3rd Quarter Handouts in Elective Science 8

FOOD SPOILAGE

Learning objectives:
To understand the need to preserve food.
To understand the factors that promote enzyme and microbial activity.
To understand the underlying principles of methods of food preservation used in the home.

Food spoilage - Food becoming unfit for consumption, for example, due to chemical or biological contamination.

Food Groups
1. Highly Perishable

Meat
Fruit
Milk
Vegetables
Eggs
2. Semi perishable
Potatoes
Nuts
Flour
3. Stable

Rice
Dry beans

As soon as food is harvested, slaughtered or manufactured into a product it starts to change. This is caused by two main
processes:
Autolysis (non-microbial) self destruction, caused by enzymes present in the food;
Microbial spoilage caused by the growth of bacteria, yeasts and molds.

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Sources of microorganisms in food
The primary sources of microorganisms in food include:
1. Soil and water
2. Plant and plant products
3. Food utensils
4. Intestinal tract of man and animals
5. Food handlers
6. Animal hides and skins
7. Air and dust

ENZYME ACTION
1. Ripening - Enzymes cause food to ripen, then become over-ripe and eventually decay. Starch changes to sugar, colour
changes and texture softens.
2. Browning - When certain foods are cut and the surface exposed to air, enzymes cause them to turn brown. e.g.
apples,
3. Enzymatic rotting - Enzymes in fish cause deterioration even at low temperatures.

CONTROLLING ENZYMATIC SPOILAGE

1. Inactivated by heating - cooking, canning.
2. Cold temp slows action - cool storage.
3. Enzymes in vegetables work at low temperatures so they must be blanched before freezing.
4. Acid inactivates enzymes - lemon juice used to stop browning.
5. Sulphur dioxide stops enzymatic spoilage.

Foodborne Illness Disease that is caused by pathogenic microorganisms in food.

3 Types of Food Poisoning

1. Chemical - Caused by pesticides, antibiotics, metals.
2. Biological- Caused by toxins naturally present in food e.g. red kidney beans, green potatoes.
3. Bacterial - Caused by pathogenic bacteria in food

Symptoms of Food Poisoning

1. Abdominal cramps
2. Nausea
3. Vomiting
4. Diarrhea
5. Fever
6. Loss of appetite

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Tip: Dont eat for 24 hours. Drink cooled boiled water.

2 Types of Bacterial Food Poisoning

1. Toxic
2. Infectious

TOXIC BACTERIAL FOOD POISONING

Caused by eating food containing toxins.
Exotoxins are made by bacteria in the food before and after its eaten.
Exotoxins are difficult to destroy - must be boiled for 30minutes.
Symptoms develop quickly - within a few hours of eating the food.
Exotoxins are made by Staphylococci, Clostridium botulinum.

INFECTIOUS BACTERIAL FOOD POISONING

Caused by eating food containing large numbers of pathogenic bacteria that produce endotoxins.
The endotoxins are released when the bacteria die in your intestine.
Endotoxins are easily destroyed by normal cooking/heating of food.
Symptoms take longer to occur - over 12 hours.
Salmonella and listeria cause infectious food poisoning.

HIGH RISK FOODS

Liquid protein foods (drinkable yogurt , milk, shakes and high-protein smoothies
Milk, cream, eggs (protein rich)
Meat, poultry, fish.
Meat dishes e.g. pies, gravies.
Soups and stocks.
Egg dishes e.g. custard, mayonnaise.
Reheated dishes.

Dehydrated foods Foods from which the water has been removed.

Food preservation Methods

1. Drying - Extraction of moisture by sun, air, heat or vacuum to inhibit the growth of molds, bacteria and yeasts.
2. Salting - the addition of salt or a brine solution to foods to decrease the activity of molds, bacteria and yeasts.
3. Fermentationthe use of special bacteria, molds or yeasts to prevent spoilage by converting the elements of
food that spoil easily to stable elements that act as preservatives.
4. Smoking - the addition of smoke and heat to preserve food by the action of the chemicals from the smoked
wood and the partial drying of the food.
5. Canning - the packing of food in a container, sealing the container and heating it to sterilize the food.
6. Pasteurization - the heating of milk and other liquids which reduces the number of disease-producing bacteria.

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 7. Refrigeration - the lowering of the temperature of food to inhibit the growth of bacteria, molds and yeasts.
8. Freezing - the lowering of the temperature of food to temperatures below 28 degrees F to stop the growth of
bacteria, yeasts and molds and to kill parasites.
9. Freeze-drying - the freezing of food and the subsequent removal of water from the frozen food through the use
of heat and a vacuum.
10. Food concentration - heating food until it boils and removing the water or partially freezing food and removing
water in the form of ice crystals.
11. Irradiation - passing energy through food to destroy insects, fungi, or bacteria that cause human disease or
cause food to spoil.

Disadvantages of freezing
Most food contains large amounts of water. When water is frozen, ice is formed. Large ice crystals are formed
when food is slowly frozen, this can damage the cell structure of the food. When the food defrosts, the water enclosed
within the cells is released, e.g. cell damage in soft fruits (strawberries) and the collapse of some colloidal systems in
food products, e.g. cream. Freezing food quickly can reduce the size of ice crystals. When frozen, micro-organisms do
not die, they simply become dormant, retarding their growth. Molds can still grow in cold temperatures.

Unsafe food handling practices:

Failure to wash hands before preparing food

Working with food when ill
Cutting raw meat on cutting board and not washing the board before cutting something else
Touching raw meat and not washing hands before touching other food
Using the same plate for cooked meat as used for raw meat
Sharing water bottles or other drinks backwash
Eating or drinking out of food containers in the refrigerator
Not washing hands after sneezing or blowing nose
Juices from raw meat dripping down on other food in refrigerator
Touching food with hands instead of serving piece
Preparing food with an open cut on the hands
Using the same spoon to stir as to taste food
Double dipping with chips or other foods
Reusing plastic food bags
Wiping dishes with dirty hand towel
Pets licking dishes

Places microorganisms can hide:

Pets or unclean book bags on counter tops or tables

Dirty sink drains and counters
Telephone and other often-touched items
Unclean cooking utensils
Unclean door and drawer handles
Dirty can openers
Contaminated dishcloth
Unsanitized sponges and scrubbies

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