Current food problems

So many issues have been said and noticed about food production and processing. Considerable attention is to be given to some of these current food problems such as;

Water activity of foods

This refers to the availability of water in a food or beverage and represents the amount of water that is available to microorganisms. Pure water has an aw of 1.00.

Canning breads and cakes

Canning breads or cakes are not recommended. Due to the fact that canning process and product may support the growth of clostridium botulinum which produces deadly botulism toxin.

Preserving foods in oil

Vegetable, Garlic or herb in oil mixtures may enhance the growth of clostridium botulinum bacteria. At least three outbreaks of botulism associated with garlic-in-oil mixtures have been reported. For safety reasons, they should be made fresh.

Vacuum packaging

Some pathogenic bacteria such as clostridium botulinum grow in low-oxygen environments and they reproduce well in vacuum-packaged foods. Do not store vacuum packaged moist foods at room temperature, they need to be stored in the refrigerator or the freezer to remain safe.

Food