Canning and bottling

Canning involves cooking fruits or vegetables, sealing them in sterile cans or jars, and boiling the containers to kill or weaken any remaining bacteria as a form of pasteurization. Various foods have varying degrees of natural protection against spoilage and may require that the final step occur in a pressure cooker. High-acid fruits like strawberries require no preservatives to can and only a short boiling cycle, whereas marginal fruits such as tomatoes require longer boiling and addition of other acidic elements. Many vegetables require pressure canning. Food preserved by canning or bottling is at immediate risk of spoilage once the can or bottle has been opened.

Lack of quality control in the canning process may allow ingress of water or micro-organisms. Most such failures are rapidly detected as decomposition within the can causes gas production and the can will swell or burst. However, there have been examples of poor manufacture and poor hygiene allowing contamination of canned food by the obligate anaerobe, Clostridium botulinum which produces an acute toxin within the food leading to severe illness or death. This organism produces no gas or obvious taste and remains undetected by taste or smell. Food contaminated in this way has included Corned beef and Tuna.

b) Compose appropriate word combinations according to the text:

sterile	fruits
gas	protection
remaining	cooker
poor	cans
high-acid	bacteria
natural	production
short boiling	toxin
canning	manufacture
pressure	cycle
acute	process

VI. a) Read the text:

Jellying, Jugging and Irradiation

Food may be preserved by cooking in a material that solidifies to form a gel. Such materials include gelatine, agar, maize flour and arrowroot flour. Some foods naturally form a protein gel when cooked such as eels and elvers, and sipunculid worms which are a delicacy in the town of Xiamen in Fujian province of the People's Republic of China. Jellied eels are a delicacy in the East End of London where they are eaten with mashed potatoes. Potted meats in aspic, (the gel made from arrowroot flour) were a common way of serving meat off-cuts in the UK until the 1950s

Meat can be preserved by jugging, the process of stewing the meat (commonly game or fish) in a covered earthenware jug or casserole. The animal to be jugged is usually cut into pieces, placed into a tightly-sealed jug with brine or gravy, and stewed. Red wine and/or the animal's own blood is sometimes added to the cooking liquid. Jugging was a popular method of preserving meat up until the middle of the 20th century.

Irradiation is the treatment of food with x-rays or gamma radiation to kill bacteria and mold. It may be combined with vacuum packing to seal out microbes.

As with sunlight, exposure to the intense light from the lamps used for food irradiation is harmful to human skin. As with sunlight, the light from the lamps used for food irradiation does not make the food "radioactive." Food irradiation is effective against a wide variety of pathogens including bacteria, fungi, viruses and parasites.

A 1950s issue of Popular Mechanics details the impending arrival of "food irradiation". But the implications of irradiation are not fully understood, and the use of the technology is limited. Irradiation of potatoes, strawberries, and meat is common in many countries where refrigerated facilities and trucks are not. In 2002, the Food and Drug Administration permitted irradiation of meat and poultry to reduce the spread of E. coli and salmonella.

In the US and most of Europe, irradiation of spices is common, as the only alternative (treatment with gas) is potentially carcinogenic. The process is called "cold pasteurization" because it is feared that the label "irradiation" would hurt sales. Foods may also carry labels saying "Picowaved For Your Protection" as food processors may not want to openly label their foods as being irradiated.

It should be noted that although irradiation is effective at killing bacteria, fungi and other pathogens, there is still a danger that the food may contain some of their toxins.

b) Translate the sentences from English into Russian:

1. Potted meats in aspic were a common way of serving meat off-cuts in the UK until the 1950s.

2. Jugging is the process of stewing the meat in a covered earthenware jug or casserole.

3. Irradiation is the treatment of food with x-rays or gamma radiation to kill bacteria and mold.

4. Food irradiation is effective against a wide variety of pathogens including bacteria, fungi, viruses and parasites.

5. Irradiation of spices is common, as the only alternative (treatment with gas) is potentially carcinogenic.

6. The Food and Drug Administration permitted irradiation of meat and poultry to reduce the spread of E. coli and salmonella.

7. Although irradiation is effective at killing bacteria, fungi and other pathogens, there is still a danger that the food may contain some of their toxins.

c) Ask questions to indicated words:

1. Food may be preserved by cooking in a material that solidifies to form a gel.

2. The animal to be jugged is usually cut into pieces, placed into a tightly-sealed jug with brine or gravy, and stewed.

3. Irradiation may be combined with vacuum packing to seal out microbes.

4. Food irradiation is effective against a wide variety of pathogens including bacteria, fungi, viruses and parasites.

5. Irradiation of spices is common, as the only alternative is potentially carcinogenic.

VII. a) Read and translate the text: