How Cold Storage Prevent Food Spoilage

A cold storage facility is important to prolong the shelf of perishable items like meats, fish, fruits and vegetables. Organisms such as fungi and bacteria are always present on unsterilized and raw products. The growth and development of these organisms are retarded as the temperature is lowered. Freezing in most cases does not kill bacteria, but their inactivation is so complete that freezer storage for long periods is possible.

Temperature of Cold Storage: Water freezes at a temperature 32°F, but products which contain sugar or salt will not freeze at a temperature below 32°F that is why most cold storage room is maintained at 28° to 31°F (-2.2°C to 0.6°C) to store unfrozen products. While Freezer cold storage should be maintained at -10° to -15°F for good storage life of frozen foods.

Causes of food spoilage and how cold storage can prevent it.

• Enzymes activity. Spoilage results from the activity of enzymes that cause food cells to break into small pieces. Freezing does not stop enzyme activity, but it effectively retards it, particularly at temperatures below 0°F (-18° C).
• Oxidation. In fresh vegetables or fruits, oxygen is absorbed by the product and acts to ripen it or carry out other changes. In other materials like the fats in meat or the oils in nuts, oxidation occurs and contributes to rancidity. Oxidation reduces rapidly as temperatures are lowered, but continues at below-freezing temperatures.

Other Uses of Cold Storage:

• Perishable foods. It is necessary to keep food products in unfrozen condition in the temperature that ranges from 32° to 45° F (0° to 7.2°C).
• Cold storage is also important for goods with special needs such as wine and drugs
• It is also use to preserve furs, photographic film.