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The Factories
Food factories are built to very high standards to ensure the
food we eat is as safe as it possibly can be. Food is preserved in a
variety of different ways:
Canned: Raw fruit, vegetables are
sealed in a can. The temperature is raised and held for a period of time to
pasteurise the product.
Aseptic: A similar process to canning, but generally the
pasteurised product is bagged off while it is still hot, and then quickly
cooled.
Ambient. Examples are long life cakes and biscuits. These
are preserved by the sugar content in the product and sometimes
preservatives are added.
Chilled: Products are prepared in a sterile environment
and immediately chilled to slow the growth of Bacteria. Handled properly
products such as quiche and cream desserts will typically have a 5-6 day
shelf life. This can often be extended by using a process called gas
flushing. Air in a package is displaced by the inert gas nitrogen before
sealing. The removal of the oxygen slows the growth of harmful bacteria.
Frozen: As soon as product is made it is quickly frozen
either in a conventional freezer or by using liquid
nitrogen. |
A typical process in modern
food production involves the transfer of product efficiently around the
factory on conveyors:- Baking, cooling, product finishing/decoration, chilling
or freezing, packing and finally into the chill or cold store. This whole
process may only take 3-4 hours.
When food was prepared at home, it was normally eaten the same
day or the day after. As the food we eat in the supermarket may be older, then great care is needed in
it's preparation.
Cooking at high temperatures and cooling as quickly as possible extends the
life of a product. Most food
factories operate very high standards of food hygiene.
Food safety
Everything possible is done to take care that food is prepared
to the highest possible standard to prevent consumers becoming ill. Sometimes
things do go wrong and that can normally be traced to poor manufacturing
standards or unfortunately sometimes to deliberate sabotage. (The picture left
links to the
BBC Website for further reading.)
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The factories themselves are built to very high standards,
with easy to clean surfaces and are normally supplied with positive
filtered clean air to minimise the risk of unwanted bacteria getting into the factory. Each day the surfaces will be cleaned and sterilised.
Often the working environment is cooled to about 10 Centigrade. Glass and
wood are not allowed in the production areas.
Employees, have to change from their normal work clothing
into fresh clean overalls before entering the factory. Hands are washed
and sterilised, and often plastic gloves are worn. Hairnets are worn and
all hair must be covered. If an employee has a beard, a beard snood is
worn. White Wellington boots are worn which are sterilised on entry into
the factory. All open wounds must be covered, generally with a dark blue
plaster which can easily be seen. Jewellery and watches are removed, and
employees are not allowed to wear strong perfumes or aftershave. If an
employee leaves the production area, work clothing is removed and the
hygiene procedures repeated before re-entering the factory.
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