Food processing

Food processing is the set of methods and techniques used to transform raw ingredients into food for consumption by humans and animals. The food processing industry utilizes these processes. Food processing often takes clean, harvested or slaughtered and butchered components and uses these to produce attractive and marketable food products. Similar processes are used to produce animal feed.

Common food processing techniques include:

~ removal of unwanted outer layers, such as potato peeling or the skinning of peaches

~ chopping or slicing , of which examples include potato chips, diced carrot, or candied peel

~ mincing and macerating

~ liquefaction, such as to produce fruit juice

~ cooking, such as boiling, broiling, frying, steaming or grilling

~ mixing

~ addition of gas such as air entrainment for bread or gasification of soft drinks

~ proofing

~ spray drying

Extreme examples of food processing include the delicate preparation of deadly fugu fish, preparing space food for consumption under zero gravity, winemaking , hot dogs, chicken nuggets.

History. Food processing dates back to the prehistoric ages when crude processing incorporated slaughtering, sun drying, preserving with salt, and various types of cooking (such as roasting, smoking, steaming and oven baking). Salt- preservation was especially common for foods that constituted warriors and sailors’ diets, up until the introduction of canning methods. These crude processing techniques remained especially the same until the advent of the industrial revolution.

Modern food processing technology in the 19-th and 20-th century was largely developed to serve military needs. In 1809 Nicolas Appert invented a vacuum bottling technique that would supply food for French troops, and this contributed to the development of tinning and then canning by Peter Durand in 1810. Although initially expensive and somewhat hazardous due to the lead used in cans, canned goods would later become a staple around the world. Pasteurization, discovered by Louis Pasteur in 1862, was a significant advance in ensuring the micro-biological safety of food.

In the 20-th century WWII, the space race and rising consumer society in developed countries ( including the United States) contributed to the growth of food processing with such advances as spray drying, juice concentrates, freeze drying and the introduction of artificial sweeteners, colorants, and preservatives such as sodium benzoate and saccharine. In the late 20-th century products such as dried instant soups, reconstituted fruits and juices, and self cooking meals were developed.

Because the 20-th century witnessed a rise in the pursuit of convenience, food processors especially marketed their products to middle- class working wives and mothers. Frozen foods found their success in sales of juice concentrates. Processors utilized the perceived value of time to appeal to the postwar population, and this same appeal contributes to the success of convenience foods today.

Benefits. Benefits of food processing include toxin removal, preservation, improving flavor, easing marketing and distribution tasks, and increasing food consistency. In addition, it increases seasonal availability of many foods, enables transportation of delicate perishable foods across long distances, and makes many kinds of foods safe to eat by removing the microorganisms. Modern supermarkets would not be feasible without modern processing techniques, long voyages would not be possible, and military campaigns would be significantly more difficult and costly to execute. Modern food processing also improves the quality of life for allergic, diabetics, and other people who cannot consume some common food elements. Food processing can also add extra nutrients.

Drawbacks. Food processing can lower the nutritional value of some foods. Some preservatives added or created during processing such as nitrites and sulphites may cause adverse health effects on some consumers. In addition, high quality and hygiene standards must be maintained to ensure consumer safety and failures to maintain adequate standards can have serious health consequences.

In general, fresh food that has not been processed other than by washing and simple kitchen preparation, may be expected to contain a higher proportion of naturally occurring vitamins, fiber and minerals than the equivalent product processed by the food industry. However, fresh materials are more liable to early spoilage and are often unsuited to long distance transportation from source to shelf. Fresh materials, such as fresh products and raw meat are also more likely to harbor pathogenic microorganisms (e.g. Salmonella) capable of causing serious illnesses.

Food processing industries and practices include:

meat packing plant

industrial rendering

slaughterhouse

vegetable packing plant

cannery.

Notes to the text

food processing industry пищевая перерабатывающая промышленность

marketable food products пригодные для продажи пищевые продукты

animal feed корм для животных

potato chops хрустящий картофель

diced carrot морковь кубиками

candied peel цукаты из кожуры

hot dog булочка с горячей сосиской

GRAMMAR AND VOCABULARY EXERCISES

1. Answer the following questions:

1. What is food processing?

2. What are common food processing techniques?

3. When did processing appear?

4. What contributed to the growth of food processing?

5. What are the advantages and disadvantages of food processing?

6. What industries does food processing incorporate?

2. Agree or disagree with the following statements. Give your reasons for or against.

1. Food processing often takes cooking and canning to produce attractive and marketable food products.

2. Boiling, broiling, frying, steaming and grilling are used as the most common processing techniques.

3. Until the introduction of canning methods, salt preservation was common for food.

4. Spray drying, juice concentrates, freeze drying were introduced only in the 21-th century.

5. High quality and hygiene standards aren’t always necessary to ensure consumer safety.

3. Write questions for these sentences.

1. Fresh materials are more liable to early spoilage.

(What materials/ to be liable to/)?

2. Some preservatives as well as nitrites or sulphites may cause adverse health effects.

(What/ to cause/ adverse effects/)?

3. The introduction of artificial sweeteners, colorants and preservatives contributed to the growth of food processing.

(What/ to contribute/ the growth/)?

4. Food processing dates back to the prehistoric ages.

(When/ to appear/ food processing/)?

5. Food processing methods and techniques are used for production of animal feed.

(Where/to be used/ methods and techniques/)?

4. Change Active into Passive.

Model. 1. Scientists introduce new methods of preserving food.

New methods of preserving food are introduced by scientists.

2. Students cannot verify the solution of this equation easily.

The solution of this equation cannot be verified by the students.

1. All the specialists subject plant oil to hydrogenation at margarine.

2. They usually heat the milk in the batch method.

3. The specialists should process cream, chocolate milk, ice- cream mix at higher temperatures.

4. First of all, they clean, roast, crack and free the raw beans from the shell and germ.

5. The specialists must mould, cool and wrap the chocolate after conching.

6. Then they pump the chocolate liquor to hydraulic presses where most of the cacao- butter is removed.

5. Make up a plan for retelling the text.

6. Be ready to discuss the text “Food Processing”.