FOOD PERSERVATION BY FREEZE DRYING

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this project is to preserve the food for a long time

without decay. Removing water prevents food from spoiling for a long period of

time. Food spoils when microorganisms, such as bacteria, feed on the matter

and decompose it. Bacteria may release chemicals that causes disease, or make

food taste bad. Microorganisms need water to survive. Therefore the removal of

water from food inhibits the growth of microorganisms. Thus the most effective

method of removing water from the food is freeze drying.

Freeze drying in general is a process of freezing the foodstuff and then

drying it to get rid off the moisture. Freeze-drying is a method of removing

water by sublimation of ice crystals from frozen material, all of which makes

the process somewhat expensive, but the resultant food quality is good. This

method involve three stages; freezing, creating vacuum, and heating. In the

freezing stage water freezes, then the chamber pressure is reduced to a low level

that would allow sublimation of water. Water is removed by heating the product

under vacuum and the residual moisture content is reduced in this stage which

makes the food completely dry. Thus we have fabricated a food freezing

equipment at a reasonable cost which preserves the foodstuff for a long time.
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