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There was a time when most foods were eaten raw or best cooked over a flame to make them suitable for consumption. Foods could not be preserved for long for later use. By far, adding salt was the only food preservation technique known to mankind. Slowly, other preservation techniques like sun drying, fermenting, steaming and baking continued to evolve. But the shelf life of any food product was still not very long. The concept of canned food or bottled drinks was totally unheard of. But today, modern life is all about convenience and ease. You feel hungry; just grab a packet of vacuum packed chips or packaged cheese slices off the shelf of a supermarket. Or just buy it and the nibblets can be stored in your pantry for even a year. Similarly, frozen foods, ready to eat meals and juice concentrates have made day to day life extremely easy and fulfilling – no need to slog out in front of the gas stove at all. Neither do you have to worry about the food spoiling or being unhygienic. All these modern day conveniences owe their thanks to the evolution of processed food preparation techniques and packaging styles that have made it possible for the public to enjoy these comforts. And there is a huge food processing and packaging industry behind those instant soups, canned fruits, energy drinks, biscuits and microwavable meals that we started take for granted. It entails varied processing, packaging and material handling machinery and equipment like slicers, dicers, fryers, blenders, electric cooker and kettles, pumps, jacketed tanks, heat exchangers, dryers, bottlers, canners, fillers, cappers, flow wrapper, stretch wrapper, vertical fill form and seal, horizontal fill form and seal, conveyors, case loaders, vacuum transfer system, rotary pack off tables and check weighers, to name just a few. The processing equipment enables the manufacturers to cut the foods appropriately, cook it as needed, remove the moisture content and make it non perishable, at least for a certain period of time. Measures are taken to preserve the quality, taste, texture and nutritional value as well. Then packaging and material handling equipment come into the picture. They are used for packing the food and drink items in such a way that they can be stored safely and easily for long periods of time. The processing and packaging techniques together work to effectively eliminate both the presence of any microbiological organisms in the food and even the possibility of any microbiological growths later, and thus enhance the shelf life of the food item manifold. So, an electric cooker plays a crucial role in getting that packet of chips finally into your hand and so does a stretch wrapper! The author share his views on various food packaging information through ProcessPlant.com , is a unique and free platform to showcase the various industrial food packaging systems,machineries and many more. Simply go to the website for more information on material handling systems .
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