Heat Preservation and Processing

Of the various means of preserving foods, the use of heat finds very wide
application.
The simple acts of cooking, frying, broiling, or otherwise heating foods prior to
consumption are forms of food preservation. In addition to making foods more
tender and palatable, cooking destroys a large proportion of the microorganisms
and natural enzymes in foods; thus, cooked foods generally can be held longer
than uncooked foods. However, cooking generally does not sterilize a product, so
even if it is protected from recontamination, food will spoil in a comparatively
short period of time. This time is prolonged if the cooked foods are refrigerated.
These are common household practices.
Another feature of cooking is that it is usually the last treatment food receives
prior to being consumed. The toxin that can be formed by Clostridium botulinum
is destroyed by a 10-min exposure to moist heat at 100°C. Properly processed
commercial foods will be free of this toxin. Cooking provides a final measure of
protection in those unfortunate cases where a processing error does occur, or a
faulty food container becomes contaminated. However, heat preservation of food
generally refers to controlled processes that are performed commercially, such as
blanching, pasteurizing, and canning.

Cold Preservation and Processing

Freezing and refrigeration (i.e. cold storage) are among the oldest methods of
food preservation, but it was not until 1875 that a mechanical ammonia
refrigeration system capable of supporting commercial refrigerated warehousing
and freezing was invented. This major advance was hampered by the lack of
proper facilities, a prime requirement for any refrigerated or frozen food industry.
Thus, as late as the 1920s, food delivered to a market in a frozen state commonly
thawed before it could be brought home or else thawed in household ice boxes
and generally was of marginal to poor quality.
Starting in the 1920s, Clarence Birdseye pioneered research on quick-freezing
processes, equipment, frozen products, and frozen food packaging. As household
refrigerators and freezers became more common, the modem frozen food
industry grew rapidly. Refrigeration today markedly influences the practices of
agriculture and marketing and sets the economic climate of the food industry.
Without mechanical refrigeration in transit, much of world trade in perishable
food commodities would be impossible. Large cities that are distant from growing
areas would cease to enjoy abundant fruits and vegetables.
Refrigeration and cold storage equalize food prices throughout the year and make
products available year round. Without them, prices would be very low at time of
harvest and extremely high later on, if indeed the foods were available at all.

DISTINCTION BETWEEN REFRIGERATION AND FREEZING

The difference between refrigeration and cool storage on the one hand and
freezing and frozen storage on the other should be noted. Cool storage generally
refers to storage at temperatures above freezing, from about 16°C down to -2°C.
Commercial and household refrigerators are usually operated at 4.5-7°C.
Commercial refrigerators sometimes are operated at a slightly lower temperature
when a particular food is being favored. Whereas pure water will freeze at 0°C,
most foods will not begin to freeze until about -2°C or lower. Frozen storage
refers to storage at temperatures that maintain food in frozen condition. Good
frozen storage generally requires temperatures of -18°C or below. Refrigerated or
cool storage generally will preserve perishable foods for days or weeks,
depending on the food. Frozen storage will preserve foods for months or even
years if properly packaged.

REFRIGERATION AND COOL STORAGE

Refrigeration and cool storage in general is the gentlest method of food
preservation.
It has relatively few adverse effects on the taste, texture, nutritive value, and
other attributes of foods, provided simple rules are followed and storage periods
are not excessive. One cannot say this of heat, dehydration, irradiation, and other
methods of preservation, which often immediately result in changes in food,
however small. Although refrigeration and cool storage reduces the rate of food
deterioration, with most foods it will not prevent deterioration to anywhere the
same degree as does heat, dehydration, irradiation, fermentation, or true
freezing.
Food Safety, Risks and Hazards
INTRODUCTION
As consumers, we have several expectations of the food supply, including that it
be nutritious, wholesome, pure, and "safe." We also expect that it be plentiful,
offer wide choices, and be a reasonable value. In recent years consumers have
placed increased emphasis on food safety and expect that foods not contribute to
chronic diseases such as cancer or heart disease. In fact, recent scientific evidence
suggests that some types of diet can help prevent chronic diseases. The potential
adverse environmental impact of agriculture and, in some cases, concerns for
animal welfare are also current consumer issues.
The general safety of the food supply has been debated for many years although
the issues change with time. In the 1970s the safety of food additives was hotly
debated.
In the 1980s pesticide residues and irradiation were major issues, and in the
1990s biotechnology is a major issue.

SAFETY, HAZARDS, AND RISKS

In order to understand what "food safety" means, we must first define the terms
safe, hazard, and risk. "Safe" means that nothing harmful happens when we do
something such as driving a car or consuming a food. But this is not a very
satisfactory viewpoint when considering foods. We have learned that exposure to
certain toxicants can harm us years after the exposure; cancers induced by
tobacco use are examples.
Safety also means an absence of effect; that is, nothing harmful happens. Science
does not deal well with the absence of effect or negative outcomes because they
are hard to interpret and cannot be quantified. In the absence of harmful effects,
scientists can only conclude there was no harm under certain conditions.
Scientists think of food safety in terms of hazards and risks. A hazard is the
capacity of a thing to cause harm. This is not to say something will cause harm,
only that under some conditions it could cause harm and what the harm is. The
probability that a defined harm will occur is the risk associated with the hazard.
Falling off a ladder is a good analogy. The hazard in falling off a ladder is that one
will be injured, perhaps by breaking a leg. However, the probability of being
injured depends on the height of the fall. If one falls from the bottom rung, the
risk or probability is low. Falling from the top rung results in a greater risk. In both
cases, the hazards are similar, but the risks differ.
Many times in life we recognize hazards and take actions which will reduce risk to
an acceptable or improved level. For example, we realize that riding in a car is
hazardous in that we could be injured, but we might wear a seat belt to reduce
the likelihood (i.e., risk) that we will be injured.
Scientists use this same thinking when evaluating food safety. They first identify
hazards related to foods or food components and then estimate the size of the
risk that the hazard will occur. They go through a multistep process which starts
with hazard identification. For example, a pesticide is required to undergo a
battery of tests to first determine what hazards it might present. It will be tested
for its ability to cause cancer in laboratory animals, for example. If it turns out to
be positive, it can be said that one of its hazards is the ability to cause cancer.
Note that this says nothing about the size of the risk however. Another hazard
might be the ability to induce nerve damage.The next step is to evaluate the size
of the risk associated with the pesticide or food chemical. Scientists ask what the
statistical probability that this hazard will occur is.
This is done by using statistical estimates of how large the risk to humans could
actually be under the worst-case scenario. The process of identifying hazards and
estimating their size is termed risk assessment and attempts to quantify the size
of food-related risks. Risk assessment is a scientific process that depends heavily
on toxicologists, microbiologists, and statisticians.
The next step in the process is to decide what to do about the risk; that is to
decide whether or not the risk is acceptable. This is a judgment and termed risk
management.
This process is less scientific and more social or political. In most cases,
government representatives make such decisions on the acceptability of risks.
Risk managers have the option of banning things in which the risk is considered
too high, or restricting the use of something in order to reduce the risk. In some
cases, benefits are considered when determining the acceptability of a risk. Often,
consumer activists pressure government to make certain decisions.
It is important to note that the process outlined above considers all foods to have
some degree of risk and that no food is absolutely "safe." The important
consideration becomes the size of the risk and how the size of the risk can be
reduced without eliminating the food source. The goal of food safety is to reduce
the size of risks to the lowest reasonable level without severe disruption of the
food supply.

EFFECTS OF PROCESSING AND STORAGE

Mishandling by both the consumer and the food processor is a key factor in many
food-borne disease outbreaks. It is important to understand the effects of
different processes on the microbiology of foods.

Freezing and Refrigeration

Freezing does not inactivate microorganisms in foods. Although total bacterial
counts can be lowered during freezing of food, substantial numbers of pathogens
may survive freezing. The degree of survival will be greater, the quicker the
freezing process.
Faster freezing also improves food quality, so newer liquid-nitrogen and carbon
dioxide freezing processes offer even less in the way of microbial destruction than
the slower freezing methods, which are poorly bactericidal. Thus, frozen foods,
whether precooked or not, must be safe before freezing if they are to be safe
after freezing. In the case of precooked foods, this obviously requires prevention
of contamination after cooking and minimum time of holding between cooking
and freezing. Frozen foods also must not be allowed to remain at elevated
temperatures during the thawing process.
After processing, frozen and refrigerated foods, with few exceptions, must remain
cold during warehousing, transportation, and marketing. This is particularly true
of low-acid foods. Unfortunately, many trucks and frozen food cabinets in current
commercial use are not capable of maintaining proper temperatures. Generally,
the pathogens common to food cannot grow below 3.3°C, and grow slowly
between 7 and l0oC. In the case of refrigerated, catered, and vended foods, this
range must be considered with caution, particularly with precooked foods that
will receive no subsequent cooking or only reconstitution with minimal heat to
bring them to serving temperature.
Recently, microbiologists have found that Listeria monocytogenes, which occurs
with high frequency in some foods and is capable of causing death in certain
groups of people, can grow at temperatures as low as 4°C. At the same time,
commercial and household refrigerators are often at temperatures somewhat
above 7°C. This means that what has been traditionally considered adequate
refrigeration temperatures can still allow the growth of deadly microorganisms in
foods. Where precooked foods are marginally heated or reconstituted, it is not
uncommon for times and temperatures to be insufficient to guarantee
destruction of pathogenic organisms or their toxins. It is not uncommon in fast-
food establishments to encounter deep-fat fried items that retain cold spots in
their centers. Electronic ovens of the microwave type are not inherently unsafe,
but different constituents of food absorb microwave energy at different rates;
precooked foods can emerge from these ovens unequally heated.

Minimally Processed and New Foods

Minimally processed foods often receive less harsh processing in order to make
them more "freshlike," milder tasting, or increase their shelf life. Any processing
condition that lowers total bacterial counts but does not achieve commercial
sterilization can be expected to cause a shift in the types of microorganisms
present in a food from what it otherwise would be. Processes that cause desirable
shifts include fermentation and acidification, nitrate and nitrite additions to cured
meat, salting and smoking, and pasteurization of milk. These treatments coupled
with proven methods of subsequent handling of the products constitute little
hazard.

However, whenever variations of these proven techniques are introduced and

considered to replace them, caution must be exercised. In recent years there has
been a move to change foods to meet changing preferences for lower salt, smoke,
and acid content of many foods. Mildly smoked fish, less highly cured meats, less
acidic cheeses, and milder natural ripened cheeses are examples. To some extent
these changes are offset by greater sanitary control during manufacture.
However, lower salt levels, for example, generally makes a food more favorable
for growth of staphylococci, and lower acidity increases the likelihood of survival
and growth of many pathogens, including clostridia.

Mild heat or other treatments sufficient to substantially reduce total counts often
are not fully effective in destroying bacterial spores, among which some of the
most resistant belong to the genus Clostridium. When such treatments
substantially decrease the numbers of less-resistant organisms (the acid-forming
streptococci and lactobacilli, and the lipolytic and proteolytic members of such
genera as Pseudomonas, Achromobacter, Proteus, and the molds), Clostridia find
many foods more favorable substrates for growth. This is also true for many non-
spore-forming pathogens, including members of the genera Staphylococcus and
Salmonella, that may survive the mild treatment or find their way into foods as
contaminants following treatment. Not only may these pathogens grow in the
subsequently less competitive environment, but with a gross reduction in the
normal spoilage flora, mishandling of the food frequently will not result in the
familiar spoilage patterns that warn consumers of potential danger.

Many kinds of mild processing conditions favor microbial selection. Of particular

concern is the increased use of milder heat treatments to better retain food
texture, color, flavor, and nutrients. Numerous high-temperature-short-time and
ultra-high temperature- short-time regimens have been introduced. Irradiation
pasteurization has recently received considerable attention as a potential
preservation process for seafood, fruits and vegetables, cereal grains, and other
commodities. These practices are subjected to intensive investigation before they
are approved for commercial use.
In the case of irradiation, no previous preservation method, including canning,
had been so thoroughly studied prior to its proposed introduction. Yet there
remains much that is not known about the microbiology of irradiated foods.
There is a concern among microbiologists that the introduction of minimally
processed foods increases microbial risks. This also is true of the microbiology of
other cold pasteurization techniques, including the use of membrane filters.