Abstract
IN his Friday evening discourse at the Royal Institution on April 16, Mr. T. Macara described some special problems of “Science and the Conservation of Food”. While the term ‘conservation of food’ may be applied to many aspects of the production and handling of foods, he confined himself to problems connected with some common types of manufactured food. The first problems discussed were mould growth and fermentation, crystallization, and absence of jelly property in jam. As regards mould growth and fermentation, Mr. Macara put forward the theory that their prevention depends on the production of a jam having a higher osmotic pressure than that of mould spores or yeast cells, and he showed how this result could be achieved. The jelly property of jams is due to the fruit pectin, and it was shown how the jellifying property of this pectin may be lost or destroyed through lack of knowledge of its properties. Problems connected with the preservation of fruits, vegetables and meat products were then discussed. The British Food Manufacturers' Research Association has found certain bacteria the spores of which show an extraordinary high resistance to heat. Boiling for 8 hours or heating to 230 ° F. for an hour fails to destroy them. It was pointed out that these times apply to small quantities of materials, and that when larger quantities have to be sterilized it is necessary to know the rate at which heat penetrates the product. The question of food storage in cans is surrounded with difficulties on account of defects in the coating of tin on the cans. A number of cases have been met with where the cans became perforated after three or four months' storage.
Article PDF
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Science and the Conservation of Food. Nature 139, 707 (1937). https://doi.org/10.1038/139707b0
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/139707b0