Food storage
This article needs additional citations for verification. (June 2011) |
Food storage is a way of decreasing the variability of the food supply in the face of natural, inevitable variability.[1] It allows food to be eaten for some time (typically weeks to months) after harvest rather than solely immediately. It is both a traditional domestic skill (mainly as root cellaring) and, in the form of food logistics, an important industrial and commercial activity. Food preservation, storage, and transport, including timely delivery to consumers, are important to food security, especially for the majority of people throughout the world who rely on others to produce their food.
Significant losses of food are caused by inadequate storage conditions as well as decisions made at earlier stages of the supply chain, which predispose products to a shorter shelf life.[2] Adequate cold storage, in particular, can be crucial to prevent quantitative and qualitative food losses.[3]
Food is stored by almost every
- Storage of harvested and processed plant and animal food products for distribution to consumers
- Enabling a better balanced dietthroughout the year
- Reducing food wasteby preserving unused or uneaten food for later use
- Preserving pantry food, such as spices or dry ingredients like rice and flour, for eventual use in cooking
- Preparedness for catastrophes, emergencies and periods of food scarcity or famine, whether as basic emergency preparedness (for most people) or in its more extreme form of survivalism (prepping)
- Religious reasons: for example, leaders in the LDS Church (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints) instruct church members to store food.[4]
- Protection from animals or theft
Domestic food storage
The safe storage of food for home use should strictly adhere to guidelines set out by reliable sources, such as the
There are also safety guidelines available for the correct methods of home canning of food. For example, there are specific boiling times that apply depending upon whether pressure canning or waterbath canning is being used in the process. These safety guidelines are intended to reduce the growth of mold and bacteria and the threat of potentially-fatal food poisoning.
Food storage safety
Freezing food
To preserve food over long periods the temperature should be maintained below 0 °F (−18 °C). Careful thawing and cooking immediately after thawing are necessary to maintain the safety of food[6] [7]
Food frozen at −18 °C (0 °F) 0 °F and below may be preserved almost indefinitely although the quality of the food is likely to deteriorate over time. The United States Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service publishes a chart showing the suggested freezer storage time for common foods.[7]
Refrigeration
Food storage in refrigerators may not be safe unless there is close adherence to temperature guidelines. In general the temperature should be maintained at 4 °C (39 °F) or below but never below 1 °C (34 °F).[8]
Safe storage times vary from food to food and may depend on how the food has been treated prior to being placed in the refrigerator.[8]
Storing oils and fats
Oils and fats can begin to go rancid quickly when not stored safely. Rancid cooking oils and fats do not often smell rancid until well after they have spoiled. Oxygen, light and heat all contribute to cooking oils becoming rancid. The higher the level of
To help preserve oils from rancidification, they should be stored in a dark place, stored in oxygen-safe, light-reducing containers (e.g. dark glass or metal). Once opened, oils should be refrigerated and used within a few weeks, when some types begin to go rancid. Unopened oils can have a storage life of up to one year, but some types have a shorter shelf-life even when unopened (such as sesame and flaxseed).[9]
Dry storage of foods
Vegetables
The guidelines vary for safe storage of vegetables under dry conditions. This is because different vegetables have different characteristics, for example, tomatoes contain a lot of water, while root vegetables such as carrots and potatoes contain less. These factors, and many others, affect the amount of time that a vegetable can be kept in dry storage, as well as the temperature needed to preserve its usefulness. The following guideline shows the required dry storage conditions:
- Cool and dry: onion
- Cool and moist: root vegetable, potato, cabbage
- Warm and dry: winter squash, pumpkin, sweet potatoes, dried hot peppers
Grain
Grain, which includes dry kitchen ingredients such as flour, rice, millet, couscous, cornmeal, and so on, can be stored in rigid sealed containers to prevent moisture contamination or insect or rodent infestation. For kitchen use, glass containers are the most traditional method. During the 20th century plastic containers were introduced for kitchen use. They are now sold in a vast variety of sizes and designs.
Metal cans are used (in the
Spices and herbs
Spices and herbs are today often sold prepackaged in a way that is convenient for pantry storage. The packaging has dual purposes of both storing and dispensing the spices or herbs. They are sold in small glass or plastic containers or resealable plastic packaging. When spices or herbs are homegrown or bought in bulk, they can be stored at home in glass or plastic containers. They can be stored for extended periods, in some cases for years. However, after 6 months to a year, spices and herbs will gradually lose their flavour as oils they contain will slowly evaporate during storage.
Spices and herbs can be preserved in vinegar for short periods of up to a month without losing flavor, creating a flavoured vinegar.
Alternative methods for preserving herbs include freezing in water or unsalted butter. Herbs can be chopped and added to water in an ice cube tray. After freezing, the ice cubes are emptied into a plastic freezer bag for storing in the freezer. Herbs also can be stirred into a bowl with unsalted butter, then spread on wax paper and rolled into a cylinder shape. The wax paper roll containing the butter and herbs is then stored in a freezer, and can be cut off in the desired amount for cooking. Using either of these techniques, the herbs should be used within a year.
Meat
Unpreserved meat has only a relatively short life in storage.
Semi-dried meats like salamis and country style hams are processed first with salt, smoke, sugar, acid, or other "cures" then hung in cool dry storage for extended periods, sometimes exceeding a year. Some of the materials added during the curing of meats serve to reduce the risks of food poisoning from anaerobic bacteria such as species of Clostridium that release botulinum toxin that can cause botulism. Typical ingredients of curing agents that inhibit anaerobic bacteria include nitrates. Such salts are dangerously poisonous in their own right and must be added in carefully controlled quantities and according to proper techniques. Their proper use has however saved many lives and much food spoilage.
Like the semi-dried meats, most salted, smoked, and simply-dried meats of different kinds that once were staples in particular regions, now are largely luxury snacks or garnishes; examples include jerky, biltong, and varieties of pemmican, but ham and bacon for instance, still are staples in many communities.
Food rotation
Food rotation is important to preserve freshness. When food is rotated, the food that has been in storage the longest is used first. As food is used, new food is added to the pantry to replace it; the essential rationale is to use the oldest food as soon as possible so that nothing is in storage too long and becomes unsafe to eat. Labelling food with paper labels on the storage container, marking the date that the container is placed in storage, can make this practice simpler.
For emergency preparation
Guides for
Commercial food logistics
Grain and
Fresh fruits and vegetables are sometimes packed in plastic packages and cups for fresh premium markets, or placed in large plastic tubs for sauce and soup processors. Fruits and vegetables are usually refrigerated at the earliest possible moment, and even so have a shelf life of two weeks or less.
In the United States,
Food storage facilities
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (April 2020) |
Food storage facilities may include those used for
and more. They include:Fully dedicated food storage facilities include:
- Cool store — a large refrigerated room or building
- Cool warehouse — a very large refrigerated building
- Silo — used to store grains, like wheat and maize
- 2800 Polar Way — world's largest food freezer
See also
- Canning
- Candying
- Food science
- Dietary supplement
- Food dehydration
- Food fortification
- Food preservation
- Food rheology
- Food storage container
- Food supplement
- Hoarding (animal behavior)
- Nutraceutical
- Pickling
- Preserves
- Root cellar
- Shaker-style pantry box
- Storage clamp
Sources
This article incorporates text from a free content work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 (license statement/permission). Text taken from The State of Food and Agriculture 2019. Moving forward on food loss and waste reduction, In brief, 24, FAO, FAO.
References
- ISBN 978-94-007-5785-1p. 507
- ISBN 978-94-007-5785-1p. 645
- ^ The State of Food and Agriculture 2019. Moving forward on food loss and waste reduction, In brief. Rome: FAO. 2019. p. 12.
- ^ "Provident Living." Archived 2011-10-29 at the Wayback Machine, Latter Day Saints Family Home Storage.
- ISBN 978-1-4283-2070-3.
- ISBN 978-1-4283-2070-3.
- ^ a b "Fact Sheet: Freezing and Food Safety". United States Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service. June 3, 2010. Archived from the original on November 12, 2011. Retrieved November 8, 2011.
- ^ a b "Refrigeration and Food Safety" (PDF). United States Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service. May 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-02-20. Retrieved 2011-11-08.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-101-21015-4.
- ^ "The Big Thaw". www.fsis.usda.gov. Retrieved 2018-02-05.
- ^ Michael Richardson, Kim Matthews, Chris Lloyd, Katie Brian. Meat quality and shelf life. Better Returns Programme EBLEX Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board. brp_b_betterreturnsfrommeatmanual-meatqualityandshelflife.pdf [1] Archived 2012-10-15 at the Wayback Machine
- ISBN 978-0865731080
- ^ Matthews, K. R. Review of published literature and unpublished research on factors influencing beef quality. EBLEX R&D UK Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board 2011 rd_qs_b_-_meatqualityreview2010-beef.pdf from [2] Archived 2013-03-24 at the Wayback Machine