FOOD SPOILAGE & FOOD PRESERVATION
Foods undergo deterioration or spoilage from the time they are harvested, slaughtered, or manufactured. Foods undergo physiological, chemical, and biological changes & make them unfit for human consumption. Numbers of causes are responsible for food deterioration. These include: • Micro-organisms • Activities of enzymes present in food • Insects • parasites • rodents • temperature • moisture • Oxygen, light, and time These factors are not isolated in nature. At any one time, many forms of spoilage may take place depending upon the food and environmental conditions. • Micro-organism: bacteria, yeasts & moulds spoil food after harvesting, during handling, processing & storage. The micro-organisms are found everywhere & are always present to invade the flesh of animas & plants. When there is a cut in their skin or if the skin is weakened by disease or death. • Food enzymes: enzymes present in plant & animal foods continue to...