Question

Why does food have to put in boiling water or otherwise heated before it is canned?

Answer 1

1. When food becomes unsuitable to ingest in terms of smell, taste or texture is called food spoilage.
2. The causes of food spoilage are:

1. Microbial action.
2. The reaction by food enzymes.
3. Incorporation of insects, pests, or rodents into the food supply.
4. High or low temperatures.
5. Time.

3. Food preservation: It is the technique to prevent food spoilage, food poisoning, and microbial contamination in food.

4. Few methods for food preservation are:

1. Sugar- sugar is a moisture absorbent, which prevents microbial growth.
2. Salting- Salting meat and fishes prevent them from spoiling.
3. Increasing temperature- By increasing temperature, the microbial presence in the food is destroyed and it also retard the microbial growth.
4. Freezing- Keeping food at an extremely low temperature prevents microbial growth.
5. Dehydration- Removal of water from the food prevents microbial growth, thus preventing food spoilage.
6. Canning is a food preservation method in which food is processed and then kept in an airtight container to avoid the microbial attack.

Thus, Inducing heat before the canning of food destroys the pathogenic microbes which can spoil food, and canning the food preserves it from further microbial activity.