Food Preservation

TRADITIONAL METHODS:
Heavily salting foods Food storage in heavily concentrated syrups

* At such high concentrations of salt or sugar, osmosis causes water to leave the cells of the microorganism, thus, killing them by rupturing their cell membranes

*Anti- oxidants a type of additive that is added to foods to reduce food spoilage and extend useful shelf-life * Additives compounds that prevent packaged process foods from becoming rancid due to oxidation of oils or fats, which form harmful radicals Two most common anti-oxidant food additives: Butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) Butylated hydroxyl anisole (BHA)

*Free Radicals are molecular fragments formed when fats and oils react with oxygen from the air in the food package
Fat (or oil) + oxygen Free radicals + other products

MODERN METHODS:
Use of Radiation
essential for food preservation; visible light from the sun drives photosynthesis to give us fruits and vegetables. On the other hand, a longer wavelength IR radiation (e.g. stove and microwaves) is used to cook food or warm up leftovers. In preservation, foods are irradiated using short-wavelengths of high-energy gamma radiation in order to kill microorganisms. Such radiation is ionizing radiation, in contrast to that from visible, infrared, or microwave radiation, which are non-ionizing

Food Irradiation
classified as a food additive by Congress in 1958 and approved by the FDA in 1963. used to preserve food for astronauts to take with them as they circle the Earth used in more than 30 countries and is prevalent in Europe, Mexico and Canada has the enthusiastic endorsement of the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations has their own international logo

Process:
The material to be irradiated is placed on a conveyer belt that moves past a tight beam of high-energy gamma radiation generated by cobalt- 60 or cesium- 137 source. The source and the irradiation facility are enclosed and shielded so that extraneous radiation does not escape. There are 40 different foods approved internationally for preservation by irradiation.

Controversies of Irradiated Foods

Safety Effectiveness Need for this technology

Unique Radiolytic Products (UPD)

generated by gamma radiation breaking chemical bonds Gamma Radiation- has sufficient energy to break chemical bonds and create free radicals or ions - has much more energy than microwave, infrared, visible, or even ultraviolet radiation

 The World Health Organization (WHO), Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) concluded that food irradiation is safe when proper procedures and practices are used.

Food Spoilage and Contamination

- is a significant problem claiming up to 50% of food crop in some parts of the world including many developing countries. Examples of causes of food spoilage and contamination: Salmonella Trichinella spiralis