Food processing and preservation technology / Horace Milton.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Food process engineering -- Consumption of food processing industries -- Emerging technologies in food preservation -- Fruit and vegetable processing -- Preservation of fruits and vegetables -- Investigation of foodborne disease outbreaks -- Food preservation through pickling -- Preservation: canning, freezing and drying.

"Food Processing and Preservation Technology is the transformation of raw ingredients into food, or of food into other forms. It typically takes clean, harvested crops or butchered animal products and uses these to produce attractive, marketable and often long shelf-life food products. Food Processing dates back to the prehistoric ages when crude processing incorporated slaughtering, fermenting, sun drying, preserving with salt, and various types of cooking. Modern food preparation methods improve the quality of life for people with allergies, diabetics, and other people who cannot consume some common food elements. Food preservation is the process of treating and handling food to stop or slow down food spoilage, loss of quality, edibility or nutritional value and thus allow for longer food storage. Preservation usually involves preventing the growth of bacteria, fungi, and other micro-organisms; as well as retarding the oxidation of fats which cause rancidity. Food preservation can also include processes which inhibit visual deterioration, such as the enzymatic browning reaction in apples after they are cut, which can occur during food preparation. Maintaining or creating nutritional value, texture and flavor is an important aspect of food preservation. This book presents a comprehensive review of technologies, procedures and innovations in food Processing and preservation, stressing topics vital to the food industry today and pinpointing the trends in future research and development. This text is a must-have for scientists and engineers involved in food manufacture, research and development in industry and academia, in addition to students of food-related topics at undergraduate and postgraduate levels." -- Back cover