Food preservation includes food processing practices which prevent the growth of microorganisms, such as yeasts, and slow the oxidation of fats that cause rancidity. Food preservation may also include processes that inhibit visual deterioration, such as the enzymatic browning reaction in apples after they are cut during food preparation. By preserving food, food waste can be reduced, which is an important way to decrease production costs and increase the efficiency of food systems, improve food security and nutrition and contribute towards environmental sustainability. For instance, it can reduce the environmental impact of food production.
The pea is most commonly the small spherical seed or the seed-pod of the pod fruit Pisum sativum. Each pod contains several peas, which can be green or yellow. Botanically, pea pods are fruit, since they contain seeds and develop from the ovary of a (pea) flower. The name is also used to describe other edible seeds from the Fabaceae such as the pigeon pea, the cowpea, and the seeds from several species of Lathyrus.
Canning is a method of food preservation in which food is processed and sealed in an airtight container. Canning provides a shelf life that typically ranges from one to five years, although under specific circumstances, it can be much longer. A freeze-dried canned product, such as canned dried lentils, could last as long as 30 years in an edible state.
A food pyramid is a representation of the optimal number of servings to be eaten each day from each of the basic food groups. The first pyramid was published in Sweden in 1974. The 1992 pyramid introduced by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) was called the "Food Guide Pyramid" or "Eating Right Pyramid". It was updated in 2005 to "MyPyramid", and then it was replaced by "MyPlate" in 2011.
A legume is a plant in the family Fabaceae, or the fruit or seed of such a plant. When used as a dry grain, the seed is also called a pulse. Legumes are grown agriculturally, primarily for human consumption, for livestock forage and silage, and as soil-enhancing green manure. Well-known legumes include beans, soybeans, peas, chickpeas, peanuts, lentils, lupins, mesquite, carob, tamarind, alfalfa, and clover. Legumes produce a botanically unique type of fruit – a simple dry fruit that develops from a simple carpel and usually dehisces on two sides.
Freezing food preserves it from the time it is prepared to the time it is eaten. Since early times, farmers, fishermen, and trappers have preserved grains and produce in unheated buildings during the winter season. Freezing food slows decomposition by turning residual moisture into ice, inhibiting the growth of most bacterial species. In the food commodity industry, there are two processes: mechanical and cryogenic. The freezing kinetics is important to preserve the food quality and texture. Quicker freezing generates smaller ice crystals and maintains cellular structure. Cryogenic freezing is the quickest freezing technology available due to the ultra low liquid nitrogen temperature −196 °C (−320 °F).
Blanching is a cooking process in which a food, usually a vegetable or fruit, is scalded in boiling water, removed after a brief, timed interval, and finally plunged into iced water or placed under cold running water to halt the cooking process. Blanching foods helps reduce quality loss over time. People often use blanching as a treatment prior to freezing, drying, or canning—heating vegetables or fruits to inactivate enzymes, modify texture, remove the peel, and wilt tissue. The inactivation of enzymes preserve color, flavor, and nutritional value. The process has three stages: preheating, blanching, and cooling. The most common blanching methods for vegetables/fruits are hot water and steam, while cooling is either done using cold water or cool air. Other benefits of blanching include removing pesticide residues and decreasing microbial load. Drawbacks to the blanching process can include leaching of water-soluble and heat sensitive nutrients and the production of effluent.
Dole plc is an Irish agricultural multinational corporation headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. The company is the largest producer of fruit and vegetables in the world, operating with 74,300 full-time and seasonal employees who are responsible for over 300 products in 90 countries. Dole markets such food items as bananas, pineapples, grapes, strawberries, salads, and other fresh and frozen fruits and juices. Dole owns a shipping line, "Dole Ocean Cargo Express".
Del Monte Foods, Inc is a North American food production and distribution company headquartered in, Walnut Creek, California. Del Monte Foods is one of the country's largest producers, distributors and marketer of branded processed food for the U.S. retail market, generating approximately $1.8 billion of annual sales. Its portfolio of brands includes Del Monte, S&W, Contadina, College Inn, Fruit Burst, Fruit Naturals, Orchard Select and SunFresh. Greg Longstreet is the current Chief Executive Officer of the Del Monte Foods. Several Del Monte products hold the number one or two market share position. The company also produces, distributes and markets private-label food.
Seneca Foods Corporation is an American food processor and distributor headquartered in Marion, New York, USA. Seneca Foods Corporation conducts its business almost entirely in food packaging, which contributed about 98% of the company's fiscal year 2017 net sales. Canned vegetables represented 65%, fruit products represented 23%, frozen fruit and vegetables represented 11% and fruit chip products represented 1% of the total food packaging net sales. Non-food packaging sales, which were primarily related to the sale of cans and ends, and outside revenue from the company's trucking and aircraft operations, represented 2% of the fiscal year 2017 net sales. Approximately 12% of the company's packaged foods were sold under its own brands, or licensed trademarks, including Seneca, Libby's, Aunt Nellie's, CherryMan, Green Valley, Read, and Seneca Farms. About 52% of the packaged foods were sold under private labels and 26% was sold to institutional food distributors. The remaining 10% was sold under a contract packing agreement with B&G Foods North America under the Green Giant label.
Vegetables are parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food. The original meaning is still commonly used and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, including the flowers, fruits, stems, leaves, roots, and seeds. An alternate definition of the term is applied somewhat arbitrarily, often by culinary and cultural tradition. It may exclude foods derived from some plants that are fruits, flowers, nuts, and cereal grains, but include savoury fruits such as tomatoes and courgettes, flowers such as broccoli, and seeds such as pulses.
Princes Group is an international food and drink group involved in the manufacture, import and distribution of branded and customer own-brand products. Customers include major supermarkets, convenience stores, foodservice operators, wholesale suppliers and other food manufacturers. Princes’ brands and products span over 20 different categories including fish, meat, fruit, vegetables, soups, pastes, pasta, cooking sauces, edible oils and a broad range of soft drinks sectors.
Ebrington is a village and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England, about 2 miles (3.2 km) from Chipping Campden. It has narrow lanes and tiny streets of Cotswold stone houses and cottages, many of which are thatched.
Bonduelle is a French company producing processed vegetables.
Frank Daniel Gerber was an American manufacturer of baby food.
The Star and Garter Hotel in Richmond was a hotel located in the London countryside on Richmond Hill overlooking the Thames Valley, on the site later occupied by the Royal Star and Garter Home, Richmond. The first establishment on the site, an inn built in 1738, was relatively small. This was followed by several other buildings of increasing size and varied design as the site changed from family ownership to being run by a limited company. Some of the rebuilding or extension work took place following fires that by 1888 had destroyed most of the original buildings. At various times architects were commissioned to build grand new buildings or extensions to take advantage of the famed view over the river and valley below, with the largest being the 1860s chateau block by E. M. Barry.
Gerber Products Company is an American purveyor of baby food and baby products headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, with plans to relocate to Arlington, Virginia. Gerber is a subsidiary of Nestlé.
The Fernhurst Research Station was a crop protection chemical research institute in West Sussex, mainly run by ICI, for the fruit industry.
The British Industrial Biological Research Association was a government-run research association in the UK, and is now a private company, that investigates toxicology of commercial products.
Unilever Gloucester is a large food manufacturing site in the north-east of Gloucester, England, that produces all of the makes of Unilever ice cream for the UK.
