We consume food for our needs. We need food to grow, develop, and use its energy in performing tasks. Sometimes, we get obsessed with what the food packaging says on the label. Is it GMO? Is it full of MSG? Is it gluten-free, sugar-free, low-sodium, and without artificial enhancements?
These are the things that we can nowadays even look for online, just like we would look up registrarse.cl, whether or not we can fly to this or that place, etc. The internet really can really be of help!
And as a matter of fact, these (the desire to know what’s in our food) are not whims, they come from the fact that we want to eat food that is healthy, but also safe to eat. We are not only concerned with the safety of our food but also the food our children should consume. Here are some of the most innovative ways progress is keeping our food safe for consumption.
Internet of Things
You may have heard about this before – it’s the internet machines use to communicate with other machines. Basically, one machine scans the information received from another machine it’s connected to via Iot and makes appropriate responses.
One of these instances is the analysis of the soil before planting crops and careful monitoring of those crops for any damage, pests, and shift in nutrient consumption. Iot also allows machines to monitor food processing and packaging, which means that you will not be getting faulty produce.
Blockchain
This technology is still fairly young, though maybe not in its infancy. It collects the data from every step of the journey during which the food leaves the farm and ends up on your table. It is great for tracking bad produce, food waste, logistics of food delivery and more.
Non-Thermal Processing
Here’s the problem many manufacturers face – how to process food, and prepare it for trading without affecting its texture (as it happens with freezing), or its taste and nutrients (as with cooking)? The solution sounds simple – nonthermal processing.
This refers to all processes that don’t involve changing the temperature and quality of the products and produce while prolonging the shelf life. This is done in several different ways, but in this article, we are going to cover two.
High-Pressure Processing
HPP has been used in processing liquids and solids that are high in acidity. This includes jams, jellies, salsa, and the like. Instead of burning the germs (along with nutrients), this food is exposed to the high pressure that the germs can’t handle.
Irradiation
Low levels of radiation kill germs, spores, mold, and parasites, all the while not harming the food in any way. In spite of using radiation, it is perfectly safe and there’s no cooking involved. This process has been used before in the production of dried herbs and spices for years, with results that have delivered their promise on safe food consumption. It is possible that it will come back to deal with other foods as well.
