Nutritional

Biochemistry
Dr. Gull-e-Faran
Assistant Professor
(Biochemistry)
Food preservation methods
1-Physical methods
2-Chemical methods
3-Biopreservation
 Food processing
All the operations by which raw foodstuffs (animal
and plant tissue) converted into forms that
• will not spoil as quickly as the fresh, whole foods
(raw materials) from which they were made
• is convenient and practical to consume.
• includes basic preparation of food, alteration of a
food product into another form and preservation
and packaging techniques.
 Why foods are processed?
• to reduce or eliminate harmful microbes from
growing in foods so that they remain fresh,
wholesome, nutritious, safe, and free from the
effects of spoilage for a certain length of time
• manufacture specific desirable food products
that exhibit a certain shelf life
 Physical methods

Those methods that utilize physical

treatments to inhibit, destroy, or remove
undesirable M.O or endogenous enzymes
without involving antimicrobial additives
or products of microbial metabolism as
preservative factors.
1- Heat Treatments.
A- High- heat treatments
B- Low - heat treatments
2-Drying
3-Radiation
4-Filtrations
 High-Heat Treatments
• It is the most effective method for
inactivating M.O and enzymes
• It is either applied to foods in their
final container or prior to packaging.
• It is depend on time-temperature
relationship
 Effect of heating on M.O
• Sufficient heating cause irreversible
denaturation of cell proteins and
metabolic enzymes and cause death.
• If heat is not severe it will cause cell
injury
 Types of high-heat treatment
1-Blanching
The food substance, usually
a vegetable or fruit, is
plunged into boiling water,
removed after a brief, timed
interval and finally plunged into iced water
or placed under cold running water
(shocked) to halt the cooking process.
 Primarily used for fruits & vegetables
–Deactivates natural food enzymes
• Kills some bacteria.
• Blanching time is crucial and varies with the
vegetable and size of the pieces to be frozen.
• Under blanching speeds up the activity of
enzymes and is worse than no blanching.
• Over blanching causes loss of flavor, color,
vitamins and minerals.
• Carrots
• Small, whole - 5 min
• Diced, sliced or lengthwise strips - 2 min
• Mushrooms
• Whole (steamed) - 5 min
• Buttons or quarters (steamed) - 3½ min
• Slices (steamed) - 3 min
• Okra
• Small pods - 3 min
• Large pods - 4 min
 Resistance of M.O to Heat
• Psychrophiles are the most heat sensitive;
thermophiles are the most heat resistant
• Sporeformers are more heat resistant
compared to vegetative
• Cocci more resistant than rods
• Spores produced by mold are more heat
resistant than the bacterial spores
• D value = decimal reduction time or time
( sec, min, hr) it takes to kill 90% of a
population ( 1 log cycle) at a certain
temperature under given conditions ( pH, food
type etc.)
• Z-value = the increase in temperature
required to reduce the thermal death time 10-
fold
• F-value = Time in minutes needed to
destroy a specific number of microbial
cells or microbial spores at a reference
temperature (121.1 ºC)
• Determine the D value for a M.O in a
particular food at a specified temperature
by assessing the number of survivors over
a specified time. Construct a thermal
death time curve
Example :
• Start with a population of 1,000,000 bacteria
• 1,000,000 x 90/100 = 900,000 killed
• 1,000,000 - 900,000 = 100,000 survive
• ( 1/10 survive; 9/10 killed)
• 1 D =90 % kill
• 100,000 x 90/100 = 90,000 killed
• 100,000 - 90,000 = 10,000 survive
• (1/100 survive; 99/100 killed)
• 2 D = 99% kill
• 10,000 x 90/100 = 9,000 killed
• 10,000 - 9,000 = 1,000 survive
• ( 1/1000 survive; 999/1000 killed)
• 3 D = 99.9%
• Example : D72C = 1.2 sec for a bacterium
• When heating a food at 72C, 90% of the bacterial
population will be killed every 1.2 sec.
• After 1.2 sec 90 % killed
2.4 sec 99 % killed
3.6 sec 99.9 killed
4.8 sec 99.99 killed
• The higher the D value the more resistant the MO.
• Pooled raw milk at the processing plant has
bacterial population of 4x106/mL.
• It is to be processed at 79°C for 21 sec.
• The average D value at 65°C for the mixed
population is 7 min.
• The Z value is 7°C.
• How many organisms will be left after
pasteurization? What time would be required at
65°C to accomplish the same degree of lethality?
Factors influencing the heat
resistance of MO
1.Water activity
Decreasing relative humidity, moisture or
aw increases heat resistance ( when heated
in water versus air)
Wet heat
Heat treatment in the presence of
water where M.O killed by
denaturation
Dry heat
It is less lethal and kills M.O by
dehydration and oxidation
2. Fat content
Increasing the fat content of a food generally
increases the heat resistance (may protect the
cell against moisture loss).
3. Carbohydrate content
Increasing the CHO content of foods
generally results in an increase in heat
resistance ( resistance varies depending on
nature of CHO)
4.Salts
The presence of certain salt may either increase
(NaCl) or decrease (CaCl2) heat resistance
( some salts may decrease water activity
thereby promoting heat resistance)
5. Proteins
Increasing the level of protein in a food results
in increased heat resistance
6.Most MO are maximally heat resistant at their
optimum pH.
An increase or decrease from this value
normally results in an increase in heat sensitivity
7. Initial number of MO in a food. Increasing the
levels normally result in greater survivors ( some
bacteria may release protective substances in the
food or liquid, menstruum , they are heated in).
8. Heat resistance tends to increase with an
increase in growth temperature ( especially
for spore forming MO)

9.The heat resistance of a MO decrease when

heated in the presence of an inhibitory
compound ( acid, bacteriocin, NO2, etc)
• Holding time:
the food should be heated at specific
temperature for a specific time

• Cold point:
the centre of can filed with solid food
 2-Pasteurization
• The process of heating food to ensures
destruction of all non spore forming
pathogens (bacteria, viruses, protozoa,
molds, and yeasts) and a large number
of spoilage M.O (99 to 99.9%) and
heat sensitive enzymes
• Products that can be pasteurized : eggs,
sports drinks, canned food, water , juice,
honey, apple cider, milk
• Time/temperature kills all pathogens or
reduces them to levels which are safe;
incapable of growing in milk under
proper storage conditions.
A - High temperature, short time (HTST)
72C for16 sec. and then immediately
cooled to less than 10°C
B - Low temperature, long time (LTLT)
63C for 30 min. and then immediately
cooled to less than 10°C
• Small number of spore forming MO survive and
cause spoilage
• Two groups can survive milk pasteurization
a- Thermoduric
• Can survive exposure to relatively high temperature
but do not necessary grow at these temp.
b- Thermophilies
• They requires high temperature for their growth
and metabolic activity
 3- Sterilization
Destruction of all microorganisms vegetative
and spores
• Commercial sterility
No viable MO can be detected by
conventional cultural methods or that the
number of survivors is too low to be
significant under condition of storage
12-D concept
 minimum heat process that should reduce the
probability of survival of the most heat resistant Cl.
botulinum spores to 10-12.
 Inother words, minimum heat that would allow for
the survival of one Cl. botulinum spore in 1012 cans (1
billion cans).
 Processing for 2.52 min at 121C will achieve this
effect.
Holding time
the food should be heated at specific
temperature for a specific time
2.52 min at 121C

Cold point
the centre of can filed with solid food
 Time-Temperature Combinations

From thermal death curves, the following

time/temperature treatments yield the same
microbe killing effect:
0.78 min @ 127oC 10 min @ 116oC
1.45 min @ 124oC 36 min @ 110oC
2.78 min @ 121oC 150 min @ 104oC
5.27 min @ 118oC 330 min @ 100oC
Thermocouple Placement at
Cold Point in Can
 Protective Effects of
Food Constituents
• Sugar protects bacterial spores in canned
fruit
• Starch & protein protect spores
• Fats & Oils protect bacterial spores
• Every food particle inside a can must reach
the critical temperature for the required time
• Factors affecting heat penetration include:
size of can
shape of can
consistency of the food item (thick or thin)
nature of the food (particulate vs liquid)
From a microbiological point of view canned foods
are divided into groups depending on the final pH
of their product in order to prevent food
poisoning results from Clostridium botulinum
1) low acid: pH > 4.6
meats, some vegetables (corn and lima
beans)
2) medium acid to acid: pH 3.7 - 4.6
tomatoes, pears
3) high acid: pH < 3.7
sauerkraut, pickles , grapefruit
Infrequently canned food undergoes
microbial spoilage due to:
1- Underprocessing:
• Inadequate time/temperature applied;
incorrect calculation used for determining
the heat process.
• In acid canned foods this is largely due to
spores that survive then germinate.
• In hot filled foods spoilage may result from
yeast and mold and aciduric bacteria.
2- Post process leakage ( PPL):
• Most common form of spoilage.
• Can is contaminated ( leakage at the ‘canners
end’) following retorting perhaps during water
cooling.
• Most of the MO causing this problem are viable (
since the can has already been heated).
• From a ‘lot’, only a few cans show this condition.
3. Pre-process spoilage (incipient spoilage)
• Product is canned but held too long before retorting
especially at abusive temperatures ( perhaps due to a
power failure).
• Microscopic inspection of the retorted can contents
will show evidence of a mixed microflora of dead
MO.
• All cans in the lot will be effected and soft swells are
common.
Flat-sour bacteria
• Endo-spore forming bacteria that produce
acid but little or no gas in canned food and
usually there are more resistant than Cl.
botulium spores and they need 4 to 5 min at
121 ºC.
• Temperature abuse > 40 ºC but not < 30 ºC
• Bacillus sterothermophilus
 Aseptic Packaging
• Food is sterilized outside the can
• Placed into a sterile container and sealed
under aseptic conditions
• Paper and plastic packaging materials
most commonly used
• Most suitable for liquid-based food
products
 Hot Pack/Hot Fill
Filling unsterilized containers with
sterilized food that is still hot enough to
render the package commercially sterile.