Methods of preservation

LOW-TEMPERATURE PRESERVATION

Storage at low temperatures prolongs food life by decreasing the respiration rate of fruits and
vegetables and by retarding the growth of most spoilage microorganisms. Recommended cold-
storage temperatures for selected foods are listed in Table 1. A temperature at the freezing point
of water (32 F, 0 C) reduces the rate of oxygen consumption and carbon dioxide production
(respiration) and, consequently, inhibits microorganism growth. There are two principal low-
temperature techniques: cooling (refrigeration) and freezing.

Refrigeration.

The life of many foods may be increased by storage at temperatures below 40 F (4 C). Cold
storage is less successful with fruits and vegetables having high water content, such as melons,
tomatoes, cucumbers, bananas, and pineapple. Meats profit tremendously from such
refrigeration, a fact discovered early in food history. In early times ice was employed as a
refrigerant principally to preserve meat.

Fruits [Index] , vegetables, eggs, dairy products, and meats are often harvested, gathered, or
slaughtered some time before being refrigerated, thus allowing deterioration to begin.
Refrigeration cannot improve the quality of decayed foods; it can only retard deterioration. It
does, however, afford substantial protection against carbohydrate loss, the major nutrient change
occurring during the respiration of fruits and vegetables. One problem of modern mechanical
refrigeration--that of dehydration of foodstuffs due to moisture condensation--has been overcome
through humidity control within the storage chamber and by appropriate packaging techniques.

Freezing.

Meat and fish have long been frozen for preservation by Eskimos and other northern peoples.
Modern mechanical freezing is applied also to a variety of other foods, and it has proved highly
effective because of its severely inhibiting effect on microorganisms. Most microbial forms
cannot grow at temperatures below 32 F, and they also may be seriously damaged by the slow
freezing of food.

Just as the freezing point of a solution is lower than that of a pure solvent, the freezing point of
food is lower than that of pure water. Thus, solid freezing usually occurs at temperatures
between 32 F and 25 F (0 C and -4 C). The temperature of the food undergoing freezing
remains relatively constant until the food is almost completely frozen, then the temperature
rapidly approaches that of the freezing medium. In the quick freezing process, the temperature of
the food passes through the zone of maximum ice-crystal formation (32 to 25 F) in 30 minutes
or less. The basic principle of any rapid-freeze method is speedy removal of heat from food.
These methods may employ cold air blasts, direct immersion in a cooling medium, contact with
refrigerated plates in a freezing chamber, or freezing with liquid air, nitrogen, or carbon dioxide.
Freezing in still air is the poorest method; circulating cold air greatly accelerates freezing.
Different foods freeze over a wide range of temperatures, and their specific freezing points are
identifiable. Evaluation of the freezing curve for a food under controlled conditions reveals the
phenomenon of supercooling, which is cooling below the freezing point without solidification or
crystallization. Observation of a thin section of food tissue demonstrates that, following
supercooling, the temperature of the cooled section then rises to the actual freezing point as
solidification proceeds. If refrigeration is continued, this change in phase continues until all the
free water turns to ice.

Under normal conditions, water temperature must fall below 32 F before ice crystals form.
When an ice water slurry is forming, its temperature returns to 32 F.

Slow freezing forms large, needlelike ice crystals; rapid freezing results in smaller crystals,
producing a finer texture. If partial melting and refreezing are repeated several times, larger and
larger crystals are formed, and hence a rougher texture.

Homemade ice cream, when prepared by freezing a mixture in a freezer or refrigerator-freezer

compartment, develops large ice crystals, resulting in coarse texture; the rapid freezing employed
in commercial ice cream production creates a velvet-smooth consistency, because of the smaller
ice crystals. Strawberries frozen by the home method lose their characteristically springy texture
when thawed because the large, needlelike crystals formed by this slow method puncture the
tissue cells. Upon thawing, the pierced cells lose their juices, leaving the berry flabby and poorly
formed.

The cells of meat, poultry, fish, shellfish, fruits, and vegetables contain a jellylike protoplasm. To
fix this jellylike mass, the rate of freezing must be sufficiently rapid to promote formation of
minute, uniform crystals throughout the tissues. When the quick-frozen tissue is thawed, it
reabsorbs the water as the ice crystals melt. If the product is refrozen slowly, or if fluctuating
storage temperature encourages formation of larger crystals, the resulting punctured cells cannot
reabsorb all of the fluid; it remains as free liquid, and the thawed tissues cannot return to their
original jellylike state.

In addition to the effect of ice-crystal growth on frozen food quality, freezing may irreversibly
change colloidal structure, fusing suspended particles as in protein coagulation in thawed milk,
or curdling in thawed sauces, and causing separation.

The phenomenon of milk in an unprotected bottle or carton expanding as it freezes is well

known. Such expansion on freezing occurs with many foods and must be allowed for in freeze-
packaging. On the other hand, not all food products increase in volume; pure water increases
about 10 percent, but, when large amounts of sugar are added, expansion is greatly reduced and
volume may actually decrease. The sugary solution in strawberry jam occupies the same, or
possibly less, space in the container in frozen form as unfrozen.

Frozen-food packaging must provide protection from dehydration resulting from sublimation (a
change directly from solid to vapour state) and other conditions of frozen storage. Adequate
packaging inhibits freezer burn, an irreversible change in the colour, texture, flavour, and
nutritive value of poorly protected frozen foods. Freezer burn typically gives roast beef the
appearance of light brown paper.

The most complicated packaging problems involve processing and distribution of individual-
serving packages (i.e., frozen dinners), which often contain several different types of food in a
single unit.

Low temperatures promote retention of nutrients in stored foods; freezing does not destroy
nutrients, but some oxidation and destruction of vitamins may occur during the processing that
precedes freezing.

Freezing produces little change in the nutritive value of protein, although such conditions as
repeated freezing and thawing may alter food appearance and quality by reducing solubility and
promoting coagulation of proteinaceous materials, eventually leading to irreversible changes
such as curdling.

Fat and oil deteriorations are usually temperature dependent, and freezing is the most efficient
preservation method for many fatty foods. Nevertheless, oxidative deterioration of fats and oils
may occur even in frozen foods. Plant tissues are least susceptible. Fats in frozen fish tissue tend
to become rancid faster than the fats in frozen animal tissues. Animal tissue reaction varies. Pork
fat may become rancid after six months' storage at 0 F (-18 C); beef fat may retain good quality
after two years of storage at that temperature. Rancid fats tend to have lower nutritive values
than fresh, sweet fats. Rancidity development in frozen fatty tissues is greatly reduced at -30 F (-
34 C). Oil and water emulsions may become destabilized by freezing, causing serious defects in
precooked frozen foods and food products.

Enzyme activity is slowed by low temperature, although some enzyme activity continues at
temperatures as low as -100 F (-73 C). For this reason, enzyme destruction with a short heat
treatment, or blanching, before freezing and storage is the most efficient control method.

Freezing destroys certain parasites in foods. For example, Trichinella spiralis, the worm that
causes the disease trichinosis in humans, may be destroyed at all stages of its development by
reducing the temperature of infected food to 0 F or lower. Because frozen foods are not suitable
for parasite growth, freezing prevents insect infestations as well.

Although the complex physical, chemical, and biological changes that occur during food freezing
and subsequent thawing are not completely understood, the design of a successful food-freezing
process requires consideration of these changes. The basic refrigeration capacity of any unit must
be adequate to lower the temperature of the food to its freezing point, freeze the food at that
temperature, and lower the temperature of the frozen food to the temperature of the storage
chamber. It must allow for heat produced by lighting, electrical equipment, and the entrance of
air when the chamber is opened for the addition or removal of stored items. When the
refrigeration requirement for a particular installation is determined, an additional 10 percent is
usually allowed as a safety margin. Since refreezing a thawed mass of food may produce quality
changes, storage temperatures must be maintained at a constant level--no higher than 0 F (-18
C), preferably at -10 F (-23 C), with best results at -30 F (-34 C). Animal tissues appear less
subject to damage sustained in thawing than are fruit and vegetable tissues; fruits are particularly
sensitive.