FOOD POISONING

Food poisoning is caused by micro- organisms or the toxins

produced by the organisms. The symptoms of food poisoning
can last for days and include abdominal pains, diarrhoea, vomiting,
nausea and fever. The symptoms usually come on suddenly, but can
occur several days after eating contaminated food.
Typical sources o contamination !means o spread"#
1. Humans as a result of poor hygiene
2. Air
3. Soil
4. Animal feed
. !odents, insects or birds
". #tensils
Organisms that cause ood poisoning#
1. $lostridium %otulinium !$l.botulinium"# This organism
produces heat resistant to$ins. %$amples of food& Home
canned foods li'e vegetables, meat and fruits.
2. Salmonella# These organisms cause food poisoning and can
even cause typhoid. (ood poisoning is caused by infecting the
gut of the victim and multiplying inside the person. %$amples
of food& chic'en, eggs
3. &isteria# This group gro) *uic'ly in foods stored at a
temperature of around 4+,. %$amples of food& ,oo' - chill
foods, pates and certain soft cheeses.
4. ' ( $oli# This organism usually lives in the gut of humans and
other animals. .t is resistant to acid, heat and antibiotics.
%$amples of food& /eef, burgers, fruit 0uices, s'ins of carrots
and dairy product
)I$*O%IO&OGI$+& $ONSID'*+TION
The main groups of micro organisms are&
/acteria& They cause food spoilage and can cause food
poisoning.
1oulds& These have spores 2oating in the air, they cause food
spoilage and some produce to$ins )hich cause disease.
3easts& These cause food spoilage especially those foods that
are high in sugar or salt.
%+$T'*I+& G*O,T-
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1. &ag phase# 4ro)th is slo) at 5rst as organism becomes
established in the food.
2. &og phase# At this stage there is rapid gro)th
6multiplication7. Sometimes there might be no obvious
change in the appearance of the food ho)ever there )ill be
obvious odours.
3. Stationary phase# .n this stage nutrients have been used up
so the number of bacteria dying is the same as the number
being produced.
4. Death phase# .n this phase the number dying is greater than
the number produced.
F+$TO*S T-+T INF&.'N$' T-' G*O,T- OF )I$*O-
O*G+NIS)S
P- conditions# 8i9erent organisms gro) at di9erent :H
conditions e.g. moulds gro) under very acidic conditions )hile
some other organisms prefer near neutral :H condition.
)oisture# 8i9erent levels of moisture are re*uired
depending on the type of microbe. %$amples&
1. /acteria - 1ost re*uire high moisture
2. 1oulds - Some can multiply under lo) moisture
3. 3easts - 1ultiply rapidly on high sugar or salt
product.
Temperature& /acteria multiply at di9erent temperature.
1. :sychrophiles& They are cold loving organisms. They
gro) rapidly at refrigeration temperature 6;+, - 1;+,7.
2. 1esophiles& These are organisms that li'e moderate
temperature. They gro) rapidly at 2;+, - 4;+,.
3. Thermophiles& They are organisms that li'e high
temperature. They multiply rapidly bet)een ;+, -
<;+,
+ir !Oxygen"# The amount of o$ygen available a9ects the
gro)th of micro organisms. 1oulds are aerobic 6re*uire
o$ygen7 )hile yeasts are either aerobic or anaerobic
depending on the condition. /ased on their o$ygen
re*uirement bacteria can be classi5ed into&
1. =bligate aerobes& =nly gro)s if there is plenty
supply of o$ygen.
2. (acultative aerobes& 4ro)s best )ith plenty of
o$ygen but can also gro) anaerobically.
3. =bligate anaerobes& =nly gro)s if there is no
o$ygen present.
4. (acultative anaerobes& 4ro)s best in the absence
of o$ygen but they can also gro) aerobically.
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ST+G'S IN FOOD )+N.F+$T.*'
The processes involved in manufacturing food products are 'no)n
as /unit operations/. There are di9erent stages in the commercial
manufacture of food products. These include&
1. $leaning
This is the separation of food from any contamination e.g. stones,
leaves, t)igs and animal parts. ,ontamination can occur )hen
using mechanised pic'ed machines or combined>harvesters. There
is also a possibility of a machine loosing nuts and bolts or even
dropping grease or oil on the food. The use of insecticides,
herbicides or fertili?ers can sometimes lead to chemical
contamination.
,leaning can be done )ith or )ithout )ater. ,leaning )ithout )ater
is cheap but sometimes a dusty process. (or )et cleaning the )ater
used has to be free from contamination.

Dry cleaning
A7 ,ontinuous drum screen& ,ontaminated products go through
a continuous drum )ith screens all over the drum. The
contaminants fall out.
/7 Aspiration or )inno)ing& Air is blasted up)ards on the
contaminated products. The process depends on a di9erence
in buoyancy in air bet)een the product and contaminants.
,7 1agnetic separation& :roducts are passed over magnetised
drums or magnetised conveyor belts. :o)erful magnets can
also be located above conveyors. 1etal detectors are used to
remove non>magnetic pieces of metal.
,et $leaning
A7 Spray )ashing& A small amount of )ater at high pressure is
used cleaning is achieved due to the force of spray.
/7 (lotation )ashing& This process depends on the buoyancy
di9erences bet)een food products and contaminants. (or
e$ample good fruits )ill generally 2oat )hile contaminating
soil, stones etc )ill sin'. Slo)ly rotating paddles force the ra)
materials under the )ater as they pass through a number of
)eirs.
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0. Peeling#
This is the loosening of the s'in of the ra) material. The method
for peeling a product depends on the structure of the food and
the level of peeling re*uired.
.. $hemical peeling# This involves the use of a solution of
lye 61 - 2@ al'ali7. The s'in is softened and then spray
)ashed.
... )echanical peeling#
+brasion peeling# The ra) material is rotated
in a machine )ith abrasive device e.g potatoes
and root vegetables.
'1uipment 2ith mechanical 3ni4es# This can
be used for pears, apples, potatoes etc
.... Thermal peeling#
Steam# (oods are passed through high pressure steam
for a 5$ed amount of time. This loosens the s'in of the
ra) material. Then spray )ashing is used to remove the
s'in.
5. Sorting#
!a) materials are easier to process )hen they are of the same
si?e. (or e$ample in processing that involves heat penetration
there is possibility of overcoo'ing or undercoo'ing if the ra)
materials are not the same si?e.
.A. Si6e# sorting can be done using screens. !ound items
that can )ithstand rough handling can be sorted using
screens.
A. ,eight# .t is a more precise method of sorting. 1eat
cuts, eggs, fruits and vegetables are sorted by )eight.
%lectronic )eighing device are incorporated into the
conveying system.
A.. Shape# This can be used for sorting grains. 8iscs or
cylinders )ith accurately shaped indentation )ill pic' up
the seeds of the correct shape and the rest )ill be left in
the machine.
A... $olour# This can be done using a comple$ electronic
system using photoelectric cells. The products are
compared )ith a standard bac'ground colour. Those not
matching )ill be re0ected using a blast of compressed air.
7. Grading#
This is the classi5cation of ra) materials on the basis of *uality.
The assessment criteria incorporate commercial value, end use
and oBcial standards. Trained manual operators are used to
0udge the *uality of ra) materials. :roducts are then separated
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into *uality categories. .nspection is done on conveyor belts and
comparison to chartered standards or even plastic models is
carried out. 4rading is also the determination of the *uality of a
batch. Human graders assess samples of cheese, butter or meat
etc. (or e$ample meat inspectors )ill e$amine the *uality of
individual carcasses for a number of criteria. 4rading of ra)
materials can also be done on the basis of laboratory analysis.
DIFF'*'N$' %'T,''N SO*TING +ND G*+DING
A separation of ra) materials based on a single measurable
property 6such as si?e, shape, colour or )eight7 is called sorting.
(or grading8 the overall *uality of the ra) material is assessed
using a number of attributes. !arely )ill one attribute indicate
*uality )hen grading a product.
9. %lanching#
This is a mild heat treatment. (ood is heated rapidly to a
predetermined temperature, holding for a speci5ed time then
either cooling rapidly or passing rapidly to the ne$t stage of
processing. /lanching may be combined )ith peeling and
cleaning to reduce costs.
)ethods#
1. -ot or boiling 2ater blanching# 8ipped for about 3;
seconds to 3 or 4 minutes. 8isadvantage& causes high
losses of soluble material. Additives 6e.g ascorbic acid7 can
be used to reduce the losses
2. Steam blanching# uses saturated steam in a closed
vessel through )hich the food is conveyed usually by a
rotating scre).
*'+SONS FO* %&+N$-ING :'G'T+%&'S
1. To inactivate en?ymes, )hich other)ise )ill lead to *uality
reduction in the processed product.
2. To remove gases from plant tissues. This is useful prior to
canning as blanching helps achieve vacuum in the containers
hence preventing e$pansion of air during processing.
3. /lanching helps to remove o$ygen so o$idation of the product
and corrosion of can does not occur in canned products.
4. /lanching involves the removal of gases along )ith the
removal of surface of dust. This helps in brightening the
colour of some products especially green vegetables.
. .t acts as a 5nal cleaning and decontamination process. 1icro
organisms or pesticides in ra) materials can be signi5cantly
reduced
Mrs Onajobi/2007 5
)'T-ODS OF %&+N$-ING
;" -ot 2ater blanching# The food material is passed through
the )ater on a moving belt or rotating mesh drum. The food
is dipped into hot or boiling )ater for a short period usually 3;
seconds to four minutes depending on the type of food. There
is usually high loss of soluble materials. Ho)ever ascorbic
acid, citric acid and sulphites can be added to improve the
product.
0" Steam blanching# .t involves conveying food material
through an atmosphere of steam in a tunnel on a mesh belt.
.n the 2uidised bed design, pieces of vegetables are heated
rapidly in thin layers then cooled in chilled air. There is
reduction in the loss of soluble material in this process.
<. Si6e reduction#
Si?e reduction is important is an important stage in manufacturing
because most ra) materials cannot be pac'ed in their original si?e
or shape. Grinding and $rushing reduce the si?e of solid materials
by mechanical action, dividing them into smaller particles. ,rushing
is used as a preliminary stage to reduce the si?e of ra) materials.
(or e$ample, )hen ma'ing 2our, )heat is crushed then it is follo)ed
by a grinding process. .n the grinding process, materials are
reduced in si?e by fracturing them.
Grinding e1uipment
;" -ammer mills#
.n a hammer mill, s)inging hammerheads are attached to a rotor
that rotates at high speed inside a hardened casing.
The material is crushed bet)een the hammers and the casing and
remains in the mill until it is 5ne enough to pass through a screen
)hich forms the bottom of the casing.
0" Disc mills#
8isc mills could be a single rotating disc in a stationary casing in this
case the ra) material passes through the ad0ustable gap bet)een
the disc and the casing. =r the disc mill could consist of t)o fdiscs
rotating in opposite directions and the ra) material passes bet)een
the discs.
5" %all mills#
This consists of a hori?ontal steel cylinder )hich slo)ly rotates. The
si?e of the 5nal particle is determined by the speed of rotation and
the si?e of the ball.
7" *oller mills#
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.n this type of e*uipment, t)o or more steel rollers revolve to)ards
each other and pull particles of the ra) material through the space
bet)een the rollers.
=. $ombining>)ixing#
The dispersing of components, one throughout the other is called
mixing.
There are di9erent types of mi$ing machine depending on the
ra) material being processed. There are&
8ough and paste mi$ers
Ci*uid mi$ers
:o)der and particle mi$ers
*ibbon blender consists of a trough in )hich rotates a shaft )ith
t)o open helical scre)s attached to it, one scre) being right>
handed and the other left>handed. As the shaft rotates sections of
the po)der move in opposite directions and so particles are
vigorously displaced relative to each other. !ibbon blenders are
normally used for dry mi$es e.g. soups, instant desserts etc.
Tumbler mixers are also used to mi$ po)der and particle. The
machines revolve rapidly hence tumbling the mi$. There are
di9erent designs e.g. the double>cone blender )hich has t)o cones
mounted )ith their open ends fastened together. They are rotated
about an a$is through their common base.
-omogenisation
This is a process of ma'ing a mi$ture the same throughout the
entire substance. (or e$ample homogeni?ation is used for brea'ing
up the fat in mil' into smaller particles so it no longer separates
from the )ater hence maintaining a fat - in - )ater emulsion. This
allo)s the sale of non>separating 2@ and )hole mil'. The process
of homogeni?ation involves the forcing of the li*uid through a very
5ne 5lter at high pressure.
%ene?ts o homogenisation#
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.t mi$es li*uids together
.t reduces the si?e of fat globules
:revents separation of oil and li*uid
.mproves long term stability
.t give droplet uniformityDeven distribution
,reates an emulsion
Euic' and ine$epensive process
,onsistency in sensory properties
.mproves mouthfeelDte$ture
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