Author
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VAN LAACK RIETTE - 1280-15-00 |
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Submitted to: Book Chapter
Publication Type: Book / Chapter Publication Acceptance Date: 3/18/1994 Publication Date: N/A Citation: N/A Interpretive Summary: None. Technical Abstract: People have been preserving muscle foods for ages. Only since the 19th century have we gained insight and understanding into the processes responsible for spoilage and the mechanisms behind food preservation procedures. Meat preservation involves the application of measures to delay or prevent changes which make the product unusable as a food or which hdowngrade some of its quality aspects. The various types of spoilage and the mechanisms involved are discussed. Microbial spoilage is the most important and often precedes other types of spoilage. The general purpose of preservation is to reduce the number of microorganisms in order to extend the shelf-life of a product and to reduce or eliminate public health hazards. Food preservation is achieved by combining several microbial growth-limiting factors such as pH, water activity and temperature. Preservation by chilling, freezing, heating, microwave, irradiation, dehydration and curing are discussed. It is shown that the hurdle concept (e.g., superimposing growth limiting factors) has been applied in these more traditional preservation procedures as well as in newly developed procedures. Newer preservation methods, such as high pressure treatment and oscillating magnetic field pulses, are introduced. Hurdles are to a certain extent interchangeable and may be adapted as technology improves, i.e., the energy-consuming hurdle temperature may be replaced by less energy-intensive hurdles such as water activity and/or pH. A sensible combination of hurdles can secure the microbial stability of a food, and at the same time, improve the sensory, nutritive, toxicological and economical properties of the product. |
