| Aflatoxins |
dangerous
poisons produced by moulds of the Aspergillus species,
found in cereals, oilseeds and nuts when incorrectly
dried and stored. |
| Acid preserves |
foods
that have a high acid content that inhibits spoilage. |
| Adulteration |
deliberate
contamination of foods with materials of low quality. |
| Average weight |
a
known proportion of containers have a fill-weight above
system that shown on the label. |
| Bulk fermentation |
the
whole of the dough is fermented at 27°C in a closed
container to prevent surface drying. |
| Capacity of flour |
used
to calculate bakery recipes. |
| Case hardening |
the
formation of a dry skin on a wet food due to over-rapid
drying. It slows the rate of drying and can lead to
spoilage during storage. |
| Chlorination |
the
addition of chlorine to water to destroy micro-organisms. |
| Composite flours |
mixtures
of wheat flour (usually more than 80%) with other flours
such as maize, rice, sorghum etc (usually less than 20%) |
| Conditioning |
standardisation
of the moisture content of grains or oilseeds before
milling. |
| Contamination |
materials
that are accidentally included with a food (eg dirt,
leaves, stalks etc). |
| Critical control |
stages
in a process where quality control can have a major
points effect on food quality. |
| Critical faults |
those
faults in a product or package that would injure a
consumer or cause substantial financial loss to the
producer. |
| Cross contamination |
the
transfer of soils or micro-organisms from raw food to
processed. |
| Crumb |
the
internal structure of baked products, especially bread
and cake. |
| Detergent |
a
chemical that removes soils but does not sterilise
equipment (see soils below). |
| Enzymes |
natural
proteins in foods that can cause changes to colour,
flavour or texture of the food. |
| Equilibrium relative |
the
moisture content at which a food does not gain or lose
weight |
| humidity (ERM) |
and
is stable during storage. |
| Fill-weight |
the
amount of food placed into a container or package and
written on the label (also net weight). |
| Final proof |
tinned
loaves are placed in a prover at 35°C (85-90% RH) until
desired height is reached before baking. |
| Gelatinization |
swelling
and rupturing of starch grains due to heat and of starch
moisture. |
| Gluten |
a
protein found in wheat that gives the characteristic
crumb structure to bread. |
| HACCP
(Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point) system |
a system used to identify and
control contamination in food processing. |
| Headspace |
the
gap between the surface of food in a container and the
underside of the lid. |
| High risk foods |
those
foods that are capable of transmitting food poisoning
micro-organisms to consumers. |
| Humidity |
the
amount of water vapour in air. |
| Hydrometer |
an
instrument that measures specific gravity of liquids,
used to measure salt, sugar or alcohol concentration. |
| Low-acid foods |
foods
that have little acid and therefore can contain food
poisoning bacteria if poorly processed. |
| Micro-organisms |
tiny
forms of life, including moulds, bacteria and yeasts,
that are invisible until they are in large numbers. |
| Minimum weight |
all
packages have a fill-weight equal to system or greater
than that shown on the label. |
| Moulding |
process
of passing dough through a moulding machine prior to
filling into baking tins. |
| Net weight |
the
amount of food filled into a container. |
| Pectin |
a
natural gelling agent found in some fruits |
| pH |
a
scale used to express acidity or alkalinity, from 1
(strong acid) through 7 (neutral) to 14 (strong alkali). |
| Potable water |
drinkable
water that will not cause illness. |
| Preservation index |
a
figure that is calculated to show that the amounts of
acid, sugar and salt used in pickles will be enough to
prevent spoilage. |
| Quality assurance |
a
management system which controls each stage of food
production from raw material harvest to final
consumption. |
| Quality
characteristics of a food. |
a
set of descriptions that identify the specific quality
features |
| Quality control |
a
series of checks and control measures that ensure that a
uniform quality food is produced. |
| Refractometer |
an
instrument that measures the refractive index of a
liquid, which is used to measure soluble solids in
syrups, jams and marmalades, or salt in brines. |
| Rope in bread |
bacterial
spoilage that produces rope-like threads in bread and can
cause food poisoning. |
| Scaling |
dividing
of dough into pieces of equal weight. |
| Shelf life |
the
time that a processed food can be stored before changes
in colour, flavour, texture or the number of
micro-organisms make it unacceptable. |
| Sodium benzoate |
a
chemical preservative that is particularly effective
against yeasts. |
| Sodium
metabisulphite |
a
chemical preservative that is effective against moulds
and yeasts. |
| Soils |
any
material that contaminates equipment (ea. grease, scale,
burned on food or other food residues). |
| Sterilant |
a
chemical that destroys micro-organisms but does not
remove soils. |
| Strong flour |
wheat
flour that has a high level of gluten. |
| Sugar preserves |
foods
that have a sufficiently high sugar content to stop
spoilage. |
| Thief sampler |
equipment
to take samples from sacks of food. |
| Titration |
a
method of accurately adding one liquid to another,
commonly used in food analysis. |
| Water absorption |
measurements
that indicate how much water can be held in a dough. |
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