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0 CANNED FOODS Canning is a method of preserving food in which the food contents are processed and sealed in an airtight container. Canning is a form of heat treatment in which the product is enclosed in hermetically sealed (air - tight) container such as impervious containers e.g. tin coated steel. Canning provides a shelf-life typically ranging from one to five years. The properties of the tin used must be such as to be inert to the acidic conditions of the products in the tin. The canned processing of food is used for preservation. Foods are sterilized by heating the cans or containers that can be sealed such that no microbes can enter. The time and temperature for heating vary with the type of food, the acid content and the ease with which sterilization can be achieved. Canning usually is adjusted to prevent nutritional destruction of food such as vitamins and other important food components. For canning to be accomplished, the foods are first cleaned washed and blanched to soften tissues and destroy enzymes. The softening of tissues allows easy canning. The cans after been filled are exposed to a vacuum system to remove dry excess air. The process called is thermal exhaustion, then sealed cans are exposed or cooled in cold water. The temperature and time of canning is dependent on the type of food being canned. Canning is use to preserve foods like fish, meat, fruits, vegetables etc. The following rules must be adhered to in canning: (i) Product should be taken in its prime. (ii) Product must be prepared as quickly as possible before the onset of deterioration. (iii) Enclosed in a container which could be hermetically sealed e.g. glass and tin cans. (iv) Heat the cold container sufficiently to keep the contents good.
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on or screw-on closures, sanitary cans (the tin can), composite cans (usually a combination of paper board and steel), aerosols, aluminum cans and aluminum foil made into dishes, etc.(AYINDE,2002). The level of technology involved in filling into aluminum cans (used for beers and carbonated beverages) is high and as generally it is only applicable to large production units. There are three main methods of making cans, the most common produces the traditional three-piece sanitary can that consist of a body and two end pieces that are joined together to provide a hermeticor perfect seal while most commonly used for foods that are heat processed they also find application in packaging powders, syrups, etc. that are non-heat-processed. The most common shape is a round but square and oval flat cans are used, particularly for fish processing. The other two methods, which produce a two-piece, can (integral body and base plus a lid) have become increasingly common in recent years. Two-piece cans require less metal and thus are lighter and cheaper.
Examples of foods that are canned includes fruits and vegetables , milks and sauces, beans and legumes, meat and fish, soups and other prepared items. 3.3 FOOD CANNING PROCESSES In the preparation of canned food from vegetables, fish and meat, there are main operations that are common to all(for example heat treatment) and other main operations that are characteristics of the type of raw material being processed (gutting, peeling, mincing). The general unit operations of production processes in the food industry normally consist of the following stages: washing of the raw material, elimination of the non-edible part, preparation of the food product and canning. The process stages are applicable to any canning industry and what makes them characteristic in relation to the rest of the food industries in the heat treatment, sterilization or pasteurization process that is applied after canning to destroy microbes. The preparation of canned foods starts with a raw material, either fruit, vegetables, fish or meat, which is prepared by applying different treatments such as washing, peeling or skinning and chopping. Once it is prepared, the product is packed in metal or glass containers together with a control juice in most cases that optimizes and protects the foodstuff from any subsequent treatment.
Sealing of containers
Sterilization/Pasteurisation
Pelleting
Storage
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with a double seam on the seal side and they can also be vacuum sealed. Sealing can be done either manual equipment or very modern, efficient machinery that can seal over a thousand cans a minute.
Sterilization
It is an operation in which the foodstuff is heated to a sufficiently high temperature and during a sufficiently high temperature and during a sufficiently long period of time to destroy all microbial and enzymatic activity in the food and it also lengthens the life of the product. Nowadays the different sterilization techniques are classified into two systems, in batches and continuously.
Pasteurisation
This treatment involves the application of temperatures that are lower than in sterilization (lower than 100 c) and of a low intensity to stabilize the product in a way that respects its organoleptic qualities. There are two systems of pasteurization: Low temperature during a long period of time (LTLT: low temperature-long time). This system can work with batches or continuously, for all types of product presentation (liquid or solid, bulk, packaged). High temperature during a short period of time (HTST: high temperature-short time). In this case, the system is only applied to liquid products in continuous processes.
REFERENCES Ayinde, F.A. (2002). Basic food packaging. Oyez-Gilgal Company, Lagos. Pyke, M. (1970). Food science and Technology. John Murray, London. Olaleye, O.N. (2007).Basic microbiology.A Food perspective. Telletes Publishing House, Lagos.