Food Processing and Preservation

These flashcards encompass key vocabulary and concepts related to food processing and preservation, as presented in the lecture.

Food Processing

Any operation carried out on raw food that results in a processed food product.

Food Preservation

Extending the shelf life of food to prevent spoilage and maintain safety.

Asepsis

Keeping out microorganisms to prevent microbial growth in food.

Microbial Growth Inhibition

Methods to slow or stop the growth of harmful microbes in food, such as altering pH or reducing water activity.

Pasteurization

Heat treatment applied to foods to destroy pathogenic microorganisms and inactivate spoilage-causing enzymes.

Sterilization

Killing all microorganisms in a food product using intense heat treatment.

Canning

A preservation method involving the sealing of food in containers and heat treatment to destroy microbes.

Blanching

Briefly dipping food in boiling water to inactivate enzymes before freezing.

Dehydration

Removing most of the water from food to extend shelf life and reduce weight.

Fortification

Adding nutrients to food to enhance its nutritional quality.

Probiotic

A food that contains live bacteria that provide health benefits.

Water Activity (Aw)

A measure of the availability of water in food for microbial growth.

pH Adjustment

Altering the acidity of food to inhibit microbial growth, often done by adding acids.

Antinutritional Factors

Substances in some foods that inhibit nutrient absorption; cooking can destroy them.

Chemical Preservatives

Substances added to food to prevent spoilage and increase shelf life.

Cryogenic Freezing

A method of quick freezing food by immersion in a cryogenic fluid.

Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP)

A packaging technique that alters the gaseous environment inside the package to extend shelf life.

Irradiation

Exposing food to ionizing radiation to destroy microbes and enhance preservation.