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WEEK 3: PERISHABLE AND NON-PERISHABLE FOOD
WEEK 3
TOPIC: PERISHABLE AND NON-PERISHABLE FOOD
MEANING OF PERISHABLE FOOD
Perishable foods are those foods that are easy to spoil or Perishable foods are those foods likely to spoil, decay or become unsafe if not kept refrigerated at 400 or (44oc) or below, frozen at 00f (-17.80C) or below. Examples of perishable foods are: meat, poultry, fish, vegetables and raw fruits.
Some bacteria can cause food to spoil and develop unpleasant odours, tastes and textures.
Storage of perishable foods
Cold storage is the process of storing food in the refrigerator
i. Fresh meat and fresh fish should be stored in the freezer
ii. Some fresh fruits, vegetables like tomatoes, pepper, washed bitter leaf can also be stored in the freezer
iii. Cooked food, soup, stew etc can as well be stored in the freezer
iv. Bread should be stored in bread bin or lower part of the refrigerator
v. Fresh poultry egg should be stored at the lower compartment of the refrigerator. Some fridges are filled with egg trays or crates
vi. Vegetable and fruits should be put in plastic containers or nylon bags and stored in the lower compartment of the refrigerator. They should not be stored for a long period of time, else they lose taste, colour etc.
vii. Some fruits and vegetable can be stored outside the fridge, in a cool airy environment for a short period, eg onion
viii. Apart from storing food in the freezer and refrigerators, perishable foods can be processed into a form that can be stored for a very long period, eg fish can be smoked, while vegetable can be dried and stored
Non-perishable food
Non-perishable foods are those foods that do not spoil easily. They are foods that stay long if handled well but can lose quality if stored over along period of time.
Non perishable food includes: beans, rice, sugar, spices, yams, flour, maize etc. These are kept in food storage containers.
Food storage containers: these are containers that can be use to hold foods at room temperature, in the fridge or in the freezer. Food storage containers includes:
1. Plastic bags: They are used for storing food in the freezer, refrigerator, room or cupboard. They are made of different sizes and some sealable.
2. Glass Containers: These are mostly clear, frosted glass or bottle with air tight plastic lid for sealing or covering the container; glass container should be cold and heat resistant to avoid breakage. They are use for storing groundnut, grind pepper, egusi, ogbono, crayfish etc.
3. Plastic food containers: These are available in many sizes, shape and styles and of varying thickness. They have air tight lids to avoid moisture loss when kept in a freezer or refrigerator or in cupboards. They do not break easily, They are used for storing dried grains eg beans, maize, rice etc, ground produce eg yam flour, soya beans, liquid eg cooking oil and food ingredients eg salty, crayfish, sugar etc.
4. Bags and jute sacs: These are used for storing dried grain products like maize, beans, rice, garri. The store room maybe fumigated to kill pests or add some dried pepper to the food
5. Bin storage: These includes tins, drum and molded pot used for storing grains in the househo0ld
6. Basket: some food like kolanutetc are store with basket
7. Canning: This involves the storage of food items under hygienic conditions in air tight cans and tins.
8. Food store: These are rooms built near the kitchen which is used for storing food. They are fumigated from time to time to kill pest
Differences between perishable and non-perishable food
The differences between perishable and non-perishable food are stated in the table below:
S/NO |
PERISHABLE FOOD |
NON PERISHABLE FOODS |
1 |
Perishable food are those foods that spoil easily |
They are those foods that can not spoil easily |
2 |
They cannot be kept for a long time |
They can be kept for a long time if stored properly |
3 |
Perishable foods includes: fruits, fresh fish, meat, vegetable such as tomatoes, fresh pepper etc |
They includes yam, maize, beans, sugar, flour etc |
4 |
These foods cannot be bought in bulk |
These foods can be bought in bulk |
Summary
Perishable foods are foods that can spoil easily eg fresh fruits, vegetable like tomatoes, pepper, fresh meat, fresh fish etc. Perishable foods can be stored using cold storage process like putting fresh food in the freezer, refrigerator or in an open environment.
Non perishable foods are foods that can not spoil easily eg maize, beans, rice, dried fish & meat. Non perishable foods can be stored in food storage containers eg plastic bag, glass container, bags or jute sac etc.
The difference between perishable and non-perishable foods are, perishable food can not be stored for a very long time while non-perishable food can be stored for a long time.
Assignment
1. Give 3 examples of foods that can spoil easily and they are called __________
2. Non perishable food are?
3. In a tabular form state 4 differences between perishable food and non perishable foods
