ABSTRACT
Processing food for its preservation aims at arresting the biological deterioration of foodstuffs that is caused either by microorganisms contaminating the foods or by the endogenous enzymes present in the foods, which would bring about undesirable changes in appearance, odor, taste, tex ture, or nutritional quality. Foods gradually undergo deterioration or spoilage from the time they are harvested, slaughtered, or manufactured. Some foods such as fruits, vegetables, and fishes spoil rapidly; others, such as cereal grains can keep longer but for limited periods. The useful stor age or marketable life of highly perishable foods such as leafy vegetables and fishes is less than a day or two at 21°C. The deteriorative changes (physiological, chemical, or biological) in such high-moisture foods are so rapid as to render them virtually useless for consumption in a matter of few hours (1-4).
