Define the Food Processing?
We are all aware that delay in the use of fresh foods, alters its freshness, palatability and nutritive value. Therefore, it becomes very important that we transform the fresh raw material and ingredients into wholesome, safe, nutritious and acceptable foods to be used by the consumers throughout the year. This process of transforming fresh, raw material into wholesome, safe, nutritious and acceptable foods for the consumers is referred to as food processing. Food processing is as old as the human hunger. Thousands of years ago, hunters and gatherers cured meat, dried fruits and berries, and cooked meals for their families. From the simple foods for ancient peoples to the foods created for astronauts, food processing has been intimately linked with human endeavors. In this unit, we shall study about all the different aspects of processing i.e. its historical developments, what are the basic concepts and principles of food processing and preservation, why is food processing necessary, what are the different food processing techniques to prevent the food from the spoiling agents. Using this knowledge of food processing, we shall then learn about how to transform the food into a more palatable form with a prolonged shelf-life. But, before we learn about processing we need to understand food spoilage and its causes.