OSMOSIS: A way of Preserving Food

                The term osmosis is sounds very technical at first encounter and may seem to have no practical in day to day living. But did you know that the concept of osmosis is being used by food manufacturers in the preservation of many foods? Even our mother uses it at home to preserve fruits and vegetables.

                The need to store food is important to humans for future consumption especially when food is in short supply. Preserving food is also important for food manufacturers to extend the food's shelf life. Unfortunately, microorganisms like bacteria, molds, and fungi attack stored foods causing food spoilage. The presence of moisture and warmer temperatures on stored foods are suitable conditions for microbes to grow. They absorb and utilize the substances found in the stored food for their growth.As a result, stored food attacked by these microorganisms produces undesirable taste and smell, changes color, and may cause stomach upset when eaten.

                 One way of preventing food spoilage is to store foods in strong salt solutions (brine) or in sugar solution (syrup). These solutions contain concentrated amounts of solutes (salts and sugar) and are hypertonic to the cytoplasm of microorganisms. Brine and syrup solutions can cause the removal of water from the cytoplasm resulting in dehydration  followed by death of the invading microbes. Such removal of water is involved in the process of osmosis. Pork, beef, and fish are some of the food stored in brine. Fruits are often preserved in syrup.

                  The principle behind longer shelf life of preserved food involves OSMOSIS....