Tag: #foodspoilage

Food : The Life Preserver

Article by – Shishir Tripathi
Intern at Hariyali Foundation
In collaboration with
Educational News

When an individual studies economics during the higher studies, they are told about different types of goods including the normal goods, inferior goods, luxurious goods and the essential goods. Energy is required by every organism to survive on the planet earth. Energy is gained in various forms like heat energy from consuming food. Whether a person is rich or poor, tall or short, fat or skinny, or just any other person and all other organisms need food and making it as an essential commodity required by all.


After a tiring day at the office, after an exhausting day with scorching sun on the farm, after a day with extra classes in the school, after a day with endless house chores, every other person of different age groups performing different roles in the economy need food at the end of the day. A Thali with 2 Chapattis and veggie, some pulse and rice will make the day of such an individual after a tiring day.


Fine, but the question arises that whether the availability of food is there for every person in the country? Is there any family or a person who sleeps without food? Does every family which is affording food is using it for filling their tummies or a part of food is wasted too in a country like India? Let’s move ahead to get answers to these questions.


India has been placed at 103 out of 119 countries surveyed for the World Global Hunger Index (GHI) by two credible international NGOs based on the indicators of undernourishment and under-5 child wasting, child stunting and child mortality. Its score is 31.1 in the GHI, among the worst in the world, and below close neighbourers Bangladesh and Nepal in the SAARC region.


At least 20 crore Indians go to bed hungry daily.


Yes, a country with a lot of resources, vegetation, a country which is amongst the biggest exporters of food grains faces the problem of hunger for its 20 – 25 million population. A person who didn’t had food for days from him; one can understand that what pain is. When one takes a fast, they know that how body agonizes without water and food for the whole day. So staying hungry for days is so bad and tremendous.


According to a Report, India wastes INR 244 Crore worth of Food per Day. At the same time, one should notice that approximately 20 million people go hungry in nation where food is wasted in such a high quantity every day. In every Indian wedding, food is the most important part and the most wasted too! In India, statistics related to food wastage at weddings have been quite shocking, given the fact that it is the same country where countless number of people have to survive without the basic necessity of two meals a day. Around 100,000 weddings and social events are held in India every day. Food wasted each day at weddings and family functions in the metro cities alone would be enough to feed the vast slum population sleeping hungry at night without food. About one-fifth of the food served at weddings and social gatherings is discarded. The prodigious waste that follows has horrified many in a country where food prices are skyrocketing and tens of millions of young children are malnourished.


About 58 per cent of people in the country are food insecure, says the findings of the National Nutritional Survey (NNS) 2011. The country has enough food to feed its people but that poor cannot afford even two-square meals a day.


No government scheme will work unless and until the people who have food on their table will realize the actual demand of food from their stomach and their tongue. Those who fill their bellies till esophagus at the table or the silly ones who just don’t know that what food they like and waste a whole plate at the function, they must try to know the importance of food and stop wasting it.

Stop food wastage, give it to a hungry person and the be the reason for someone’s filled tummy.

face.

FOOD SPOILAGE

Food is considered contaminated when unwanted microorganisms are present. Most of the time, the contamination is natural, but sometimes it can be artificial too.
NATURAL CONTAMINATION occurs when microorganisms attach themselves to foods while the foods are in growing stages.
ARTIFICIAL CONTAMINATION occurs when the food is handled or processed such as when fecal bacteria enter food through improper handling procedures.
CAUSES OF FOOD SPOILAGE:

  1. Growth and Activity of microorganisms – Bacteria, yeasts and molds are microorganisms that cause food spoilage. They produce various enzymes that decompose various constituents of food.
  2. Enzyme activity – Action of enzymes start the decomposition of various food components after death of plants and animals.
  3. Chemical reactions – These are the reactions that are not catalyzed by any enzyme. E.g. Oxidation of fats
  4. Vermin – It includes weevils, ants, rats, mice, birds, larval stage of some insects. Vermin are important due to asthetic aspect of their presence, possible transmission of pathogenic agents and consumption of food.
  5. Physical changes – These include changes caused by freezing, burning, drying, pressure etc.
    SOURCES OF FOOD CONTAMINATION. PHYSICAL SPOILAGE is due to physical damage to food during harvesting, processing or distribution. The damage increases the chance of chemical or microbial spoilage and contamination because the protective outer layer of food is broken and microorganisms can enter through it. CHEMICAL SPOILAGE in food are responsible for changes in the color and flavor of foods during processing and storage. After harvesting, chemical changes begin automatically within foods and lead to deterioration. Every living organism uses specialized proteins called enzymes to drive the chemical reactions in its cell. After death, enzymes play an important role in the decomposition of living tissues in a process called as autolysis (self-destruction) or ENZYMATIC SPOILAGE. MICROBIAL SPOILAGE is due to bacteria, yeasts or molds. They produce various enzymes that decompose various constituents of food. • Besides natural microorganisms, foods can be contaminated with different types of microbes coming from outside sources such as air, soil, sewage water, humans, food ingredients, equipments, packages, insects, etc.

The primary sources of microorganisms in food may include –

  1. Soil and Water – Soil grows agricultural produce and raise animals and birds which might contain several microorganisms. Also, these microbes can multiply in soil and their numbers can be even very high as expected. Fecal materials may also contaminate soils which can act as a source of microorganisms. Sewage water can also contaminate crops with variety of microorganisms when sewage water is used as a fertilizer. So, Sewage must be always treated before using as a fertilizer.
  2. Plants and plant products – The inside tissue of food from plant sources are essentially sterile except for few porous vegetables such as radish, onion and cabbage. Also it has been observed that some plants produce natural metabolites that can limit the presence of microorganisms in those particular foods. Fruits and vegetables contain a variety of microorganisms on their surface and their presence and number depends on various factors such as disease of the plant, storage, etc.
  3. Food utensils – Many different microorganisms can contaminate food utensils from which they can transmit to human body and make them ill if pathogenic. Proper cleansing and sanitization of food utensils is required before serving food in them.
  4. Food handlers – Food handler is a person who touches or handles food. The microorganism may be transmitted from his hand to the food and may be harmful for the person consuming that particular food. The microbes can come from animals or from the environment.
  5. Animal hides and skins – Food animals and birds normally carry various indigenous microorganisms some of which are pathogens and are responsible for food-borne diseases in humans. The number of these microorganisms is less than10/g.
  6. Air and dust – Microorganisms may be present in dust and moisture droplets in the air. The microorganisms which are present in air may be transient or variable depending on the environment. Some pathogenic microorganisms may cause air-borne diseases.