THE PRINCIPLES UNDERLYING OF FOOD PRESERVATION

The art of food preservation is based on the following reasons:

1. Destruction of micro-organisms

2. Prevention of their entry into the food

3. Arrest or prevention of purely chemical reactions

4. Arrest of the action of food enzymes

REASONS FOR PRESERVING FOOD

Foods are preserved for the following reasons:

To prevent spoilage

To avoid wastage, especially when they are in season

To prolong its shelf life

To allow for the use of foods during the off-season

To eliminate the purchase of foods when they are most expensive

To introduce variety in the family menu

To be able to take care of emergency situations

CAUSES OF FOOD SPOILAGE

Food spoilage is undesirable changes taking place in the food which eventually leads to its rejection.
Food spoilage can be caused by the following factors.

Action of insects

Action of enzymes present in the food

Purely chemical reaction in the food

Action of micro-organisms e.g. bacteria, yeast and moulds

Physical changes on the food

It must be emphasized that only wholesome foods should be preserved as preservation methods will
not improve the quality of the food.We should therefore ensure that any food to be preserved must be
of good quality. Also, to achieve the maximum effect of any preservation method employed, the food
must be prepared accordingly. Some of the preparation that should be embarked upon before
preserving our foods are:

Clean the food thoroughly

Cut the food into desired sizes

Ensure that the food is of good quality i.e. wholesomeness of the food

Package food appropriately and label if need be.

VARIOUS METHODS OF PRESERVING FOOD

People have various methods by which they preserve their food. These include: drying, smoking, frying,
salting, bagging, heating, fermentation, blanching etc.

DRYING /DEHYDRATION: - drying is the process by which water is removed from farm products to a
reasonable level to avoid spoilage. Drying is one of the oldest methods of food preservation.

TYPES OF DRYING

1. Sundry or Solar drying e.g. cassava, maize, melon, cereal, legumes, yams etc.

2. Oven drying e.g. melon, legumes

3. Roller drying e.g. vegetable

4. Vacuum drying e.g. milk

5. Spray drying e.g. milk, egg white, cocoa beverages

6. Roasting on fire/hot oven e.g. meat, fish

7. Tunnel drying e.g. vegetable

8. Freeze drying e.g. vegetables, fish, meat

MERITS AND DEMERITS OF DRYING

Dying reduces water activity sufficiently to prevent or delay bacterial growth. It works well for many
food types. It is an inexpensive method of preservation as you rely more on the sun. Drying also reduces
weight, making food more portable, dried foods are compact and easily stored or carried. Drying works
because it removes much of the foods water, without adequate water, microorganisms cannot multiply
and chemical activities greatly slow down. The greatest disadvantages of drying food include loss of
colour, loss of flavour and loss of vitamins, some of these losses can be mitigated by not drying the food
too long. Dried food can be kept for a long time without spoiling; examples of food that can be dried are
maize, peeled cassava, peeled yam, some vegetables etc.

THE RATE OF DRYING OF FOODSTUFF CAN BE AFFECTED BY THE FOLLOWING FACTORS:

- The amount of surface area of the foodstuff exposed to the dry air or heat

- The physical properties of the drying environment

- The efficiency of the equipment

- The method of arrangement of the food stuff on the drying material e.g. tray, mat, concrete floor in
relation to the heat source or medium

SMOKING: - smoking is one of the ways of preserving farm produce. Smoking reduces water activity
gradually to prevent bacteria and fungi growth. It works well for most food, like fish, tobacco leaves, etc.
smoking works because it removes much of the foods water, it also reduces weight, making food more
portable, dried foods are compact and easily stored or carried. The disadvantages of smoking food
include loss of colour, loss of aroma and loss of quality, some of these losses can be avoid by not
smoking the food too long. Smoked food can be kept for a long time without spoiling. Farm animal
produce like fish and meat are sometimes smoked with wood fish or coal five. Smoking removes water
from the fish or meat and impacts sensory qualities, reduce moisture content and extend shelf life.

SALTING: - Salting is another ancient method of preservation. Salt can be used as part of the drying
process. Salt increases the storage time of some foods such as fish and it enhance the flavour of dried
foodstuffs. The use of salt water brine is another common method of preservation and it has the benefit
of stopping the growth of harmful organisms. Fish, meat and ground pepper can be preserved by either
mixing or rubbing them with salt.

FERMENTATION: - fermentation is one of the oldest, traditional method of food preservation. Food
fermentation involves the use of microorganisms and enzymes for the production of foods with distinct
quality attributes that are quite different from the original agricultural raw material. When a food
ferments, it produces acids that prevent the growth of organisms that cause spoilage. The conversion of
cassava to garri illustrates the importance of traditional fermentations. Apart from “garri” there is a vast
array of traditional fermented foods produced in Nigeria. These include pap, condiments such as locust
beans (iru), ogiri and alcoholic beverages such as shekete, agadagidi and kai-kai, palm wine. Lactic acid
bacteria and yeasts are responsible for most of these fermentations. The fermentation processes for
these products constitute a vita body of indigenous knowledge used for food preservation, acquired by
observations and experience and passed on from generation to generation. Apart from detoxification by
the elimination of naturally occurring nutritional stress factors, other benefits of traditional
fermentation include reduction of mycotoxins such as aflatoxins as in pap processing and the conversion
of otherwise inedible plant items such as African locust seed and bean to foods. I.e. Iru (locust bean) and
respectively by extensive hydrolysis of their indigestible components by microbial enzymes fermentation
improves the flavour and texture of raw agricultural produce, imparting a desirable sour taste to many
foods, such as garri and pap, and leading to the production of distinct flavour components
characteristics of many fermented foods. Fermentation may lead to significant improvement in the
nutritional quality of foods by increasing the digestibility of proteins through hydrolysis of proteins to
amino acids increasing bioavailability of minerals such as calcium phosphorus, zinc and iron through
hydrolysis of complexing agents such as phytate and oxalate, increasing nutrient levels, especially B-
vitamins, through microbial synthesis. The locust bean’s name might seem deceiving – while only
distantly related to beans, it is actually a tree. It is indigenous to the savannah regions of Africa, and
most commonly found in the band stretching from Senegal to Uganda. The fruit pulp and seed extracts
provide nutritious ingredients for traditional soups, sweetmeats and condiments across West Africa. The
production and sale of dawadawa, the fermented extract of locust seeds, constitutes an important
economic activity for women across West Africa. The locust bean is also extremely hardy; it is well suited
to a wide range of soils, it survives fires, thrives in semiarid tropical climates, and has a low susceptibility
to pests and diseases. The tree has a wide-reaching crown and can grow more than 20 meters tall.
Often, people climb all the way to the top to pick the fruit – long pods, containing small seeds and a
sweet edible pulp, that can grow as long as your forearm. The sugary pulp can be eaten raw, used in
traditional sweetmeats or mixed with water to make a refreshing drink. Given its sweet taste, children
love it, and because it keeps well for days, it is also popular among travelers. While the pulp makes for a
good energy snack, the seeds are the plants most sought after product. Rich in protein, starch, fiber,
sugar, and fat, as well as vitamins and minerals, such as calcium and iron, the seeds are about as
nutritionally balanced a food as you can find. Because the pods mature during “the hunger season,”
when most other vegetation has dried, the locust bean is a true lifesaver – it can be a source of
emergency food with a high nutritional value.

The seeds are famous for their greasy extract, which is fermented and pressed into cakes or balls, known
in West Africa as dawadawa. It has a pungent odor, often compared to that of aged cheese, and is used
as a condiment or an ingredient for soup. But the tree provides much more than just a source of
nutritious food. Dawadawa’s widespread popularity makes the locust seed an important commercial
item across West Africa. It is estimated that 200,000 tons of locust seeds are collected annually for
dawadawa, just in northern Nigeria. The production and sale of dawadawa constitutes an important
economic activity for women. In addition, the locust tree provides much-needed shade and shelter from
desert winds in thousands of villages across the continent. It is also beneficial to the underlying soil,
which is improved by dung and urine of livestock that shelter under the tree’s shade. Its leaves are so
rich in nitrogen and other minerals, that they are often collected as manure for soil improvement.
Most of the existing locust trees are found in the wild, and although the species’ response to
horticulture remains unclear, its multiple benefits make it an ideal candidate to promote in other
regions across the continent. The locust tree combines in a single species two of Africa’s greatest needs.

ROASTING: - Roasting is another method of preserving food, this impacts desirable sensory qualities,
enhances palatability, reduce antinutritional factors. Peanuts are roasted by stirring in hot sand in a flat
bottom frying pot over hot flame.

BLANCHING: - It is a method of preservation of food. It inactivates plant enzymes and minimize oxidative

changes leading to deterioration in sensory and nutritional qualities e.g. Enzymatic browning e.g. Slices
of yam for elubo (yam flour) production are heated in hot water in a pot for various durations.

HANGING BASKET: - Over the cooking area for preserving and drying food e.g. Fish is put inside the
basket made of light or strings of iron and allowed to be dried by heat coming out of the cooking area or
kitchen.

CANNING OR BOTTLING: - This process requires canning equipment and the ability to use a heat source.

Foods preserved by this method are sealed in a closed container, such as a can, glass or bottle, such
foods can be stored for up to a year. The cost of canning or bottling can be expensive after purchasing
the equipment and use of heating fuel and it is a fiddly process requiring sterilization and knowledge of
the temperature involved.Earning cannot be done in an oven but must be done using a water or steam
bath. There is a risk of severe food poisoning if the process is not followed properly especially the case
of low acid foods such as vegetables and meat. Lack of quality control in the canning process may allow
ingress of water or microorganisms. Most such failures are rapidly detected as decomposition within, it
can cause gas production and it can will swell or burst. However, there have been examples of poor
manufacture (underprocessing) and poor hygiene allowing contamination of canning food by the
obligate anaerobe Clostridium botulinum, which produces an acute toxin within the food, leading to
severe illness or death. This organism produces no gas or obvious taste and remains undetected by taste
or smell.Is toxin is denatured by cooking.

REFRIGERATION AND FREEZING: - These methods are one of the most commonly used processes

commercially and domestically for preserving a wide range of food including prepared food stuffs.
Naturally, this requires access to electricity-generated refrigeration systems but if you have this it is one
of the easiest methods to store food. There are many guidelines available on how long food can be
stored in refrigeration or in a freezer.

Downsides to this method include loss of food due to not knowing what is in your freezer or lacking or
lack of dating items when you freeze them thus necessitating throwing out items when you are not sure
and a tendency to over stock refrigerators with food that goes off because nobody could consume it in
time, or find it behind all the other food.
IRRADIATION: - Food irradiation is a physical method of preserving food. It has been thoroughly
researched over the past decade and is recognized as a safe and wholesome method. It has the
potential both of disinfecting dried food to storage losses and disinfecting fruits and vegetables to meet
quarantine requirements for export trade. Low doses of irradiation inhibit spoilage losses due to
sprouting of root and tuber crops. Food borne disease due to contamination by pathogenic micro-
organisms and parasites of meat, poultry, fish are on the increase. Irradiation of these solid foods can
decontaminate them of pathogenic organisms and thus provide safe food to the consumer.

One of the most important advantages of food irradiation processing or preservation is that it is a cold
process which does not significantly alter physic-chemical characters of the treated product it can be
applied to food after its final packaging one of the most important limitations of food irradiation
preservation is its slow acceptance by consumers, due inter alia to a perceived association with
radioactivity. The food industry tends to be reluctant to use the technology in view of uncertainties
regarding consumer acceptance of treated foods. Considering its potential role in the reduction of post-
harvest losses, providing safe supply of food and overcoming quarantine barriers, food irradiation has
received wider government approvals during the last decade. 6