Tiếng anh chuyên ngành công nghệ thực phẩm

TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC AN GIANG
KHOA NÔNG NGHIỆP & TÀI NGUYÊN THIÊN NHIÊN
BỘ MÔN CÔNG NGHỆ THỰC PHẨM


TÀI LIỆU GIẢNG DẠY

TIẾNG ANH CHUYÊN NGÀNH
CÔNG NGHỆ THỰC PHẨM

Biên soạn:
Lê Ngọc Hiệp
Trần Phương Lan
Hồ Thanh Bình

2016


English for Food Science and Technology

Unit 1: FOOD SCIENCE AND FOOD TECHNOLOGY
I. READING COMPREHENSION
1. Food Science
Food science is a discipline concerned
with all technical aspects of food,
beginning

with

slaughtering,
cooking

and

and

harvesting
ending

or

with

consumption.

It

its
is

considered one of the agricultural
sciences, and is usually considered
distinct from the field of nutrition.
Examples of the activities of food
scientists include the development of
new food products, design of processes
to produce these foods, choice of packaging materials, shelf-life studies, sensory
evaluation of the product with trained expert panels or potential consumers, as well as
microbiological and chemical testing. Food scientists at universities may study more
fundamental phenomena that are directly linked to the production of particular food
product and its properties. In the U.S., food science is typically studied at land-grant

universities.
Food science is a highly interdisciplinary applied science. It incorporates concepts from
many different fields including microbiology, chemical engineering, biochemistry, and
many others.
Some of the sub-disciplines of food science include:
 Food safety - the causes, prevention and communication dealing with
foodborne illness
 Food microbiology - the positive and negative interactions between microorganisms and foods

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 Food preservation - the causes and prevention of quality degradation
 Food engineering - the industrial processes used to manufacture food
 Product development - the invention of new food products
 Sensory analysis - the study of how food is perceived by the consumer's senses
 Food chemistry - the molecular composition of food and the involvement of
these molecules in chemical reactions
 Food packaging - the study of how food is packaged to preserve the food after
it has been processed.
 Molecular gastronomy - the scientific investigation of processes in cooking,
social & artistic gastronomical phenomena
 Food technology - the technological aspects
 Food physics - the physical aspects of foods (such as viscosity, creaminess,
texture...)
The main organization in the United States regarding food science and food technology is
the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT), headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, which is
the US member organisation of the International Union of Food Science and Technology
(IUFoST). The European national organisations are organised into the European

Federation of Food Science and Technology (EFFoST), based at Wageningen University,
the Netherlands.
(Source: />In the October 2006 issue of Food Technology, IFT President Dennis R. Heldman noted
that the IFT Committee on Higher Education gave the current definition of food science
as follows: "Food Science is the discipline in which the engineering, biological, and
physical sciences are used to study the nature of foods, the causes of deterioration, the
principles underlying food processing, and the improvement of foods for the consuming
public”.
The kind of careers that a food scientist might follow include food development, quality
control, sensory specialist, flavor chemist, food safety, government, research, and
education.
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2. Food Technology
Food Technology, or Food
Tech for short is the application
of food science to the selection,
preservation,

processing,

packaging, distribution, and use
of

safe,

nutritious,

and

wholesome food.
Food

science

technology

and

food

are

interchangeably as

used
there

is

rarely any distinction between them. While it is more likely that a food technologist
would be working in industry rather than at research, all food scientists & technologists
are concerned with the science required to understand and improve our food supply.
While both these definitions do start to explain what food science it, there are still some
misunderstandings. Food scientists are not nutritionists. I like to joke that food scientists’
interests in food stops once it reaches a consumer’s mouth, as that is our measure of
success. Actually, it should reach your mouth on more than one occasion. You need to
like the food product enough to want to eat it again, but is doesn’t necessarily need to be

healthy or nutritious. We do care if it is safe; that is not contain harmful bacteria or
toxins.
What the US food industry has achieved is quite amazing and it is due to food science
that these advances have been made. That does not mean we should stop trying to make
the food supply even better. Now the food industry has worked out how to make cheap
long lasting food products, it should now try to fresh tasting long lasting food products.
But expect to pay more for them. The cost of ingredients such as sugar, salt, and high
fructose corn syrup, is much less than the cost of herbs and spices and other more
flavorful ingredients. Also the science and technology required to process food so that is

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tastes freshly prepared despite having been kept in frozen storage for several months is
complex and, therefore, more expensive.
(Source: />
II. PRACTICES
1. Questions
1) What is food science?
2) What are the activities of food scientists?
3) Let list some of the sub-disciplines of food science. Which of them do you like
best? Why?
4) What can a food scientist do?
5) What is food technology?
6) According to the text, how is a safe food?
7) What is the target of food industry now?
2. True-False: Write T if the sentence is true and F if it is false
1) _____ Food science is considered one of the agricultural sciences, and is
usually considered different from the field of nutrition.

2) _____ Food scientists at universities may study more fundamental phenomena
that are not directly linked to the production of particular food product.
3) _____ Food microbiology - the positive of interactions between microorganisms and foods.
4) _____ The main organization in the United States regarding food science and
food technology is the European Federation of Food Science and Technology (EFFoST).
5) _____ Food science and food tech are used interchangeably as there is rarely
any distinction between them.
3. Fill in these statements with the words in the box.
harvest

package

toxins

food science

bacteria

preservation

storage

freezing

fructose

nutritionists

1) Foods vary in the temperature and moisture so they need to retain quality in.......

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2) Some species of fish can contain parasites, and ......... will kill any parasites that
may be present.
3) ............ is a study concerned with all technical aspects of foods, beginning with
harvesting or slaughtering, and ending with its cooking and consumption, an ideology
commonly referred to as "from field to fork".
4) Dietitians and ........... plan food and nutrition programs, supervise meal
preparation, and oversee the serving of meals.
5) Clostridium ............ are hard to clean away, because they produce endospores.
6) ............, or fruit sugar, is a simple monosaccharide found in many plants.
7) Reaping is the cutting of grain or pulse for ..........., typically using a scythe,
sickle, or reaper.
8) Food .......... are responsible for food poisoning which generally relates to agents
produced by living organisms that have contaminated normally safe food.
9) The food enclosed in the ........... may require protection from, among other
things, shock, vibration, compression, temperature, etc.
10) Maintaining or creating nutritional value, texture and flavour is an important
aspect of food ..............

III. VOCABULARY
- harvest (v): to gather, reap
- slaughter (v): to kill or butcher (animals), esp. for food
- interdisciplinary (a): combining or involving two or more academic disciplines
or fields of study.
- preserve (v): to keep safe from harm or injury/ to prepare (food or any
perishable substance) so as to resist decomposition or fermentation.
- package (v): to group or combine (a series of related parts) into a single unit.

- molecular gastronomy: the application or study of scientific principles and
practices in cooking and food preparation.
- degradation (n): the act of degrading.
- toxin (n): any poison produced by an organism.
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- freeze (v): to become hardened into ice.
- storage (n): the act of storing goods or the state of being stored.

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Unit 2: RICE
I. READING COMPREHENSION
Rice is one of the world's most
important food crops. More than half
of the people in the world eat this grain
as the main part of their meals. Nearly
all the people who depend on rice for
food live in Asia.
Rice is a cereal grain. Like other cereal
grain, including wheat, corn, oats, rice
belongs
to
the
grass

family.
But unlike other grains rice grow
in
shallow water. Rice thrives in many
tropical areas because of their warm, wet climate. Farmers usually flood rice fields to
supply the growing plants with moisture and kill weeds and other pests.
1. The Rice Plant
Young rice plants have a bright green color and as the grain ripens the plants turn goldenyellow. The grain becomes fully ripe from 90 to 180 days after planting.
Structure: The parts of a mature rice plant are illustrated in Figure 1. The rice plant
consists of the roots, stems, leaves and panicle. Each stem has at least five or six joints
from which the long, narrow leaves grow. The head also known as the panicle holds the
kernels – that is the seeds or grains – of the rice plant. Each panicle carries from 60 to
150 kernels.

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Figure 1. Mature rice plant
A typical rice kernel is 1/4 to 3/4 inches (6 to 10 millimeters) long. The kernel has a hard
covering called a hull that is not good to eat. Underneath the hull are the bran layers,
endosperm, and the embryo. Several bran layers provide a touch coat for the kernel. They
contain many of the kernel’s nutrients. The starchy endosperm makes up most of the
kernel. It is the part of the kernel from which a new plant grows.

Figure 2. Whole-grain Rice
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2. Uses of rice
2.1. Food
Nearly all the rice produced in the world provides for people. Rice supplies about half the
calories in the daily diet of many people in Asia. It is an excellent source of
carbohydrates-nourishing substances that provide the body with energy. Although low in
protein, rice becomes an importance source of protein if eaten in large amounts. Rice also
has small amounts of the B vitamin-niacin, riboflavin and thiamine and the minerals –
iron, phosphorus, potassium and sodium. Rice has very little fat and easy to digest.
Most rice is eaten as milled white rice – rice that has had both its hull and bran layers
removed. Brown rice is more nutritious than white rice because the bran layers contain
most of the kernel’s vitamins and minerals. However, most people prefer white rice
because it is less chewy than brown rice and takes about haft as long to cook.
White rice may be treated in various ways to make it more nutritious. For example, much
white rice is enriched with vitamins and minerals to replace the nutrients lost in removing
the bran. In areas where rice is the main food, enrichment helps prevent beriberi, a
disease caused by lack of thiamine.
Rice may also be steamed under pressure with the hulls on before milling. This process,
called parboiling, makes the kernels less likely to break during milling. In addition,
parboiled rice keeps many of the vitamins and minerals usually lost during milling
because these nutrients spread throughout the grain during parboiling. Quick-cooking rice
is partially cooked after milling. The kernels become more absorbent in the process and
need less time for final cooking.
2.2. Other uses
Rice appears in many processed foods, including certain breakfast cereals, soup, baby
food, snack foods, frozen foods and flour. Breweries use broken rice kernels to make
mash, an important ingredient in beer. In Japan, rice kernels are used to make an
alcoholic drink called sake or rice wine.
Farmers may use rice hulls for fertilizer and add bran layers to livestock feed. In industry,
hulls are sometimes used as an ingredient in such products as insulation, cement and the

liquid chemical furfural. A few producers extract cooking oil from the bran. Many
people in Asia use the straw (dried stalks) from rice plants to thatch roots and weave
sandals, hats, and baskets.

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3. Rice processing
Harvested rice, still in its hulls, is called rough rice or paddy rice. Most rough rice is
processed in mills and sold as milled white rice. Millers use machines for most of the
work, even in developing countries. There are three basic steps in processing harvested
rice: (1) cleaning and hulling, (2) removing the bran layers and (3) grading.
3.1. Cleaning and hulling
Cleaning removes dirt, straw, weeds and other impurities from the rough rice. The
cleaning equipment uses screens to sift out unwanted materials and fans to blow away
lightweight debris. After cleaning, the rice is placed in a machine called sheller for
hulling. In the sheller, the grains pass between rubber rollers or stone disks that loosen
the hulls without breaking the kernels. The hulls are separated from the grain by suction.
A screen then separates the hulled grain from any remaining unhulled rice. Some hulled
rice may be packaged as brown rice. But most of it is processed into white rice. Rice may
be treated by parboiling or other methods to improve its food value.
3.2. Removing the brand layers
After hulling, the brown rice passes through a series of machines that rub off its bran
layers and embryo. The remaining endosperm becomes the white rice we eat. In many
Asian countries, a single machine called a huller mill strips off both the hull and most of
the bran. After milling, the kernels are packaged for sale. Most of the bran removed
during milling is used in livestock feed.
3.3. Grading
Millers sort the processed rice into different grades for marketing. In the United States,

the Department of Agriculture sets standard for grading rice. It bases the grades on such
qualities as the size of the kernels, the moisture content of the kernels and the number of
chalky or damaged kernels.

II. PRACTICES
1. Questions
1) What are the four main parts of a rice plant?
2) What are the main parts of a rice grain?
3) Which part of a rice kernel is most often eaten?

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4) What are the main provisions of rice for people?
5) According to the text, what are the main steps of rice processing?
6) Why is brown rice more nutritious than white rice?
2. True-False: Write T if the sentence is true and F if it is false.
1) _____ More than 50 percent of the people in the world eat rice as the main part
of their meals.
2) _____ Rice grain becomes fully ripe from 50 to 180 days after planting.
3) _____ Brown rice is more nutritious than white rice because the hull and bran
layers removed.
4) _____ In Korea, rice kernels are used to make an alcoholic drink called sake.
5) _____ There are three basic steps in processing harvested rice.
3. Fill in these statements with the words in the box.
cereals

moisture

kernel

brown rice

paddy rice

starch

panicle

endosperm

energy

hulls

1) The .............. is part of the rice tiller that bears rice spikelets that develop into
grains.
2) ............... is unmilled or partly milled rice, a kind of whole, natural grain.
3) .......... is the tissue produced inside the seeds of most flowering plants around
the time of fertilization.
4) Wheat is the third most important .......... in the world, after maize and rice.
5) Rice ........ are the coating for the seeds, or grains, of the rice plant.
6) Based on the initial and final .......... readings from a sample of grain, calculate
the weight loss from the drying process.
7) A typical rice ............ is 6 to 10 millimeters long.
8) In eastern Asia, ........ is sometimes extracted from rice and fermented to
produce rice wine.

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9) In most of the world and in California, the term .......... is used to describe the
rice as it comes from the field after harvest.
10) All of our .......... for life comes from food.

III. VOCABULARY
- thrive – throve – thriven (v): to grow or develop vigorously.
- cereal (n): any plant of the grass family yielding an edible grain as wheat, rye,
oats, rice or corn.
- moisture (n): condensed or diffused liquid, esp. water.
- starch (n): a white, tasteless, solid carbohydrate, (C6H10O5)n, occurring in the
form of minute granules in the seeds, tubers, and other parts of plants, and forming an
important constituent of rice, corn, wheat, beans, potatoes, and many other vegetables
foods.
- substance (n): that of which a thing consists; physical matter or material the act
of degrading.
- chewy (a): (of food) not easily chewed, as because of toughness or stickiness;
requiring much chewing.
- Steam (n): water in the form of an invisible gas or vapor.
(v): to rise or pass off in the form of steam or vapor.
- extract (v): to separate or obtain (a juice, ingredient, ect..) form a mixture by
pressure, distillation, treatment with solvents or the like.
- mill (v): to grind, work, treat, or shape in or with a mill.
- digest (v): to convert (food) into simpler chemical compounds that can be
absorbed and assimilated by the body.

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Unit 3: CORN
I. READING COMPREHENSION
Corn, also called maize, is a plant
whose food value and wide variety of
uses makes it the second most
important crop in the world after
wheat. Rice is a close third. Those
three grains are the chief sources of
energy in the human diet.
Corn has an amazing number of uses.
The kernels – that is, the corn grain,
or seeds – can simply be cooked and
eaten. The kernels can also be used in making breakfast cereals, baked goods, salad
dressing and many other foods. Large quantities of corn grain, as well as cornstalks and
other parts of corn plants, are fed to livestock. People eat this corn indirectly in the form
of meat, eggs and dairy products. Corn is also used in making many kinds of nonfood
products, including ceramics, drugs, paints, paper goods and textiles.
Corn is a cereal grass related to wheat, rice, oats and barley. Corn was first used for food
about 10,000 years ago by Indians living in what is now Mexico. For hundreds of years,
the Indians gathered corn from wild plants. About 5000 B.C. they had learned how to
grow corn for themselves. Thus, corn came to be called Indian corn. But today the term
generally refers only to varieties of corn that produce ears with multicolored kernels.
Depending on the variety, corn can be grown in most mild and tropical regions of the
world. The United States is the world’s leading producer and exporter of corn. It
produces about two-fifths of the world’s supply, chiefly in a region of the Midwest called
the Corn Belt. Other major corn producers include Brazil, China, Mexico, Romania,
Ukraine, Yugoslavia, France, India. This article deals mainly with U.S. corn production.

The corn plant
There are several thousand varieties of corn. Originally, varieties arose naturally. Today,
nearly all new varieties are developed by scientists. Varieties grown in the same region
may have many characteristics in common but differ greatly from varieties in other
regions. For example, most Corn Belt varieties grow about 9 feet (2.7 meters) tall.
Varieties in other regions may range from as little as 3 feet (0.9 meter) to as much as 20
feet (6 meters) tall. If the similarities among varieties are great enough, the varieties are
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considered to belong to the same race. Scientists have identified about 250 corn races.
However, all varieties develop in the same manner and can breed with one another.
Appearance
A mature corn plant consists of the roots, stalk, leaves and flowering parts. The typical
Corn Belt plant has a single sturdy stalk supported by a root system with many branches.
About 15 inches long, broad leaves grow along the stalk. The flowering part parts of a
corn plant are the tassel, the male reproductive structure at the top of the stalk, and the
ear, the female reproductive structure about in the middle of the stalk. An ear consists of
a cob covered by rows of kernels. The ear is enclosed and protected by special leaves
called husks. A plant may have one or several ears. Most Corn Belt varieties bear one ear
about 9 inches (23 centimeters) long per plant. Each ear has about 18 rows of kernels.
A corn plant begins life as a seed. Mature corn seeds have three main parts: (1) the
embryo, or germ; (2) the endosperm; and (3) the seed coat. The embryo is the part of the
seed that develops into a new plant. The endosperm is a storehouse of food energy,
mostly in the form of starch. The corn seeding uses that energy in its early development.
The seed coat is a thin, tough outer covering around the endosperm and embryo that
protects them from damage.
Uses of corn
Food for people

Corn grain is especially rich in starch. Starch is a carbohydrate, a nourishing substance in
food that provides the body with energy. Corn also supplies fats and protein. But corn
protein lacks some of the important chemical units called amino acids that the body
needs. In many developing countries in Latino America, Africa and Asia, corn forms a
major part of human diet. Therefore, a large number of people of those countries can
suffer from protein malnutrition if an alternative protein source is not available.
Corn can be eaten in several ways. Many people enjoy eating sweet corn on the cob after
the ears have been boiled or roasted. Sweet corn kernels that have been removed from the
cob are sold, canned or frozen for easy preparation. Popcorn is a favorite snack food.
People eat it plain or flavored with such foods and seasonings as salt, butter, caramel or
cheese.
Corn also serves as an important ingredient in many processed foods. A typical
supermarket in the United States or Canada might carry more than 1.000 foods that
contain corn or corn products. Such foods include breakfast cereals, salad dressing,
margarine, syrup, cornstarch and snack items. Corn meal, a flour like substance made

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from ground corn grain, is used to make such foods as corn bread tamales, and tortillas.
Corn is also an ingredient in beer and whiskey.
Livestock feed
Corn is a major livestock feed in most Western countries. In the United States, about half
the corn grain harvested each year is fed to hogs, cattle, sheep, and poultry. About 10
percent of the U.S corn crop is made into livestock feed called silage. Silage is made
from entire corn plants, except for the roots, or from the parts that remain after the ears
have been removed. Livestock also eat feed made from ground ears whole shelled corn or
ground shelled corn.
Industrial uses

Corn is used in the manufacture of many industrial products. Such products include
ceramics, explosives, construction materials, metal molds, paints, paper goods, and
textiles. Manufacturers also use corn in making industrial alcohols, such as ethanol and
butyl alcohol. Alcohol made from corn and other plants is mixed with gasoline to
produce such motor fuels as gasohol and premium unleaded gasoline with ethanol. Corn
is also used in producing penicillin and other antibiotics, vitamins and industrial
enzymes.

II. PRACTICES
1. Questions
1) Why do people believe that corn can be eaten indirectly?
2) What are the main parts of mature corn seed?
3) What are the main parts of the corn plant?
4) What are the major uses of corn?
5) According to the text, how many and what kinds of food can be made from
corn?
6) Why do many people in developing countries get protein malnutrition?
2. True-False: Write T if the sentence is true and F if it is false.
1) _____ Corn was first used for food about 10,000 years ago by Indians.
2) _____ The United States is the world’s second producer and exporter of corn.

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3) _____ A mature corn plant consists of four main parts.
4) _____ Manufacturers also use corn in making rice wine.
5) _____ Corn is used in producing penicillin and other antibiotics, vitamins and
industrial enzymes as well as industrial alcohols.
3. Fill in these statements with the words in the box.

antibiotic

alcohol

silage

human diet

ethanol

fuels

husks

roast

malnutrition

livestock

1) To ........... corn on the cob in aluminum foil in the oven, first peel and wash the
corn.
2) ............ refers to one or more domesticated animals raised in an agricultural
setting to produce commodities such as food, fiber and labor.
3) ............. consists of green forage preserved by fermentation in a silo for use as
succulent fodder during periods of feed scarcity.
4) The term .......... was coined by Selman Waksman in 1942 to describe any
substance produced by a microorganism that is antagonistic to the growth of other
microorganisms in high dilution.
5) In chemistry, an ......... is any organic compound in which a hydroxyl functional

group (-OH) is bound to a carbon atom, usually connected to other carbon or hydrogen
atoms.
6) ........... is a major health problem, especially in developing countries.
7) ............ is a biofuel made from corn.
8) In many developing countries in Latino America, Africa and Asia, corn forms a
major part of .............
9) The ear is enclosed and protected by special leaves called..........
10) Alcohol made from corn and other plants is mixed with gasoline to produce
such motor ............

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III. VOCABULARY
- malnutrition (n): poor condition of health caused by a lack food or lack of right
type of food.
- antibiotic (n): a substance, for example penicillin, that can destroy or prevent the
growth of bacteria and cure infections.
- bake (v): cook food in an oven without fat or liquid.
- sturdy (a): strong and not easy damaged extra firm
- roast (v): to cook food, especially meat, without liquid in an oven or over a fire.
- silage (n): grass or other green crops that are stored without being dried and are
used to feed farm animals in winter.
- fuel (n): any material that produces heat and power usually when it is burnt.

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Unit 4: FISH
I. READING COMPREHENSION
Composition and nutrition
Fishery products, like many other animal products,
contain water, proteins and other nitrogenous
compounds, lipids, carbohydrates, minerals and
vitamins. Proteins and lipids are the major
components of fish. The essential micro-nutrients
and minerals in fish, which are deficient in staples,
include vitamins B, A, D, phosphorous, iron,
calcium, magnesium, selenium and iodine. The
composition of most fish falls in the ranges of about
18 – 35% total solids, 14 – 20% protein, 0.2 – 20%
fat and 1.0 – 1.8% ash.
Nutritionally, fish proteins are highly digestible and
as good as red meat with respect to content of
essential amino acids. Consequently, the most important function of fish is to provide
high quality protein. Because the fats of fish also are readily digestible and rich in
unsaturated fatty acids, nutritionists frequently emphasize the importance of fish in the
diet. However, like unsaturated fats, those in fish are susceptible to oxidation and the
development of off-flavors and rancidity.
Fish lipids include up to 40% of long-chain fatty acids that are highly unsaturated, thus
having positive health implication, but present a technical challenge in dealing with the
rapid development of rancidity. Fish proteins, comprising of structural and connective
tissue proteins, contain all the essential amino acids and are an excellent source of lysine,
methionine and cysteine.
Fish is rich in vitamins. The fat of fish is an excellent source of vitamins A and D. Fish
muscle is a fairly good resource of the vitamins B. General, shellfish are richer in

vitamins B than finfish.
Sea-fish is a good source of important minerals and an excellent source of iodine. Fish
are lower in iron than most meats. Canned fish with the bones, such as salmon and
sardines, is excellent sources of calcium and phosphorous.

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The composition and nutritional properties of the edible muscle of fish are quite variable,
depending on season of the year, degree of maturity, and other factors. The herring, for
example, may vary in muscle fat from about 8% to 20% with changes in the season and
available food supply.
Possible health hazards
Fish can contain contaminants, absorb from polluted water. These are heavy metals
(mercury, lead and cadmium) and PCBs. PCBs are especially found in high quantities in
fish which live on or in the bottom. Eel is an example of this. Eels are being used to
check how bad the pollution of the water is.
Fish can be contaminated with pathogenic bacteria, for instance Clostridium botulium and
Salmonella. During preparation, fish also be contaminated with pathogens such as
Staphylococcus aureus and Clostridium perfringens.
In some fish, parasites are found. The most well-known parasite is the Anisakis marina,
also called herring worm. All herring which are consumed raw must be frozen for 24
hours at -200C to eliminate this worm. This is a legal requirement in some countries.
Other methods of killing the worm are heavy salting for 10 days at 00C in a salt
concentration of 20% NaCl, or marinating for 10 days at pH 4.2.
Spoilage factors
Fish tissue generally is more perishable than animal tissue, even under conditions of
refrigerated or frozen storage. It is difficult to make broad statements about the storage
life of fleshly caught fish due to the many variables. Differences in tissue compositions of

species, influence of season of the year, differences between freshwater and saltwater fish
and the effects of salt on the normal microflora of these fish, and varying procurement
and holding practices on fishing vessels are among these variables. Further, there recently
are no rigid criteria that adequately differentiate such term as truly “fresh”, “good” or
“acceptable”, although grading systems based on taste panel results and selected chemical
analyses can make useful distinctions. Certainly, the quality of fish begins to change as
soon as it is taken from the water, and “fresh” fish that is quite acceptable commercially
is not fully the equivalent of the product when caught.
Fresh fish held at a moderate temperature of 160C remain good for only about 1 day or
less. On ice at 00C, finfish may remain good for periods up to about 14 days. Even wild
salting and smoking, fish may remain good at 00C for only a few weeks. Heavy salting
and drying will, of course, preserve fish for long periods.

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Although the flesh of healthy live fish is bacteriologically sterile, there are large numbers
of many types of bacteria in the surface slime and digestive tracts of living fish. When a
fish is killed, these bacteria grow rapidly in the tissues. Furthermore, since these bacteria
live on the cold-blooded fish at rather low ocean temperatures, they are well adapted to
cold and continue to grow even under common refrigeration condition.
Associated with the fat of fish are phospholipids rich in trimethylamine. Trimethylamine
split from phospholipids by bacteria and natural fish enzymes has strong characteristic
fishy odor. It is interesting to note that fish as taken from the water have little or no odor.
All fish products that consumers encounter have a fishy odor and this is evidence of
deterioration. The fat of fish is highly unsaturated and becomes easily oxidized, resulting
in off-odor and off-flavor.

II. PRACTICES

1. Questions
1) What are the major chemical components in fish?
2) Why is fish highly and readily digestible?
3) Where are vitamins A, B and D in fish?
4) What factors affect the quality of fish?
5) What kinds of health hazards are found in fish?
6) What are the major causes of fish spoilage?
7) How long can fish remained good at room temperature?
8) Where does fishy odor originate?
2. True-False: Write T if the sentence is true and F if it is false.
1) _____ Fish lipids include up to 40% of long-chain fatty acids.
2) _____ The fat of fish is an excellent source of vitamins B1 and D.
3) _____ Eels are being used to check how bad the pollution of the atmosphere.
4) _____ The Anisakis marina, also called herring worm is the most well-known
parasite.

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5) _____ The method of killing the worm are heavy salting for ten days at 00C in a
salt concentration of 20% NaCl, or marinating for ten days at pH 4.2.
3. Fill in these statements with the words in the box.
salmon

phospholipids

contaminants

minerals

fish muscle

oxidized

protein

perishable

1) The most important function of fish is to provide high quality............
2) .............. is a fairly good resource of the vitamins B.
3) Sea-fish is a good source of important..............
4) ................ is excellent sources of calcium and phosphorous.
5) Fish can contain......................, absorb from polluted water.
6) Fish tissue generally is more .................... than animal tissue.
7) Associated with the fat of fish are ...................... rich in trimethylamine.
8) The fat of fish is highly unsaturated and becomes easily.............., resulting in
off-odor and off-flavor.

III. VOCABULARY
- saturated (a): (of an organic compound) containing no double or triple bonds;
having each single bond attached to an atom or group.
- rancidity (n): having a rank, unpleasant, state smell or taste, as through
decomposition, esp. of fats or oils.
- shellfish (n): an aquatic animal having a shell, as the oyster, the lobster and other
crustaceans.
- finfish (n): a true fish, as distinguished from a shellfish
- marinate (v): to soak

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English for Food Science and Technology

Unit 5: METHODS OF FOOD PRESERVATION
I. READING COMPREHENSION
Food will, when kept in their natural state mostly stay acceptable only for a short time. A
process of deterioration will start through which the product first becomes less attractive
and later can even become harmful to human health. By preservation, the time span in
which the product stays qualitative and acceptable can be lengthened. Various ways to
keep foods longer have been known for many hundreds of years. Drying and salting
especially were often used. Through the knowledge acquired about the causes of
deterioration and through advances in techniques, methods of preservation have been
continually developed.
The importance of preservation
In the early days, the preservation of food was performed out of the sheer necessity to
bridge periods of scarcity and to store surpluses. Nowadays preservation is used for a
number of different reasons. Several aspects need to be considered.
- Economic aspects: By preservation, it is possible to extend the availability of products.
In harvest periods they can be cheaply bought and quickly processed, and are then
available at any time during the year.
- Sensory aspects: Preservation techniques can also alter the taste, smell and consistency
of the product with advantage so that the final product is more valued. Making the
smoking fish is an example of this.
- Convenience: By some preservation techniques, the product is so heated through that it
will be totally or partially cooked. A reduction of volume can also result in shrinkage as
illustrated in spinach or dried soups and coffee powders. Consequently, the products
become easier to use or are easier to transport.
Methods of Preservation
Loss of quality and deterioration are brought about through physical, chemical or

enzymatic reactions, or by microorganisms. For each product, certain specific causes of
spoilage will be indicated by preservation. The cause of deterioration can be overcome in
four basic ways.

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English for Food Science and Technology
- Stimulate the activity of specific microorganisms and enzymes (fermentation) as a result
of which the medium becomes unfavorable for bacteria that cause the spoilage.
- Remove pathogen and spoilage microorganisms.
- Retard the activities of enzymes, pathogens and microorganisms which cause the
deterioration.
- Kill pathogen and spoilage microorganism and inactivate enzymes.
II. PRACTICES
A. Question
1. What is the purpose of food preservation?
2. What are the main aspects to be considered for food preservation?
3. How is the preservation important for food sensory?
4. What are the major elements that affect food quality?
5. What are the basic approaches to prevent food deterioration?
III. VOCABULARY
- Shrinkage (n)
- Spoilage (n)
- Stimulate (v)
- Pathogen (n)
- Retard (v)

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English for Food Science and Technology

Unit 6: PRINCIPLES OF FOOD PROCESSING
I. READING COMPREHENSION
1. Pasteurization and blanching
The purposes of pasteurization and blanching are to deliver a mild thermal process to a
food commodity and to inactivate specific product components that may cause product to
be deteriorated. The primary objective of blanching is to inactivate specific enzymes
within a food product. The equipment for these techniques is pasteurization vessel, HTST
(high temperature short time) pasteurization system, UHT (ultra high temperature)
pasteurization system, heat exchangers, hot-water blanching system, steam blanchers and
IQB (Individual – quick – blanching).
2. Commercial sterilization
This is more severe thermal food process which has been used to achieve long-term shelf
life for canned foods. Batch and still retort, continuous retort system, continuous rotary
cooker are popular equipment used for commercial sterilization.
3. Refrigerated storage
The primary purpose of refrigeration food is to extend the food shelf-life by slowing
down degradatory reactions and limiting microbial growth. Typically, refrigerated
storage means holding food in the temperature range of -1 to 8oC. The equipment used is
refrigerator, cooler, chiller, and freezer.
4. Freezing and frozen food storage
Food freezing is the preservation process depending upon the reduction of product
temperature to levels well below freezing temperature of water (ice crystal temperature).
Indirect-contact systems (cabinet freezer, plate freezer), direct-contact freezing systems
(air blast freezer, continuous immersion freezing system and IQF (Individual quick
freezing) are usually used for freezing techniques.
5. Liquid concentration
Concentration is the reduction of water in food to a level of > 20-30% in which

concentrated product still remains in liquid state. There are some methods to concentrate
liquid food such as evaporation, membranes separation, and freezing concentration.

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