Food is considered one of the most important human needs. Food has been the motivation to move the old anemone constantly in search of a place where food and water are available. Food is the group of substances that the organism needs to eat to maintain its health and the vital functioning of its body.
What is the food industry?
Some define it as a set of industrial processes, which aim to provide a society with many food industries.
Food industries are also referred to as the process of converting edible food to food based on a variety of production processes, in order to be suitable for human consumption by maintaining their validity for the longest possible period of time.
The emergence of the food industry, after the discovery of the means of food preservation, to meet the need to protect the food from exposure to damage; because of weather, or external influences such as fungi and bacteria, and this contributed to the emergence of the idea of the food industry, relying on a variety of means, , Or productive machinery.
This development has led to the emergence of canned food industries, which have become an important part of everyday food for all people around the world.
Importance of food industries
-Helps to regulate the trade balance of food raw materials by preventing their prices from falling during their production seasons.
-Reducing shipping costs, some food preservation methods such as drying reduce the weight and size of the food, making it easy to transport it over long distances.
-The presence of the national and local food industry contributes to dispensing with the importation of foodstuffs manufactured from abroad
-Contribute to the conversion of perishable food items to more stable materials, and save some of them for several days or weeks and others for a few months or several years depending on the method of conservation, and this leads to the abundance of various foods throughout the year, and include these methods: canning, freezing, drying And others
-Food industries care about high value food, and processed foods are relatively cheap compared to fresh ones.
-The food industry helps to improve agricultural and livestock crops. In the case of fruits and vegetables, the homogenous varieties are preferred, so that the product is of good quality.
Characteristics of the food industry
Food industries are characterized by a number of important characteristics, including:
Must contain a production date and an end date, which contributes to determining the validity of their human consumption by the people. Therefore, before purchasing any processed foodstuff, it is necessary to check the date of its validity, so that its use is appropriate and healthy.
The nature of the food industry depends on the type of material manufactured, that is, some foodstuffs may need preservatives, such as: Most types of canned food, and some other types need to be frozen to maintain.
The method of food processing is different depending on the nature of the processed material. For example, simple types of food can be made at home, such as pickles, unlike food types that require production means such as potato chips.