Module 3 - Damned Spoiled Food

new invention in 1970s changed everything

microwave oven -frozen foods have been successful ever since

Egyptian food preservation

-beer was a common staple of the Egyptian diet -evidence of beer dates back to 4000 BC -fermentation was "discovered" not "invented" -consumed daily, all ages -recognized health benefits -wine was produced, only for elite -fish and meats were also preserved, by drying and some salting

Clarence Birdseye 3

-1910: money grew tighter -left Amherst to work -awarded honorary MA degree in 1941 -took a job as a naturalist with USDA's Biological Survey (birds, ticks, fur business) -(side note: Howard T Ricketts discovered the bacteria that cause Rocky Mountain fever)

Clarence Birdseye 6

-1915: married Eleanor Gannett -1916: moved his wife and 5-week-old son to Labrador -3 room cabin -250 miles from nearest doctor

Clarence Birdseye 8

-1923: with $7, purchased electric fan, buckets of brine, and cakes of ice -1924: founded Birdseye Seafoods

Clarence Birdseye 10

-1924: General Seafood Company -had financial partners -developed a series of quick-freezing devices -"Quick freeze machine": 2 metal belts, 15 meter freezing tunnel; packaged fresh food in waxed cardboard boxes; salt solution sprayed on belts - chilled to -45F packaged fresh food in waxed cardboard boxes -resulted in 1st commercially practical freezer

Clarence Birdseye 12

-1930s: frozen foods remained unsuccessful -1st obstacle were retailers who were unwilling to spend money for frozen storage -2nd obstacle was consumers because canned foods predominated -institutional sales were the primary market -steamships were a dumping ground for frozen foods -company still going downhill until...

Clarence Birdseye 14

-1950: TV dinners introduced which extended frozen food sales -1960s: (lean years) the diet craze hit US and slowed sales of frozen foods -1970s: creative marketing was used by Lean Cuisine who introduced a healthy line of frozen dinners, followed by Weight Watchers

Clarence Birdseye 15

-1956: he died of a heart attack at 69 yr/old -ashes scattered at sea off the coast of Massachusetts -numerous inventions: -procedure to dehydrate foods; making paper pulp from sugarcane residue -over 300 patents

Clarence Birdseye 5

-Birdseye ate most anything -starlings -blackbirds -whale -porpoise -lynx -beaver tail -polar bear

another revolution - freezing

-China: 1000 BC was the first to freeze outside of winter and use ice cellars -Greeks and Romans: used compressed snow in underground cellars; or store foods under cool water -Incas stored foods at high altitudes: reduced atmospheric pressure, water dissipated better than at sea level; (foundation for freeze drying)

freeze drying

-Incan "technology" -by reducing pressure, water would directly vaporize from foods -with traditional freezing, water freezes into ice crystals and then is removed from the food -developed during WW2 and was used for preserving blood plasma and penicillin -later applied to foods > freeze dried coffee in 1938 created by nestle in response to excess Brazilian coffee -created Nescafe (introduced in Switzerland) by freeze drying all the excess coffee and all you had to do was add hot water -from 1966-1971 James Mercer was the chief development engineer for Hills Brothers Coffee who pioneered freeze-drying of coffee and patented Taster's Choice (instant coffee)

other early methods

-Pompeii: jars of fruit preserved in honey -Rome: first preserved ham -Vikings laid fish in the riggings of their ships to let sea wind dry their fish -early North American Indians: (pemmican: removed fat, cook meat, then grind fat and meat into a paste. then add dried fruits and spices. the paste would be molded into small squares that were of low moisture content so spoilage was prevented) -pemmicans were important for fur traders during the 17th-19th ventures

Clarence Birdseye 13

-WW2 -when Japan overran Southeast Asia, it controlled the majority of the world's tin resources -as a result the US government placed restrictions of canners, and with nothing to pack their foods into , the door for frozen foods was opened wide! -grocers began to fill their empty space with food storage and frozen foods

Appert's process

-after 7 years of factory work, Appert sent out samples of his products for Napolean's army -Napolean was happy and personally awarded Appert 12,000 francs -canning is sometimes referred to as "appertization" like "pasteurization" -statues of Appert are numerous -institute of food technologists (highest award - Nicolas Appert Award - recipients get $5000) -72 streets in France are named for Appert (one in Canada) -1995 - commemorated on French stamp -2010 - declared "Nicolas Appert Year" by French ministry of culture

Appert's steps

-cook (boil) the food -place cooked food in jars -cork jars -water-bath to boil jars containing food -remove product after set period of time and let cool preserved many food: -meats -gravies -fish -vegetables (peas, onions, asparagus, spinach) -fruits (currants, cherries, nectarines) -milk, eggs, cream

drying and smoking

-dates as far back as 6000 BC

expiration date

-dates at which the manufacturer guarantees that the food will be of its best quality from a taste and texture aspect -it has nothing to do with safety and microbial spoilage

fermentation

-discovered by the Chinese in prehistoric times -fermented vegetables

1886 Frank and Edmund Ball

-discovered that Mason's patent had expired -"Ball" no longer exists -Ball (and Kerr) jars are made by Newell Brands

early methods of preservation

-drying -salting -fermentation -most significant changes over the past 200 years (influenced by science and conflict)

Mesopotamian food preservation

-earliest wine making evidence dating back to 6000 BC -viticulture (growing and harvesting of grapes) spread to Egypt -writing first developed in this region in the late 4th century BC -evidence of ration lists, food distributions and granary inventories -narratives passed on about preservation methods

use by, sell by, best by, expiration dates???

-expiration dates, use by dates, and/or sell by dates are NOT required on food packages -manufacturers put them on food packages voluntarily

Clarence Birdseye 1

-father of frozen food in 1930 -didn't invent frozen food process -improved and made it successful -born in Brooklyn in 1886 -spent summers on late family farm on Long Island -loved the outdoors -spent time in fields or at the seashore

second revolution

-in 1795, Napoleon Bonaparte was on his mission to conquer Europe, but he learned that getting food to his troops was critical -if the troops didn't have food, then they couldn't complete the mission well, so Napoleon offered a prize of 12,000 francs for effective preservation methods -Nicolas Appert was a French chef, confectioner, and distiller who decided to take on the challenge -he discovered canning

Clarence Birdseye 4

-left government work in 1912 -6 week cruise of Labrador waters with famous medical missionary, Sir Wilfred Grenfell -in Labrador, learned of profits to be made from furs -left expedition and spent next 5 years traveling by dog sled collecting furs

Food preservation

-methods used to preserve foods are targeted at slowing the rate at which food spoils -spoilage can be caused by microorganisms (bacteria and mold), oxidation (rancidity), insects, and others -food preservation is as old as human civilization -drying foods dates back to ancient times -by 1000 BC, Chinese were using salt and smoking -salting has been widely used

Egyptian food preservation

-most of the preservation used in Egypt focused on grains and cereals -primarily employed drying and storage in rudimentary silos -fear of the Nile not flooding regularly and crops not being nourished -storage facilities were located throughout communities for distribution -storage and drying processes provided distinguished jobs

Clarence Birdseye 11

-needed capital to properly develop frozen food industry -1929, sold general seafood company for $22 million to Charles Post who was the owner of Postum Cereal Company -as a condition to the sale, Birdseye retained 49% of the company which took the name "General Foods Corporation" -changed Birdseye brand to Birds Eye -in 1932, Clarence sold his final 49% share of the company to General Foods for just under $1 million but remained with the company as director of research -by 1930, Birds Eye food products were sold in 18 stores in Springfield, Mass. The product line consisted of 27 items of various vegetables, fruits, fish, and meats. In 1934, the company opened another test market in Rochester, N

Clarence Birdseye 2

-noticed large number of muskrats in the area -at 10 yrs/old he trapped them for a customer in England -used profits to buy a shotgun -avid outdoorsman -studied and practiced taxidermy as a youth -moved to Montclair, NJ -1908 - graduated HS -Amherst College (money was tight, trapped and sold black rats to a geneticist at Colombia University, sold live frogs for reptile food to Bronx Zoo)

salting

-originally used by the ancient Egyptians to preserve mummies -later learned that it would also be used to preserve foods

Nicolas Alpert's process of canning

-recognized excluding air was critical -created strong corks that supported inside and outside of bottle -made glue out of isinglass to join pieces of cork together -created large, strong corks to withstand heat and pressure -mixed quicklime and water for sealant -smeared on top of corks to prevent air from entering the bottles -used glass bottles with wide necks to permit many food -bottles had rims so lids could be placed on top

Clarence Birdseye 9

2 major contributions: -importance of rapid freezing of food -significance of small ice crystals -retail consumer packaging -business wasn't successful -consumers skeptical of frozen food -old method gave poor quality -sold to hospitals and schools -food for soldiers -1924: 1st company ended in bankruptcy

canning

Alpert's method was simple and spread quickly -in 1810, Peter Durand, a British inventor, patented the "tin" can -in 1813, John Hall and Bryan Dorkin of England opened the first commercial canning factory -in 1820s canning made its way to the US -manufactured at rate of 6/hr -in 1846, Henry Evans invented better machine - made 60/hr -todays machines - 2000/hr -in 1858, John Mason, Philadelphia tinsmith invented the "Mason jar/Ball jar" which led to home canning

"my contribution was to take Eskimo knowledge and the scientists' theories and adapt them to quality production"

Clarence Birdseye

"I'll tell you one thing. The front half of a skunk is excellent."

Clarence Birdseye 1915

Mesopotamian food preservation

first evidence of ovens: -"tannur" ovens (beehive shape, stood upright, made of clay and gypsum, withstand temps up to 1500F, used to cook grains and breads -fish was commonly dried, smoked, and pressed for oils that could be used for cooking, flavoring, and preserving foods early beer: -added important proteins and nutrients to diets -very low in alcoholic content -streptomyces - soil bacterium (-produced tetracycline -ancients used beer to treat infections -large doses of tetracycline found in African mummies -evidence suggests they were aware of medical value)

Clarence Birdseye 7

while in Labrador: -observed natives freezing duck and caribou -winter freezing of food vs. spring freezing (better quality) -moved back to US in 1917 -1922: started a wholesale fish business -started experiments with frozen fish