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Concept

Food spoilage

Food spoilage is the process where a food product becomes unsuitable to ingest by the consumer. The cause of such a process is due to many outside factors as a side-effect of the type of product it is, as well as how the product is packaged and stored. Due to food spoilage, one-third of the world's food produced for the consumption of humans is lost every year. Bacteria and various fungi are the cause of spoilage and can create serious consequences for the consumers, but there are preventive measures that can be taken. Some bacteria are responsible for the spoilage of food. When bacteria breaks down the food, acids and other waste products are generated in the process. While the bacteria itself may or may not be harmful, the waste products may be unpleasant to taste or may even be harmful to one's health. There are many species of pathogenic bacteria that target different categories of food. For example, Clostridium botulinum spoils food such as meat and poultry, and Bacillus cereus, which spoils almost all type of food. When stored or subjected to unruly conditions, the organisms will begin to breed apace, releasing harmful toxins that can cause severe illness, even when cooked safely. Fungi have been seen as a method of food spoilage, causing only an undesirable appearance to food, however, there has been significant evidence of various fungi being a cause of death. Fungi are caused by acidifying, fermenting, discoloring and disintegrating processes and can create fuzz, powder and slimes of many different colors, including black, white, red, brown and green. Mold is a type of fungus, but the two terms are not reciprocal of each other; they have their own defining features and perform their own tasks. Very well known types of mold are Aspergillus and Penicillium, and, like regular fungi, create a fuzz, powder and slime of various colors. Yeast is also a type of fungus that grows vegetatively via single cells that either bud or divide by way of fission, allowing for yeast to multiply in liquid environments favoring the dissemination of single celled microorganisms.

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Shelf life
Shelf life is the length of time that a commodity may be stored without becoming unfit for use, consumption, or sale. In other words, it might refer to whether a commodity should no longer be on a pantry shelf (unfit for use), or no longer on a supermarket shelf (unfit for sale, but not yet unfit for use). It applies to cosmetics, foods and beverages, medical devices, medicines, explosives, pharmaceutical drugs, chemicals, tyres, batteries, and many other perishable items.
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