4.2.2
Ambient Foods & Food Labels
Ambient Storage
Ambient Storage
The majority of foods we buy don't need to be chilled or frozen. Many are safe to store at room temperature - we call these ambient foods.
Examples
Examples
- Tinned foods (e.g. vegetables, tuna or spam).
- Flour.
- Rice.
- Bagels.
Storing ambient foods
Storing ambient foods
- To make sure ambient foods stay fresh, you should seal them in a container so that air can't reach them.
- As microorganisms need moisture for growth, you should keep ambient foods in a cool and dry environment.
Preserving ambient foods
Preserving ambient foods
- Many ambient foods have long shelf lives and can be eaten months or years after purchase.
- We can preserve ambient foods in different ways to increase the length of their shelf lives:
- Canning - sealing food in cans and heating to destroy microorganisms.
- Vacuum packing - packaging food and sucking the air out as certain microorganisms die without oxygen.
- Freeze-drying - takes moisture out of food.
- Chemicals - using vinegar to pickle substances, as microorganisms cannot grow and multiply rapidly in such acidic conditions.
Date Marks
Date Marks
All packaged food must display date marks indicating when food will likely go off.
Use by
Use by
- Displayed on high risk foods and other foods with short shelf lives.
- The date acts as a safety warning. You're at greater risk of developing food poisoning if you exceed the use by date.
Best before
Best before
- Displayed on foods with longer shelf lives.
- The date acts as a quality warning. Even if food is safe to eat after the date is passed, it might not taste as good.
- Some foods are potentially dangerous after this date. If eggs contain salmonella bacteria, this bacteria can start to multiply to worrying levels after the date.
1Food Preparation Skills
1.1Food Preparation Skills
1.1.1General Practical Skills
1.1.2Knife Skills
1.1.3Preparing Fruit, Vegetables & Using Equipment
1.1.4Cooking Methods: Prepare, Shape & Combine
1.1.5Sauce Making, Tenderising & Marinating
1.1.6Dough & Pastry
1.1.7Shaping & Finishing Dough
1.1.8Raising Agents & Mixtures
1.1.9End of Topic Test - Food Preparation Skills 1
2Food, Nutrition & Health
2.2Micronutrients
3Food Science
3.1Cooking of Food & Heat Transfer
3.2Functional & Chemical Properties of Food
4Food Safety
4.1Food Spoilage & Contamination
5Food Choice
5.1Factors Affecting Food Choice
5.2British & International Cuisines
6Food Provenance
6.1Environmental Impact & Sustainability of Food
6.1.1Food Sources - Intensive & Organic Farming
6.1.2Food Sources - Genetically Modified Crops
6.1.3Food Sources - Reared Food
6.1.4Food Sources - Caught Food
6.1.5Food & The Environment
6.1.6Food & The Environment 2
6.1.7Sustainability of Food
6.1.8Sustainability of Food 2
6.1.9End of Topic Test - Environmental Impacts
Jump to other topics
1Food Preparation Skills
1.1Food Preparation Skills
1.1.1General Practical Skills
1.1.2Knife Skills
1.1.3Preparing Fruit, Vegetables & Using Equipment
1.1.4Cooking Methods: Prepare, Shape & Combine
1.1.5Sauce Making, Tenderising & Marinating
1.1.6Dough & Pastry
1.1.7Shaping & Finishing Dough
1.1.8Raising Agents & Mixtures
1.1.9End of Topic Test - Food Preparation Skills 1
2Food, Nutrition & Health
2.2Micronutrients
3Food Science
3.1Cooking of Food & Heat Transfer
3.2Functional & Chemical Properties of Food
4Food Safety
4.1Food Spoilage & Contamination
5Food Choice
5.1Factors Affecting Food Choice
5.2British & International Cuisines
6Food Provenance
6.1Environmental Impact & Sustainability of Food
6.1.1Food Sources - Intensive & Organic Farming
6.1.2Food Sources - Genetically Modified Crops
6.1.3Food Sources - Reared Food
6.1.4Food Sources - Caught Food
6.1.5Food & The Environment
6.1.6Food & The Environment 2
6.1.7Sustainability of Food
6.1.8Sustainability of Food 2
6.1.9End of Topic Test - Environmental Impacts
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