Flour Mill Installation & Maintenance Manchester
Food Processing Plants Have a Wide Range of Benefits
Food processing, covers a wide range of methods to change foodstuffs from their raw state. Processing can mean cooling, heating, freezing, canning, salting, smoking, drying, pickling or fermenting. There are even more types of processing than this these days too, such as microwaving, irradiation, ohmic heating and electrical pulsing. Some food processing facts:
- Foods have been processed and preserved by humans for centuries.
- Food processing lengthens the shelf-life of particularly perishable foods.
- There is more choice and processing lessens the dependency on seasonality.
- Processed foods last a lot longer than fresh foods.
- Processing can improve the nutritional value of certain foods.
- Nutrients added to foods and drinks globally are an affordable public health measure.
- Canned or frozen vegetables and fruits, all provide adequate nutrients needed for a healthy diet.
Benefits of Food Processing, Manchester
You are processing food every day simply by cooking it, as the food is changed from one state to another. Cooking is often a necessity as some foods cannot be safely or easily eaten in their raw state. Food processing can be described thus, “a range of operations by which raw foodstuffs are made suitable for eating, cooking, or storing”. Larger scale processing is carried out in food processing plants. Natural decaying processes are slowed or halted by scientific and technological means.
In the modern urban world, food processing is relied upon, and life would become very difficult without it. The nutritional value of many foods may be altered and improved, even preserved during processing. When vegetables are shock frozen shortly after harvesting for instance, they retain many sensitive nutrients.
Nutritious, Convenient & Safe Processed Food
Consumers these days demand certain food standards, it must be nutritious, varied, convenient and safe. Food processing ensures that these are met, while additives play an important role in the safety of food. Oils and fats would quickly become rancid without the addition of antioxidants, and emulsifiers help to stop separation of things like peanut butter. Additives also reduce mould from growing as quickly on bread and similar products, so they can be consumed over a longer period.
Sun drying was traditionally used as a method of preserving food, along with salting meat and fish and adding sugar to fruit. Reducing the water content of food always increases shelf life. In 1800, Napoleon Bonaparte offered 12,000 francs to the person who came up with a practical way to preserve food. Food shortages were a big problem especially among troops so a solution had to be found. The result was to seal food in glass jars, and later tin, pottery and other metals.
Fortified Flour, Bread & Cereals Manchester
These days there are a number of food processing techniques offering a world of choice for consumers. The arrival of fridges and freezers has also allowed us to store food for long periods of time. Storage innovations and clever packaging mean less frequent trips to the shops, great for busy people. Globalisation has given people access to a varied range of food tastes, and these have eventually become available at home.
The UK relies on 5 staple crops, namely wheat, maize, potatoes and rice, a selection which may be transformed in a vast amount of ways. Flour, bread and cereals are fortified during processing, enhancing health and lowering the chance of certain diseases. High quality process plant installations guarantee a positive and reliable operation for all types of food processing. Brookshaw Stuart have a reputation for excellence when it comes to installing and maintaining food processing plants, flour mills etc. Call us for more information on 07718 974 265.