Food Processing

The history of food processing dates back to prehistoric times when perishable food items such as meat were cleaned and preserved using salt. The other common types of food processing in the historic times were pickling, smoking, and roasting. The food processing methods used by the ancient world is found in the writings of the Greeks, Romans and the Egyptians.

Food processing can be defined as a technique or a method to preserve the raw food for future consumption. Food processing industry is one of the fastest growing industries. The food-processing industry these has come up with partially cooked as well as pre-cooked food items. The integral part of food processing is food preservation.

Food preservation is the process of preserving food and it prevents the perishable food from getting spoiled. Food preservation stops the growth of food bacteria, fungi and also slows the oxidation of fat foods such as butter and cheese. The preserved foods need to be sealed to prevent it from being contaminated by microbes. This is known as food canning. Canned foods stay fresh for a longer period.

Five Ways to Preserve Food

Here are five different ways to preserve food for future consumption.

• Dry Canning - The grains such as rice and wheat; the nuts such as raisins, beans and legumes are the food stuff that is preserved and stored using the technique known as dry canning.
• Bottling of Food - This type of preservation is the oldest known method. The fruits, vegetables or meat can be bottled. Here the food is cooked at a boiling temperature and cooled well before canning them. However, if the food is not canned with care at the required temperature and within a specific time period it could lead to botulism (food poisoning caused by deadly toxins).
• Drying Food - Some of the seasonal fruits and vegetables could be dehydrated before preservation. This is called as drying or dehydrating food. You can dehydrate the fruits and vegetables by keeping them out in the sun or by using a dehydrator. Fruits such as apples, bananas, peaches and grapes could be dried and later stored in airtight containers. Dried fruits such as raisins, cashew-nut are preserved using the technology of drying.
• Smoking - Smoking is one of the methods to preserve meat. The smoked meat not only retains the nutrients and taste but also stays unspoiled for many months. There are many delicious smoked meat recipes that could be mashed up in a jiffy.
• Freezing - Vegetables such as peas and fresh beans can be frozen. If you are planning to freeze vegetables at home, use heavy-duty freezer bags.

Food processing and food packaging industries play a vital role in preserving food. People who go camping purchase canned food and pre-cooked food; there is also foods available known as camp foods.

Demerits of Processed Food
The studies reveal, the processed foods have low nutritional value. For instance, vitamin C is destroyed by heat; hence canned fruits are low in vitamins.

The processed foods include food additives, which are chemicals that could cause adverse health problems.

The unprocessed foods are low in calories and high in essential nutrients. While canned foods have less nutrients and are referred as high calories. Fore.g, junk food such as potato chips.

The process of processing food is very expensive which leads to the increase in the prices of canned food