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    Refrigeration For Food Preservation

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    Adugna Gosa
    Refrigeration helps preserve fruits, vegetables, meats, fish, dairy products, and other foods by storing them at low temperatures, which slows down decay and spoilage caused by chemical reactions, bacteria, and water loss. Optimum storage temperatures vary by food item, with fruits and vegetables stored between 0-15°C, meat and fish between 0-7°C, and dairy between 3-10°C. Freezing foods at temperatures below -18°C stops decay processes completely, allowing foods to be preserved for longer periods without loss of taste or nutrition.

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    Refrigeration For Food Preservation

    Uploaded by

    Adugna Gosa
    14 views2 pages
    Refrigeration helps preserve fruits, vegetables, meats, fish, dairy products, and other foods by storing them at low temperatures, which slows down decay and spoilage caused by chemical reactions, bacteria, and water loss. Optimum storage temperatures vary by food item, with fruits and vegetables stored between 0-15°C, meat and fish between 0-7°C, and dairy between 3-10°C. Freezing foods at temperatures below -18°C stops decay processes completely, allowing foods to be preserved for longer periods without loss of taste or nutrition.

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    Refrigeration helps preserve fruits, vegetables, meats, fish, dairy products, and other foods by storing them at low temperatures, which slows down decay and spoilage caused by chemical reactions, bacteria, and water loss. Optimum storage temperatures vary by food item, with fruits and vegetables stored between 0-15°C, meat and fish between 0-7°C, and dairy between 3-10°C. Freezing foods at temperatures below -18°C stops decay processes completely, allowing foods to be preserved for longer periods without loss of taste or nutrition.

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
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    14 views2 pages

    Refrigeration For Food Preservation

    Uploaded by

    Adugna Gosa
    Refrigeration helps preserve fruits, vegetables, meats, fish, dairy products, and other foods by storing them at low temperatures, which slows down decay and spoilage caused by chemical reactions, bacteria, and water loss. Optimum storage temperatures vary by food item, with fruits and vegetables stored between 0-15°C, meat and fish between 0-7°C, and dairy between 3-10°C. Freezing foods at temperatures below -18°C stops decay processes completely, allowing foods to be preserved for longer periods without loss of taste or nutrition.

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    of 2

    Refrigeration for Food Preservation

    Fruits and vegetables are perishable commodities. If not stored at recommended temperatures,
    they rot in a short time by chemical reactions, bacterial attack, or water loss. Improperly stored
    fruits and vegetables lose nutrition value over a period of time. Changed physical appearance or
    taste also affects their consumer appeal. Refrigeration helps in preserving fruits and vegetables by
    storing at low temperatures to slow down decay and natural metabolic processes.

    Meat, fish products and precooked foods also have limited life because of enzyme activities, bacteria
    attack and ageing. Low temperature is very effective in limiting these reactions. Similarly, ice cream,
    other dairy products, bakery products and beverages need to be stored at low temperatures for
    long term use.

    Q. How does refrigeration help to conserve food products?


    Food products get spoiled because of internal chemical reactions which cause ripening and
    fermentation; and the growth of mould and bacteria. These processes can be stopped or slowed
    down by storing the food at low temperatures. Thus, refrigeration techniques help to preserve food
    products for longer periods.

    Q. Can all fruits and vegetables be stored at the same temperature?


    No. The optimum storage temperature varies for different kinds of food products. Fruits like grapes,
    kiwifruit, apple, cherry, peach, strawberry, raspberry and vegetables like onion, cabbage, beet,
    carrots, etc. are ideally stored at temperatures of around 0˚C. Oranges and potatoes are stored at 4
    to 5oC. Watermelon, pumpkin, grapefruit, and cucumber require 10˚C storage temperature. Mango,
    lemon, tomato, and banana are stored at 14 to 15˚C temperature.

    Q. What is the normal relative humidity required for the food storage?
    Normally most food products require 90 to 95 % relative humidity (RH) inside the cold storages.
    Onions require very low RH of 65 to 70%. Leafy vegetables are stored at more than 95% RH to
    avoid excessive moisture loss.

    Q. Why do frozen foods last longer than refrigerated foods?


    Fruits and vegetables are stored at temperatures slightly above freezing point to prolong their life
    by a few days or weeks. Here, product decay process is slowed down but not stopped completely.
    Whereas, meat, fish, precooked foods as well as fruits and vegetables may be frozen and stored at
    very low temperatures until they are defrosted and cooked by the consumer. In this case, the decay
    process is stopped completely and the food can be preserved.

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    Q. What is the ideal meat storage temperature?
    Ideally, meat is stored at a temperature between 0˚C and 2˚C (7˚C maximum). Under these
    conditions, ageing is slowed down and the growth of bacteria greatly reduced. Freezing and deep‐
    freezing between ‐18oC and ‐50oC stops the enzyme activity and the ageing process. These
    conditions allow meat products to be preserved for periods between 6 and 18 months without
    deterioration of the product.

    Q. How does the dairy industry benefit?


    Milk is one of the fastest decaying products as the growth of bacteria takes place at a very rapid
    pace. Chilling of milk through refrigeration increases the life of milk and other dairy products by
    bringing the temperature down quickly.

    Q. What is the storage temperature for dairy products?


    Milk is stored at 3˚C to 4˚C; while cheese requires 6˚C to 10˚C storage temperature. Ice cream is
    hardened till it reaches a temperature of ‐25˚C and is then stored at this temperature. After
    distribution it is consumed at ‐13˚C

    Q. Does freezing of food change its original taste and nutrition value?
    No! In fact, in frozen state where the storage temperature is generally below ‐18˚C, all the natural
    metabolism and bacterial activity stop completely. So, original taste and nutrition value remains
    unaffected.

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