Various factors cause food spoilage, making items unsuitable for consumption. Light, oxygen, heat, humidity, temperature and spoilage bacteria can all affect both safety and quality of perishable foods. When subject to these factors, foods will gradually deteriorate.
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Signs of food spoilage
Signs of food spoilage include an appearance different from the fresh food, such as a change in color, a change in texture, an unpleasant odor or taste.
- Aim: To study the growth of fungus.
- Materials: Piece of bread
- Method: Take a piece of bread. Make it moist and keep it in a warm corner of the room for 3-4 days. Observe it after 3-4 days.
- Observation: Presence of greenish patch growing on the bread.
(Source: i2-prod.mirror)
Food is valuable. Preserving food can help to avoid wasting of food. Food preservation involves preventing the food from being spoilt. Preservation of food is the process by which food is stored by special methods. Cooked or uncooked food can be preserved in different ways to be used later. Some methods of preservation are:
Food kept in a refrigerator remains fresh for some days. Germs do not grow easily in cool places. We preserve food items, like milk fruit, vegetables and cooked food by keeping them in a refrigerator.
Method of freezing (Source: skinnycentral)
- Aim: To understand the principle of food preservation.
- Materials: Two apples, fridge
- Method: Take two apples. Keep one apple in the fridge and one outside for 2-3 days. Record your observation.
- Observation: The apple inside the fridge is fresh while the one outside will start decaying.
(Source: food.onehowto)
By this method, we can preserve food for a short period of time. Germs in milk are killed by pasteurization. It is done by boiling milk for sometimes and then cooling it quickly.
We can add salt to preserve pickles and fish.
Excess sugar in food also acts as a preservative. We store food for a long time in the form of jams, jellies, and murabbas by adding sugar.
In this method, the food items are dried in sun to stop the growth of bacteria in them. Certain foods, like raw mangoes, fishes, potato chips and papads are preserved by this method.
(Source: amazonaws)
In this method, air is removed from food and put in airtight cans so that germs do not grow on them. Food items like vegetables, seafood, dairy products etc. Are preserved through this method.
canning
- Advantages of food preservation: Germs do not grow easily in preserved food and make it safe to eat. Preservation enables us to enjoy seasonal fruits like strawberries and mangoes even during the offseason.
- Disadvantages of food preservation: Excess salt and sugar are used in the preservation of food which is not good for health. Some methods of food preservation may lead to loss of nutrients.
Q1. What is food spoilage?
Ans: Food spoilage means the colour, flavour, taste, texture and nutritional value of a food is unsuitable and not edible to human.
Q2. What are the various methods of preserving food?
Ans: The various methods of food preservation are:
- Refrigeration: a low temperature of the fridge does not allow germs to grow, thus food is preserved. ex, vegetables, eggs and fruits.
- Drying: Water is removed by heating or evaporation. Ex grain and pulses.
- Pickling: Addition of salt and spices. Ex mango, lemon, vegetables.
- Deep freezing: Keeping food, vegetables, meat and fish in the freezer for a long period.
- Canning: Addition of sugar to make jam, jelly and sauces etc.
- Airtight pouches: Keeping prepared food items in nitrogen or gas-filled poly pack pouches. Example – chips, French fries, noodles etc.
Q3. Write down disadvantages of preservation.
Answer: Excess salt and sugar is used in the preservation of food which is not good for health. Some methods of food preservation may lead to loss of nutrients. Share with friends
Causes of food spoilage | Animated clip with pictorial examples |
FAQ
What is food spoilage and prevention?
What prevents food from spoilage called?
What is prevent spoilage?
How to prevent food spoilage?
Preventing food spoilage is crucial to ensure the safety and quality of the food we consume. Some of the common prevention measures are: Proper storage: Proper storage is essential to prevent the growth of microorganisms on food. It is crucial to store food at the right temperature, moisture, and pH level to prevent spoilage.
What are the ways to prevent food borne illness?
Some of the ways to prevent foodborne illnesses are practicing proper hand washing technique, cooking food with clean water, avoiding eating raw or uncooked food, refrigerating food on time, eating freshly cooked food, minimizing eating junk or instant foods, reducing outside food or readymade foods, checking expiry date before eating packaged food items, and washing the fruits or vegetables with clean water before eating.
What is chemical food spoilage?
Chemical food spoilage occurs when different components in the food react with each other or with some added component which alter the food’s sensory characteristics. Examples of this include: oxidation; enzymatic browning; and nonenzymatic browning.
What is physical spoilage & how does it affect food?
Physical spoilage: Physical spoilage occurs when food is damaged due to external factors, such as pressure, temperature, or moisture. This type of spoilage can lead to changes in texture and appearance of the food. For instance, freezing and thawing of food can lead to the formation of ice crystals, which can damage the food texture.