, sodium bisulfite, potassium hydrogen sulfite, etc.) and disodium EDTA. Antioxidants include BHA and BHT. Other preservatives include formaldehyde (usually in solution), glutaraldehyde (kills insects), ethanol and methylchloroisothiazolinone.
9. Jellying10. Irradiation ( exposure to Xrays, gamma
rays)11. High Pressure processing12. Burying in the Ground(lack of light,
oxygen,lowpH,cool temp, dessicants in soil)13. Biopreservation (addition of LAB)14. Pickling a. Chemical (brine,vinegar, oil) b. Fermentation (lactic acid produced by the
food itself)15. Addition of Lye -NaOH prevents bacterial growth,
saponifies fats16. Canning and Bottling
FOOD ADDITIVES
These are substancesadded to food to preserve flavor or enhance its taste and appearance.
a. Intentional(added on purpose)
b. Incidental (unintentional)
TYPES OF
FOOD ADDITIVES
Acids -added to make flavors "sharper", and also act as preservatives and antioxidants. Common food acids include vinegar, citric acid, tartaric acid, malic acid, fumaric acid, and lactic acid.
Acidity regulators are used to change or otherwise control the acidity and alkalinity of foods.
Anticaking agents keep powders such as milk powder from caking or sticking. Antifoaming agents
Antifoaming agents reduce or prevent foaming in foods.
Antioxidants such as vitamin C act as preservatives by inhibiting the effects of oxygen on food, and can be beneficial to health.
Bulking agents such as starch are additives that increase the bulk of a food without affecting its taste.
Food coloring are added to food to replace colors lost during preparation, or to make food look more attractive.
Color retention agents are used to preserve a food's existing color.
Emulsifiers allow water and oils to remain mixed together in an emulsion, as in mayonnaise, ice cream, and homogenized milk.
Flavors give food a particular taste or smell, and may be derived from natural ingredients or created artificially.
Flavor enhancers enhance a food's existing flavors. They may be extracted from natural sources (through distillation, solvent extraction, maceration, among other methods) or created artificially.
Flour treatment agents are added to flour to improve its color or its use in baking
Glazing agents provide a shiny appearance or protective coating to foods.
Humectants prevent foods from drying out.
Preservatives prevent or inhibit spoilage of food due to fungi, bacteria and other microorganisms.
Stabilizers thickeners and gelling agents, like agar or pectin(used in jam for example) give foods a firmer texture. While they are not true emulsifiers, they help to stabilize emulsions.
Sweeteners are added to foods for flavoring. Sweeteners other than sugar are added to keep the food energy (calories) low, or because they have beneficial effects for diabetes mellitus and tooth decay and diarrhea.
Thickeners are substances which, when added to the mixture, increase its viscosity without substantially modifying its other properties.
ADULTERANTS
3-MCPD Aldicarb Cyanide Formaldehyde Lead poisoning Melamine Mercury in fish Sudan I
Pesticides
Chlorpyrifos DDT Lindane Malathion Methamidophos
PRESERVATIVES
Benzoic acid Ethylenediaminetetraacetic
acid (EDTA) Sodium benzoate
Sugar substitutes
Acesulfame potassium Aspartame High-fructose corn syrup Saccharin Sodium cyclamate Sorbitol Sucralose
Referrences
Riddervold, Astri. Food Conservation. ISBN 978-0-907325-40-6.
Abakarov, Nunes. "Thermal food processing optimization: algorithms and software". Food Engineering (http://tomakechoice.com/paper/OPTPROx.pdf.
Abakarov, Sushkov, Mascheroni. "Multi-criteria optimization and decision-making approach for improving of food engineering processes". International Journal of Food Studies (http://tomakechoice.com/paper/MCDM&OD_IJFS.pdf).
Fábricas de alimentos, 9th edition (in Spanish) Nutritional evaluation of food processing, Food preservation 2nd edition, by Normal W.
Desrosier Department of Food Technology, University
College of Technology, Osmania University, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India
University of California directory of academic and industry literature
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