The category of perishable products includes those that need special conditions of storage, transportation and sale. What products are perishable, how to properly store and transport them, read the article.
What does the expiration date on the package mean?
This is such a period of time during which all the properties of the product are saved. In short, this is a time-limited period for eating foods. It is established by GOST, where the first date on the label indicates the manufacture of the product, and the second on the expiration date or the date after which the product irreversibly changes its properties and becomes unsuitable for use.
Expiration Classification
On this basis, all products are divided into the following types:
Perishable product - with a shelf life of three to thirty days at a temperature not exceeding six degrees.
Non-perishable - such products can be stored without observing the temperature regime for a month or more. Under the condition of storage, exposure to sunlight and food is taken into account.
What foods are called perishable?
This category includes products whose storage is possible subject to a special temperature regime. They need to be implemented in a short time. Storage conditions and shelf life for different products vary.
Perishable foods include:
- Cheeses, baked milk, cottage cheese with heat treatment. The shelf life does not exceed five days.
- Mixes of milk and sausages boiled in sealed packaging. They can be stored for ten days.
Which products are particularly perishable?
They are stored only in conditions with low temperatures. Particularly perishable products are:
- Natural dairy products - can be stored up to thirty-six hours. If the manufacturing technology involves the addition of preservatives and vacuum packaging, then their shelf life is extended.
- Chilled fish - up to twenty-four hours, provided that the temperature is from zero to minus two degrees.
- Meat products - no more than forty-eight hours.
- Frozen fish - at the same temperature as chilled, only its shelf life is forty-eight hours.
- Salads seasoned - up to twelve hours.
- Cakes - up to sixteen hours, cakes - up to seventy-two.
Freezer storage
To preserve foods for a long time, they need to be frozen. Freezers are designed to store fish, meat, frozen fruits, vegetables, berries, mushrooms. But they are not stored indefinitely, the period of use also ends.
However, it is possible to preserve a perishable product so that it is fresh and suitable for consumption. To do this, consider the following recommendations:
Servings should be made so that is enough for once. Do not thaw and freeze food several times, especially meat or vegetables.
Each perishable product must be marked, indicating the date of its placement in the chamber. This is necessary in order to consume the product no later than two to three months from the moment of freezing. Longer storage times are not permissible.
Shelf life of perishable products
For each type of food, they differ significantly. What is the shelf life of perishable foods in freezers?
- sausages and sauces are recommended to be stored for no more than two months;
- raw meat in frozen form can be stored for a long time, a whole year;
- meat and poultry chopped into pieces - up to nine months;
- semi-finished products, fish and minced meat - about four months.
Certain foods, after thawing, lose their palatability. For example, milk and its processed products, such as butter, cheese, sour cream, are also frozen, but the quality of their taste is changing for the worse. If the shelf life of the products has passed, and their smell, taste or appearance after thawing is in doubt, it is better to throw everything away.
Shelf life of products in the refrigerator
This type of household appliances is designed to extend the shelf life of products and their freshness for a short time. What perishable foods are stored in the refrigerator? Here are some of them:
- chilled meat, smoked sausage, milk, cream, fermented milk products - three days;
- boiled sausage, chilled and fried fish - two days;
- not dressed salads - twelve hours;
- prepared dishes from vegetables - one day.
Confectionery stuffed with protein cream or fruit should be stored no more than three days; from cream - one and a half days; custard - six hours.
Storage conditions for perishable products, even in the refrigerator, are different. The tightness of the packaging must be observed . For this purpose, containers, foil or paper are used. Polyethylene bags are not recommended.
Storage of perishable products is carried out depending on the location of the shelf in the refrigerator. The closer it is to the freezer, the colder it is. The warmest place are the door shelves. Products with a shorter shelf life are placed on the top shelf, the rest - taking into account the increase in shelf life. The lower boxes are designed for fruits and vegetables; they do not require wrapping.
How to protect yourself from the use of low-quality foods?
When buying food products, you should pay attention to the expiration date indicated on the label.
A few tips regarding product quality:
- Perishable goods should be bought in the market in the morning before they melt.
- When buying products in a store, you need to inspect the label for its peeling. If there are traces of glue, then the product has been re-marked, since its expiration date has expired. You do not need to buy such products.
- If any product smells unpleasant, it is spoiled, it should not be bought.
- When the product is unpacked, the shelf life is reduced. Therefore, it is better to eat it immediately or put it in the refrigerator for the short time indicated on the label.
- If you have doubts about the quality of the product, it is better not to buy it.
- If possible, arrange the products with heat treatment.
Perishable goods
Before proceeding with the transportation of this category of products, you need to know by what grounds they are classified. Perishable product It happens of different origin:
- vegetable - this category includes vegetables and fruits;
- animal - fish, meat and milk;
- products of their processing - fermented milk, sausage, fats.
According to the mode of transportation:
- frozen - transportation is carried out at -6 ° C;
- chilled - products are transported at a temperature of -5 ° C.
Various types of transport are used for the transportation of perishable products, but in any of them there should be one temperature regime. Specialized insulated vehicles are vehicles with or without a trailer. The walls of the body, door, roof, floor are made of thermally insulating materials that limit heat transfer between two surfaces: external and internal. These include:
- Glacier cars, the source of cold of which is ice of natural origin.
- Cars refrigerators - have a refrigeration unit that allows you to maintain the temperature in a given mode.
- Road trains, the bodies of which are divided into sections and equipped with refrigeration units. They have microprocessors with which the temperature is automatically adjusted.
Each vehicle must meet hygiene requirements, for which the inner walls of the body have a treatable coating. Its disinfection is carried out at least once every ten days.
Marking
There is a huge variety of product names. Each of them has its own packaging with a marking. It indicates how long the product is suitable. On the packaging of especially perishable products, the full production date is applied: time, date, month. Labeling of perishable products includes only a month and a day. Non-perishable products are labeled only by the month and year of manufacture.
The packaging must contain information about storage conditions. The package itself must not be broken, not contaminated, with a clear indication of the expiration date or date of manufacture.