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Chapter 27
Food Spoilage
Biological Changes
Fermentation: The conversion of carbohydrates to carbon dioxide and alcohol by yeast or bacteria.
Food Spoilage
Chemical Changes
Enzymes play a significant role in catalyzing these reactions Proteases, also called proteolytic enzymes, split proteins into smaller compounds.
Food Spoilage
Physical Changes
The most common physical changes occurring in foods as they spoil are evaporation, drip loss, and separation. Dehydrate: To remove at least 95% of the water from foods by the use of high temperatures.
Freeze-dry: To remove water from food when it is in a frozen state, usually under a vacuum.
Sublimation: The process in which a solid changes directly to a vapor without passing through the liquid phase.
Sterilization: The elimination of all microorganisms through extended boiling/heating to temperatures much higher than boiling or through the use of certain chemicals.
Cold Preservation
Refrigeration slows down the biological, chemical, and physical reactions that shorten the shelf life of food. All perishable foods should be refrigerated as soon as possible, preferably during transport, to prevent bacteria from multiplying.
Cold Preservation
Freezing makes water unavailable to microorganisms. The chemical and physical reactions leading to deterioration are slowed by freezing. Freezer burn: White or grayish patches on frozen food caused by water evaporating into the packages air spaces.
Heat Preservation
Pasteurization: A food preservation process that heats liquids to 160for 15 seconds, or 143F for 30 minutes, in order to kill bacteria, yeasts, and molds. Ohmic heating: A food reservation process in which an electrical current is passed through food, generating enough heat to destroy microorganisms.
Irradiation: A food preservation process in which foods are treated with low doses of gamma rays, x-rays, or electrons.
Pulsed Light exposes the food to intense, very brief flashes of light, which disrupt the cell membranes of bacterial cells, but not that of the surrounding food.