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UNIVERSITI MALAYSIA SABAH

PUSAT PENATARAN ILMU DAN BAHASA
UK01502: MAKANAN DAN PEMAKANAN MANUSIA

TITLE :FOOD DETERIORATION AND SPOILAGE
NAME : MUHAMMAD NAZMI HARIZ BIN DIN
MATRICS NO : BK13110256
LECTURER : DR.HASMADI BIN MAMAT
DATE OF SUBMISSION :14
TH
DECEMBER 2013
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Table Of Content:

No. Topic Page
1 Introduction 3
2 Source of Food Deterioration and Spoilage 3
3 Effect of Food Deterioration and Spoilage 7
4 Ways To Prevent Food Spoilage 8
5 Conclusion 12
6 References 12




















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INTRODUCTION
Food deterioration means as a series of continuous degradative changes occuring in
a food item which may affect a product's wholesomeness, result in reducing of its quality,
and/or alter its serviceability. Deterioration is a continuing process that begins the moment
an animal is slaughtered or a plant is harvested and continues until the item is no longer
recognizable as a food item or is literally reduced to dust. Food deterioration includes
declines in organoleptic desirability / aesthetic appeal, nutritional value, and safety which
usually include the quality of products.
Spoilage is the process in which food deteriorates to the point in which it is not edible
to humans or its quality of edibility becomes reduced. Various external forces are
responsible for the spoilage of food. Food that is capable of spoiling is referred to as
perishable food. Spoilage food can be identify through a few signs. Signs of food spoilage
may include an appearance different from the food in its fresh form, such as a change in
colour, a change in texture, an unpleasant odour, or an undesirable taste. The item may
become softer than normal. If mold occurs, it is often visible externally on the item.

SOURCE OF FOOD DETERIORATION AND SPOILAGE
There are many sources of food deterioration and spoilage. But, there are only a few
major causes of deterioration and spoilage which are will be explained in point view below.
People should be aware with this several sources because a simple mistake that we make
will lead the food to spoil (Dr.Angela Fraser,2012).








SOURCE
MICROORGANISMS
INSECTS AND
RODENTS
HEAT AND COLD
MOISTURE AND
DRYNESS
OXYGEN
LIGHT
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1. Microorganisms

Microorganisms that usually involve in food deterioration and spoilage are bacteria,
yeast and molds. This type of microorganisms can spoil food and cause food borne disease
or usually known as food poison. These microorganisms can be found in soil, water, air, food
itself, humans and food equipment environment.
Microorganisms need six condition in order to multiply. They need a source of food, a
mildly acid environment (pH of 4.6-7.0), a temperature between 5
o
C to 60
o
C, time, different
oxygen requiring environment and enough moisture. Since many foods naturally have
microorganisms, we need to be sure to control these six conditions as much as possible to
prevent bacteria from multiplying( Nancy Rue,2003).

2. Insects and rodents

In a research that have been carried out in United State of America, it showed that
insects had destroyed 5 to 10 percent of grain crop annually. Since the insects had damaged
the crops, so that the spoilage microorganisms are more of a problem. This has proved that
some commodities have allowable levels for insects parts as it is recognized that rotten food
cannot be produced without some contamination.
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Rodents also can consume and contaminate foods. Rodents which are usually mice
and rats can spread the disease through its footprints. It can happen when the rodents
walking on the food or on the utensils that we used in preparing the foods. Since the rodents
can reproduce very quickly, the control of these species should be critically aware.

3. Heat and cold

Extreme heat and cold conditions cause deterioration and spoilage of food if not
controlled. This is because excessive heat denatures proteins, breaks, emulsions, dries out
foods, and destroys vitamins. While, uncontrolled cold will damage fruits and vegetables if
allowed to freeze resulting in discolouration, and texture changes; freezing milk will break its
emulsion and casein will curdle; bananas, lemons, squash and tomatoes are subject to "chill
injury" at below 10
o
C.
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4. Moisture and dryness

Excessive moisture also can lead to undesirable microbial growth. This is because
microorganism needs water to live. The surface moisture from high relative humidity can
cause lumping, caking, browning, crystallization, and stickiness. Other than that, high
moisture-barrier films also can trap moisture from respiration and transpiration in fruits and
vegetables. Plus, in non-respiring foods in a moisture-barrier package headspace moisture
which can change the relative humidity of the package headspace and with a drop of
temperature, condensation in the package occurs. While, excessive drying leads to
undesirable texture changes and appearance. This is due to water loss which can change
the texture of the food drastically.

5. Oxygen

Oxygen is a very highly reactive element of the atmosphere. Molds and aerobic
bacteria require oxygen for growth so vacuum packaging or modified-atmosphere packaging
(MAP) works well against these spoilage organisms. This is due to the absence of the
oxygen can cause disturbance in microorganism's growth.
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6. Light

Visible light is a source of energy. Even it is a source of energy, it may cause some
vitamins become inactivates and lead to deterioration of many food colours and flavours. So,
opaque packaging will protect light-sensitive foods because there is no light can pass
through.

EFFECT OF FOOD DETERIORATION AND SPOILAGE
As we already know that, food deterioration and spoilage can give us many bad
effects. The effects also including our health, environment and economic. Effects on health
can be say as major effect because it can lead to serious condition if it is not cure effectively.
And the effects on environment and economic can be as minor effect since it does not lead
serious problems.
Before we discuss about the major effects, let go through the minor effects first
because the minor effects usually have connection with major effects. One of the effects of
food deteriorates and spoilage is wasteful and costly. This is because the spoiled food
cannot be eaten anymore. So that, it needs more cost in order to replace the food that have
spoiled. It not only cause wasting but it also cause the seller to loss.
Food deterioration and spoilage also can erode consumer confidence. This is
because even the seller already know that the foods are deteriorated either by microbial
growth or by foreign material, they still sell the foods to the consumer. When the consumer
buy the food and then they find out that the food already spoiled, they will not buy the foods
from the same seller or shop because they scared if the same thing will be happen again.
And this is also can lead to the economical reduction.
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Last but not least, the major effect of food deterioration and spoilage is it can cause
food poisoning. Generally, food poisoning causes some combination of nausea, vomiting,
and diarrheal that may or may not be bloody, sometimes with other symptoms. For example,
after eating tainted food, abdominal cramps, diarrheal, and vomiting, can start as early as
one hour in the case of staphylococcus and as late as 10 days in the case of campylobacter.
It may take even longer to develop symptoms from parasite infections such as Giardia.
Symptoms can last from one day up to a couple of months or longer, depending on the type
infection (Arun Bhunia,2007).
Other than that, vomiting, diarrheal, sweating, dizziness, tearing in the eyes,
excessive salivation, mental confusion, and stomach pain may be symptoms of chemical or
toxin food poisoning such as that from poisonous mushrooms. Partial loss of speech or
vision, muscle weakness, difficulty swallowing, dry mouth, muscle paralysis from the head
down through the body, and vomiting may indicate botulism, a severe but very rare type of
bacterial food poisoning.

WAYS TO PREVENT THE FOOD DETERIORATION AND SPOILAGE
Prevention of food can be either slowing down the activity of disease causing by
bacteria or killing the bacteria altogether. Other ways that we can used to preserve the food
also can kill the enzyme too. Enzyme are a protein that naturally found in the food that can
make it spoil or change colour. They are fragile. They are destroyed when heated t0 150
o
F.
Sterile food has no bacteria. Bacteria is found in food that has not been sterilized. There are
several ways that we can used to preserve our food from spoilage and deteriorate (Bibek
Ray,2007).

1.Check your freezer and refrigerator to make sure they are the proper temperatures.

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A freezer should be at 0 degrees Fahrenheit (-18 degrees Celsius), and the
refrigerator should be no warmer than 38 degrees Fahrenheit (3 degrees Celsius). This is
because the microorganism cannot live in extremely cold or hot temperature. The
temperature of refrigerator can be measure by placing a thermometer in the freezer. So that,
we can always monitor the temperature of refrigerator.

2. Store foods in the proper location to reduce food spoilage.

In the order to avoid food deterioration and spoilage, place milk and other dairy
products, such as cream or yogurt, on the shelf of your refrigerator, even if the door has a
built-in space for a milk jug. The door of the refrigerator is too warm for milk, which can
cause it to spoil more quickly. Other than that, some vegetables and fruits will rot more
quickly if stored in cold temperatures. Tomatoes should stay out on the counter as should
tropical fruits. Store potatoes in a cool, dark place and not the refrigerator. Meanwhile, store
meats in the coldest part of the refrigerator, typically the meat drawer on the bottom shelf.
Keeping meats on the lowest level of the refrigerator will prevent them from contaminating
other foods, too. Meat drippings can fall onto other foods if the meat is stored upon a higher
shelf.


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3. Keep certain fruits and vegetables separate to prevent food spoilage.

Some fruits, such as apples, peaches, and bananas, release ethylene gas as they
age. Other fruits and vegetables, such as carrots, berries, and leafy greens, absorb the
ethylene. Ethylene causes fruits to ripen, but can also lead to spoilage if there is too much.

4. Pour dry goods into plastic or glass containers with an air-tight seal to reduce food
spoilage.

Insects can live in low humidity condition. The foods such as rice, grains and pasta
are usually come in cardboard boxes. It means that insects can live on the cardboard boxes
that many dried goods come in. They can eat the glue that holds the boxes together and
may work their way into the packages. When the insects get into the packages, so it can
contaminate the foods and it can cause food spoilage.

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5. Arrange foods in pantry by order of purchase to cut down on food waste.

This way can be practice by put the oldest packages in front and newer purchases in
the back. This is because if the newer purchase is arranged in front, the oldest packages
will not be eaten and lastly it will spoiled due to the date of the foods validity already expired.

6. Buy foods you know you will eat to reduce food waste.
This technique is applied by try to shop only when you need to, and use a shopping
list. Avoid shopping when hungry so that you don't make impulse. Plan your meals for the
week based on foods you have on hand, and only purchase ingredients you need to prepare
your planned meals. This technique not only avoiding us from wasting but also can avoid the
foods from spoil because we do not keep the foods a long period time.

7. Use foods that are about to go bad in creative ways to keep them from spoiling.
We can do this technique when we see the food has been rotten but not in crictical
condition, we can use our creativity to turns the foods into a new food. For example, turn
fruits that are slightly over-ripe into smoothies or use them in baking or vegetables that are
starting to go limp can be used in stock or turned into soup. Hard bread can be turned into
bread crumbs or bread pudding or made into croutons. You need to get creative with your
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use leftovers. Leftover plain rice can be turned into fried rice while leftover mashed potatoes
can be made into fritters


CONCLUSION
As conclusion, food spoilage occur when food deteriorates to the point which it is not
edible to human or its quality or edibility becomes reduced. The food spoilage and
deteriorate may affect our health since the nutritional content of the food are changes.
Spoilage food usually contain toxic and cannot be eat anymore. That is why the spoilage
food is dangerous to our health. In order to avoid food spoilage, so we have to preserved the
food. There are many ways that we can use to preserve our food. For example like put our
food in the refrigerator. The lower temperature environment in the refrigerator can avoid the
bacteria from growing up. So, it can slow down the rate of food spoilage. Other than that, to
avoid the food spoilage, we also have to keep the food clean during the preparation of the
food. Make sure that the utensils that we used to cooked the foods are clean and keep at the
safe place. Safe means there is no insects will grow up at the place where we keep the
utensils. Keep the environment for preparation of food clean may avoid the food from get
spoiled or deteriorated easily. Lastly, we have to take note about any differences on our food
before we eat it.

REFERENCES
Bibek Ray and Arun Bhunia. 2007. Fundamental Of Microbiology. United State Of America.
CRC Press Sdn Bhd.
culinayarts.about.com/od/safetysanitiation/a/bacteria_3.html
David McSwane, Nancy Rue and Richard Linton. 2003. Essential Of Food Safety And
Sanitation. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey. Pearson Education Inc.
http://www.eng.buffalo.edu/shaw/student//m2_design/01_home/ KSB_s2/old_FoodSpoilage
http://wondergirlsfoodtechumt.blogspot.com/2013/11/percayakan-deria-anda-amalkan-lihat-
hidu.html?m=1
Kamaludin A.Rashid, Kamariah Harun. 2012. College Biology. Shah Alam. IPTA
Publications.
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Peter J. Russel, Paul E. Hertz, Beverly McMillan, 2009, Biology: The Dynamic Science 2
nd

Edition, Thomson Brookes/Cole, United States of America.
Reece.J.B, Urry.L.A. 2011. Campbell Biology Ninth Edition. Pearson Education. San
Francisco.
www.airproducts.co.uk/food/MAP/guide-to-MAP/food-spoilage_microbial.asp
www.memo.mersd.org/2012/10/sophomores-investigate-enzymatic-browning-in- apples/
www.prevention.com/prevent/how-prevent-food-spoiling