Causes of Deterioration

Mechanical, physical, chemical, and microbial effects are the leading causes of food deterioration and spoilage.
Damage can start at the initial point by mishandling of foods during harvesting, processing, and distribution; this
may lead to ultimate reduction of shelf life. Other examples of deterioration can be listed as follows:
(i)
bruising of fruits and vegetables during harvesting and postharvest handing, leading to the development
of rot,
(ii)
tuberous and leafy vegetables lose water when kept in atmospheres with low humidity and, subsequently,
wilt, and
(iii)
dried foods kept in high humidity may pick up moisture and become soggy.
(iv)
Microbial or chemical contaminants are also of concern in food deterioration.
(v)
Chemicals from packaging materials may also be a source of food contamination.
The major causes of quality loss are shown in Table 1.1.

The four sources of microbial contaminants are soil, water, air, and animals (insects, rodents, and humans)
In preservation, each factor needs to be controlled or maintained to a desired level. Foods are perishable or
deteriorative by nature. The storage life of fresh foods under normal atmospheric conditions is presented in Table
1.3.
During storage and distribution, foods are exposed to a wide range of environmental conditions.
1. Environmental factors such as pressure, temperature, humidity, oxygen, and light can trigger several
reactions that may lead to food degradation. As a consequence of these mechanisms, foods may be altered
to such an extent that they are either rejected by or harmful to the consumer.
2. Condensation of moisture on foods or a damp atmosphere favors microbial growth, occasionally
promotes insects development, and may indirectly lead to deterioration, resulting in destructive selfheating.

3. Mechanical damage (e.g., bruises and wounds) is conducive to spoilage, and it frequently causes further
chemical and microbial deterioration. Peels, skins, and shells constitute natural protection against this
kind of spoilage. In case of frozen foods, fluctuating temperatures are often destructive, for example,
fluctuating temperatures cause recrystallization of ice cream, leading to an undesirable sandy texture.
Freezer burn is a major quality defect in frozen foods that is caused by the exposure of frozen foods to
fluctuating temperatures. These large fluctuations may cause a phase change by thawing or refreezing
foods. Similarly, phase changes involving melting and solidifying of fats are detrimental to the quality of
candies and other lipid-containing confectionary items. Shriveling occurs due to the loss of water from
harvested fruits and vegetables.
Each microorganism has
(i)
an optimum temperature at which it grows best,
(ii)
a minimum temperature below which growth no longer takes place, and
(iii)
a maximum temperature above which all development is suppressed.
Bacteria that grow particularly well at low temperatures are called psychrophilic (cryophilic) or lowtemperature organisms.
Bacteria with an optimum temperature of 20C45C are mesophilic, and those with an optimum
temperature above 45C are thermophilic.
Microbial growth in foods results in food spoilage with the development of undesirable sensory
characteristics, and in certain cases the food may become unsafe for consumption. Microorganisms have the
ability to multiply at high rates when favorable conditions are present. Prior to harvest, fruits and vegetables
generally have good defense mechanisms against microbial attack; however, after separation from the plant, they
can easily succumb to microbial proliferation. Similarly, meat upon slaughter is unable to resist rapidly growing
microbes. The pathogenicity of certain microorganisms is a major safety concern in the processing and handling
of foods in that they produce chemicals in foods that are toxic to humans. Their growth on foods may also result
in undesirable appearances and off-flavors if not denatured during the blanching process, can influence food
quality even at subfreezing temperatures.
In addition to temperature, other environmental factors such as oxygen, water, and pH induce deleterious
changes in foods that are catalyzed by enzymes.
The presence of unsaturated fatty acids in foods is a prime reason for the development of rancidity during
storage as long as oxygen is available. While development of off-flavors is markedly noticeable in rancid foods,
the generation of free radicals during the autocatalytic process leads to other undesirable reactions, for example,
loss of vitamins, alteration of color, and degradation of proteins. The presence of oxygen in the immediate
vicinity of food leads to increased rates of oxidation. Similarly, water plays an important role; lipid oxidation
occurs at high rates at very low water activities. Some chemical reactions are induced by light, such as loss of
vitamins and browning of meats. Non-enzymatic browning is a major cause of quality change and degradation of
the nutritional content of many foods. This type of browning reaction occurs due to the interaction between
reducing sugars and amino acids, resulting in the loss of protein solubility, darkening of lightly colored dried
products, and development of bitter flavors. Environmental factors such as temperature, water activity, and pH
have an influence on non-enzymatic browning.
Major Food Borne Infections/ Intoxications Caused by Bacteria
What is food borne disease?
Safe, nutritious foods are essential to human health and well-being. However, food-borne diseases pose a significant
problem worldwide. Foodborne disease is any illness resulting from the consumption of food contaminated with
one or more disease-producing agents. These include bacteria, parasites, viruses, fungi and their products as well as
toxic substances not of microbial origin (Table 12). More than 250 different food borne diseases have been described.
These different diseases have many different symptoms, so there is no one "syndrome" that can be indicated as
specific to food borne illness. However, the microbe or toxin enters the body through the gastrointestinal tract, and
often causes the first symptoms there, so nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps and diarrhea is common symptoms in
many food borne diseases.

Table 12: Possible causes of food borne gastro intestinal disorders

Viable pathogenic micro organisms (Bacteria, viruses, fungi) or their preformed toxins
Pathogenic algae, parasites, protozoa and their preformed toxins
Toxins naturally present or formed in some foods e.g, toxic mushrooms, some sea foods, red kidney bean
poisoning, biological amines in cheese and fermented meats etc.
Toxic chemicals in contaminated food and water, such as heavy metal and some pesticides
Nutritional disorders such as rickets due to calcium deficiency
Allergy to or inability to utilize some normal components of food
Indigestion from over eating or other reasons
Types of Microbial Food Borne Diseases
On the basis of mode of illnesses, food borne disease (FBD) can be arbitrarily divided into three groups. A more
correct classification is shown in Fig. 2.

Intoxication
Illness in this case occurs as a consequence of ingestion of a pre formed bacterial or a mold toxin due to its growth in
a food. A toxin has to be present in the contaminated food. Once the micro organism have grown and produced toxin
in a food, there is no need of viable cells during the consumption of the food for illness to occur .e.g, Staphylococcal
food poisoning.
Infection
Illness occurs as a result of the consumption of food and water contaminated with enteropathogenic bacteria. It is
necessary for the cells of enteropathogenic bacteria to remain alive in the food or water during consumption. The
viable cells even if present in small numbers have the potential too establish and multiply in the digestive tract to
cause the illness. e.g, Salmonellosis.
Toxicoinfection
Illness occurs from the ingestion of a large number of viable cells of some pathogenic bacteria through contaminated
food and water. Generally the bacterial cells either sporulate or die and release toxin(s) to produce the symptoms. e.g.
Bacillus cereus Gastroenteritis.
The other bacterial hazards responsible for food borne diseases are shown in Table 13 .The main factors responsible
for the food borne illness includes:
a) Improper holding temperature during processing.
b) Inadequate cooling during storage.
c) Contaminated equipments and utensils.
d) Food from unsafe source.
e) Poor personal hygiene.
f) Adding contaminated ingredients to cooked foods.

Intermediate Moisture Foods (IMF) concept

Traditional intermediate moisture foods (IMF) can be regarded as one of the oldest foods preserved by man. The
mixing of ingredients to achieve a given aw, that allowed safe storage while maintaining enough water for
palatability, was only done, however, on an empirical basis. The work done by food scientists approximately
three decades ago, in the search for convenient stable products through removal of water, resulted in the socalled modern intermediate moisture foods. These foods rely heavily on the addition of humectants and
preservatives to prevent or reduce the growth of microorganisms. Since then, this category of products has been
subjected to continuous revision and discussion.
Definitions of IMF in terms of aw values and moisture content vary within wide limits (0.6-0.90 aw, 10-50%
moisture), and the addition of preservatives provides the margin of safety against spoilage organisms tolerant to
low aw. Of the food poisoning bacteria, Staphylococcus aureus is one of the organisms of high concern since it
has been reported to tolerate aw as low as 0.83-0.86 under aerobic conditions. Many of the considerations on the
significance of microorganisms in IMF are made in terms of aw limits for growth. However, microbial control in
IMF does not only depend on aw but on pH, Eh, F and T values preservatives, competitive microflora etc., which
also exert an important effect on colonizing flora.
Fruits preserved under IMF concept
The application of IMF technology has been very successful in preserving fruits and vegetables without
refrigeration in most Latin American countries. For instance, the addition of high amounts of sugar to fruits
during processing will create a protective layer against microbial contamination after the heat process. The sugar
acts as a water activity depressor limiting the capability of bacteria to grow in food. As described in Figure 3.1,
IMF foods are those with aw in the range of 0.65 to 0.90 and moisture content between 15% and 40%. Food
products formulated under this concept are stable at room temperature without thermal processing and can be
generally eaten without rehydration. Some processed fruits and vegetables are considered IMF foods. These
include cabbage, carrots, horseradish, potatoes, strawberries, etc.; their water activities at 30C follow:
Foods aw
Cabbage 0.64-0.75
Potatoes 0.75-0.64
Carrots 0.64-0.75
Strawberries 0.65-0.75
Horseradish 0.75

Under these conditions, bacterial growth is inhibited but some moulds and yeast may grow at aw
greater than 0.70. In addition, chemical preservatives are generally used to inhibit the growth of
moulds and yeasts in fruits and vegetables.
Advantages and disadvantages of IMF preservation
Advantages:
Intermediate moisture foods have an a w range of 0.65-0.90, and thus water activity is their
primary hurdle to achieving microbial stability and safety. IMF foods are easy to prepare and
store without refrigeration. They are energy efficient and relatively cheap. They are not readily
subject to spoilage, even if packages have been damaged prior to opening, as with
thermostabilized foods, because of low aw. This is a plus for many developing countries,
especially those in tropical climates with inadequate infrastructure for processing and storage,
and offers marketing advantages for consumers all over the world.
Disadvantages:
Some IMF foods contain high levels of additives (i.e., nitrites sulphites, humectants, etc.) that
may cause health concerns and possible legal problems. High sugar content is also a concern
because of the high calorific intake. Therefore, efforts are been made to improve the quality of
such foods by decreasing sugar and salt addition, as well as by increasing the moisture content
and aw, but without sacrificing the microbial stability and safety of products if stored without
refrigeration. This may be achieved by an intelligent application of hurdles (Leistner, 1994).
Fruit products from intermediate moisture foods (IMF) appear to have potential markets.
However, application of this technology to produce stable products at ambient temperature is
limited by the high concentration of solutes required to reduce water activities to safe levels. This
usually affects the sensory properties of the food.

Processed food products that are stored un-refrigerated

require severe heat treatment to eliminate spoilage and
pathogenic microorganisms. Although some changes may be
desirable, the rather harsh temperature for an extended period
of time would trigger chemical reactions, and loss of nutrients
and sensory characteristics such as appearance, color, flavor and
texture.
5.1. Vitamins
Vitamins are among the most sensitive food component to be
affected by heat sterilization. Vitamin degradation during heat
treatment is not simple and dependent on other agents such as
oxygen, light and water solubility. In addition, vitamin degradation
depends on pH and may be catalyzed by chemicals present,
metals, other vitamins and enzymes [91]. Heat sensitive vitamins
are the fat-soluble Vitamins A (in the presence of oxygen), D,
E and _-carotene, and water-soluble Vitamin C (ascorbic acid),
Vitamins B1 (thiamine), B2 (riboflavin) in acid environment,
nicotinic acid, pantothenic acid and biotin C [92]. In general, the
largest loss of Vitamin C in non-citrus foods occurs during heating
[93]. In canned juices, the loss of Vitamin C tends to follow
consecutive first-order reactions; i.e., a rapid oxygen-dependent
reaction that proceeds until oxygen is depleted, followed by
anaerobic degradation [93]. Of the heat-sensitive vitamins, thiamine
appears to have the most stable denaturation kinetics [92].
Negligible losses are associated with vitamin losses in aseptically
processed milk while lipids, carbohydrates and mineral are
virtually unaffected [1].
5.2. Browning
Even mild heat treatment can trigger Maillard reactions,
which are a complex series of reactions between proteins and
reducing sugars via Amadori re-arrangements. The initial Maillard
reaction is characterized by colorless solution, but after
several reactions, a brown or black insoluble compound called

melanoidins are formed [94]. Although such reactions may

be desirable in generating characteristic flavors identified with
some cooked products, the nutritional value of the product will
be compromised by protein damage and loss of amino acids,
including lysine, l-arginine, and l-histidine. The loss of lysine
is important due to its essentiality in diet. Maillard browning
can be inhibited by decreasing moisture to very low levels or,
by increasing dilution, lowering pH and temperature if the product
is in the form of a liquid. Browning can also be reduced by
removing one of the substrates responsible for it, which is usually,
the sugar component [94]. Yamaguchi and Kishimoto [95]
studied a browning reaction in retortable pouches to investigate
the relationship between temperature and browning for different
pouch thickness. Minimum browningwas achieved at 130 Cfor
20 mm, 135 C for 15mm and 140 C for 8mm thick pouch.
5.3. Proteins
The effect of thermal processing on proteins can be divided
into two: those responsible for altering the secondary, tertiary
and quaternary structure of proteins and those that alter the
primary structure. Breaking the secondary, tertiary and quaternary
structures unfolds the proteins and improves their bioavailability
since peptide bonds become readily accessible to
digestive enzymes. Modifications of primary protein structures
[96] on the other hand may lower digestibility and produce proteins
that are not biologically available.
5.4. Color
The color of processed foods plays a role by influencing consumer
acceptability. Natural occurring pigments in foods are
susceptible to changes or degradation from heat. chlorophylls
(in photosynthetic tissues), anthocyanins (the red and blue hues
associated with many fruits and vegetables), carotenoids (found
in fruits, dairy products, egg, fish and vegetables) and betanins
(present in red beet roots and meat) form the major classes
of pigments. Chlorophylls are converted to pyropheophytin via
pheophytin in fruits and vegetables, while carotenoids are isomerized
from 5,6-epoxides to 5,8-epoxides which have less color