Food Processing – A challenging job

by

Eric Ittah

Food processing is a very challenging method of making different types of food products. A lot of factors are kept into consideration to ensure that the products processed are pure, safe and healthy. Today, every consumer in the market wants to buy items that are safe, nutritious and affordable. Though the professionals working in different food processing units keep a number of things into consideration, but there are a number of scenarios when all these considerations fail.

Food items perish for a number of good reasons. Some of the main factors include:

Breeding of tiny microscopic organisms

Enzymes

Temperature

Moisture/humidity

There is no wrong in saying that the quality of raw materials also plays a major role in the processing of food. If the quality of the raw materials is good, the products produced will be of good quality and will be safe to use for a long time. Also, good processing techniques help in the production of superior quality products. So, we cannot assume that only there is one factor responsible for making any food product safe and healthy.

Professionals working in production houses use a number of different techniques to ensure that the processed products are free from contamination. Some of these processes include:

Addition of chemicals – A number of chemicals is added during the production of food items to check the growth of microorganisms. Preservatives, salt, sugar, wood smoke and many spices also inhibit the growth of micro organisms.

Blanching Blanching is a physical processing process where a slight heat treatment is given to fruits and vegetables using hot water or steam. This process is mainly applied to vegetables before canning or freezing.

Refrigeration Refrigeration is also a process used for preventing the growth of microbes on food items. This process is mainly used to reduce spoilage during the circulation of perishable foods, and to increase the storage life of commercially processed foods.

Dehydration Dehydration is a process that helps in the complete removal of water from solid foods. It is a very primitive method and is cost effective too. The two common methods of drying are spray drying and freeze drying. Some of the best examples of dehydrated food include dried soup mixes, dried fruit, powdered milk and spices.

All the above food processing methods are useful in making food items free from any type of contamination. The professionals dealing with these processes ensure that they deal with all these methods in a well protected way.

Eric Ittah from Canada is the author of this article.

Eric Ittah

is a leading biopharmaceutical consultant and has graduated from Mc Gill University in Food Sciences and Agricultural Chemistry.

Eric Ittah

has deep understanding of all the aspects involved in the process of food processing.

Article Source:

ArticleRich.com