About Food Processing and Preservation

Food preservation includes preventing the growth of bacteria, fungi or other micro-organisms as well as retarding the oxidation of fats that cause rancidity thus promoting longer shelf life and reduced hazard from eating the food. Food processing is the transformation of raw ingredients, by physical or chemical means into food, or of food into other forms. Food processing is process of transformation of raw ingredients into food by the means of physical and chemical means. It is the process of producing raw food ingredients into marketable food products which can be easily prepared and used by the consumers. Example of Food Processing includes preparing space food for consumption under zero gravity. It is easy to keep processes food for long time, Canned and frozen fruits and vegetables, Foods fortified with nutrients such as fiber, vitamin D and omega-3 fatty acids. Safety is a major concern in food processing, because packaged food can be contaminated easily and due to increase in contamination quickly it can cause widespread illness. Food processing must be balanced with the food preservation also. Food preservation is to stop or slow down the spoilage of food, loss of quality and edibility of food for longer time. It involves preventing the growth of bacteria, fungi and microorganisms from. It includes drying, refrigeration, freezing, vacuum packing etc.