Food spoilage –monster microbes
Microbes are the little monsters that take us sick. However, not all microbes are harmful. Some are useful and help to keep our digestive system clean. For example curd contains good microbes and must e eaten everyday.
Surprise your mother with this healthy and delicious curd salad recipe. Help her make it!
What you need
A big bowl, a small cucumber, one tomato, one –fourth cabbage, one carrot, some sweet corn kernels, half a capsicum, a pinch of salt, half teaspoon sugar, two cups of beaten curd are wanted.
What to do
a) Request your mother to dice the vegetables into small pieces.
b) Put beaten thick curd the bowl.
c) Add salt and sugar.
d) Add all the diced vegetables and mix well.
e) Refrigerate the curd salad for half an hour before serving.
Ugh! It’s spoilt
Savita bought loaf bread from the market. She left it on a table in the kitchen. The weather was quite hot.
The next day when Savita opened the packet, she found tiny green dots on the bread slices. It smelled too! The bread had got spoilt. Savita should have kept the bread in the refrigerator.
Spoiling or decaying of foods is called spoiling. Food items get spoiled due to microbes and insects.
A) Looks different. B) tastes bad. C) Smell foul. Such food becomes harmful and causes food poising, if eaten.
Monster microbes
Microbes are very tiny living things. They can be seen only though a microscope. Disease –causing microbes are called germs. They are found everywhere –in air, in food, in water and in soil. Microbes grow rapidly in warm and humid condition. Therefore, food should be stored in the right place and at the right temperature.
Savita has bad habit of leaving food in her plate. The left –over food often rots through the night. Can you think why? Kavita Bai grumbles every morning while cleaning the utensils.
Food is valuable. We should not let it spoil. Food spoils or decays with time. Hence, proper storage of food is very important. Food items like meat, fish and milk spoil fast. Others like flour, uncooked rice and cereals, lentils, beans and spices last longer.
Storage of food
Proper temperature is important for proper storage of food.
a) Dairy products and meat should be chilled to a temperature at which microbes cannot grow. B) Fresh fruits and vegetables should also be kept in cool places. C) Dry foodstuff such as milk power, dry-fruits, tea and spices can be kept at room temperature.
Most packed food items have labels that tell us where they should be stored.
The food item should be stored in the a) cupboard when it says `cool, dry place’ b) fridge for `refrigerate’ c) freeze for `frozen.
Labels also mention the date till when the food should be eaten for example; `best before’ tells the date by when the food will not get spoilt. You should always check labels before buying food items.
Note: spoilt food should be thrown into a compost pit or the dustbin.
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