CHAPTER ONE
1.1 INTRODUCTION
Canning food has been a labor of love for generations of families.
Today has become an opportunity to take control of the food you and your
family consume.The key to successful canning understands the acidity
and spoilage factor of the food you wish to can, as well as the
acceptable canning methods to process those foods. There are two types
of food, categorized as low acid (vegetable, meat, poultry and seafood)
and high acid (fruits and tomatoes). Both can be successfully canned by
pressure canning.However, pressure canning is the only method
recommended safe for canning low-acid foods according to the United
State Department of Agriculture.Canning is not the only condition in the
manufacture and preservation of foods in which anaerobic conditions can
developed.
In the 1900s, refrigeration practices unproved and sausages no longer
caused a major problem with solution. However, as the technology for
canning became availably, botulism became a problem in canned foods. By
1926, most of the problems in the commercial canning industry had been
solved. Since then, most of the outbreak food borne botulism is the
United State have caused by improperly home-canned foods, mostly fish
and vegetables, such as string beans, corn, beets, spinach, asparagus
and chili peppers.Some canned cured meat products are given relatively
mild heat processes, inhibitory action of the curing agents, and in some
cases refrigeration, being depended on to prevent spoilage by organisms
in groups 2 and 3. It is usual for spores of aerobic bacilli to survive
in some of these products.
Glass home canning jars, sometimes referred to as Mason Jars, are
made of heat-tempered glass for durability and reuse. These are the only
jars recommended for safe home canning. They are available in standard
sizes and will withstand the heat of a pressure canner, time after
time.The two-piece home canning vacuum cap (lid and band) is the
recommended closure for home canning. It consists of a flat metal lid
with a rubber like seal on the underside and a threaded metal screw band
that secures the lid during processing. The bands can be used
repeatedly if they remain in good condition; however, new lids must be
used each time.
There are four basic agents of food spoilage-enzymes, mold, yeast,
and bacteria. Canning will interrupt the natural spoilage cycle so food
can be preserved safely. Pressure canners should be thoroughly examined
and tested at the country extension office or with the manufactures to
ensure their proper operation.Canned tomatoes are the most widely
home-canned product in the United States. They also are one of the most
commonly spoiled home-canned products. The canning processes recommended
in this fact sheet are the result USDA research on safe home-canning
procedures for tomatoes and tomatoes product.
Spoilage Canned Food: The most common reasons for
spoilage in home-canned tomato products are under processing and
incomplete seeks.Tomatoes that have not been processed long enough to
destroy molds and heat-resistant bacteria may spoil during storage. One
of the common spoilage organisms in canned food, bacillus coagulans, is
very heat resistant and causes flat-sour spoilage. The jars lid may
still be sealed and the product may appear normal, but the tomatoes will
smell sour because of lactic acid produced by the growth of B.
coagulans in the product.