Question

Food items like jams and pickles are protected by using ________

Answer 1

There are food additives which are used to enhance the freshness, taste, appearance and texture of the food. There are natural additives which are present naturally in food and are extracted from one food so that it can be used in another. The food additives do not add any nutritive value to food, it only enhances the flavor of food.

Complete answer: The food is preserved so that the growth of microbes does not take place on it and it can be used for a long time. The nitrates and nitrites are used as food preservatives for meat and meat products. The usage of sulphur dioxide is done as food preservative for dried fruit juices. The other food preservatives are sodium benzoate which is used in preservation of jellies, jams, pickles. It is used in preserving acidic food items which inhibits the growth of microbes such as yeasts, moulds on it. The other important preservative is benzoic acid which decreases the intracellular pH after being absorbed in the cell which helps in decreasing the anaerobic fermentation of glucose. It also helps in reducing the food spoiling. Jams are preserved by the compounds which have high concentration of sugar and removal of mixture. In pickles generally oil or vinegar is added for food preservative.

Note: the food is spoiled when it is exposed to air, a chemical change occurs which is known as oxidation of food. This chemical change changes the colour, taste, texture and appearance of food. It makes the food susceptible to spoilage and growth of yeast or mould occurs. So the anti oxidants or food preservatives are added to prevent them from spoilage.