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How Do You Know That The Food You’re Eating Is Not Spoiled?
Food is the most important thing that human beings consume to stay alive after air and water. The food we eat can affect us in a lot of ways. Spoilage is the process of deterioration in food’s quality, to the point that it is no longer consumable. It is imperative to check the state of every piece of sustenance we intake.
Here are a few warning signs to detect if the food we are going to eat is spoiled or still safe to eat.
Slimy Film
If a white, mostly colorless, and slimy film covers your food exposed to air for a long time, it is recommended not to eat it. Cooked meat especially develops a slime when they start rotting. It is always advisable to check fruits and vegetables by scratching their surfaces and looking for spoilage signs.
We should, at all costs, avoid eating it when these signs begin to develop.
Turns Yellow
Ladies who have taken charge of kitchens in their houses have mostly always had a list of signs of food spoilage, some sketchy mental notes. The most common point found in all of them is to check whether the food has turned yellow or if a mold has covered it. The mold would have a cotton-like structure, mostly white or black in color. It is best to avoid eating the stuff and spot early signs of yellowness.
Expiration Dates
Most food manufacturers sell their products by date. It is always a good idea to check these dates inscribed at the bottom of their packages or somewhere around the back. If the food in concern is not packaged, keeping knowledge of food products’ shelf life is very important. Some food products lose their qualities in two weeks, some in a few months, and some can retain their qualities for even a few years!
However, if we consume expired food products, we are prone to foodborne diseases and food poisoning.
Foul Odors
We all have that one bad memory of stale food, something related to its taste that you cannot forget or a smell that takes you bad to that horrendous day. It’s difficult to prevent the latter, and sadly so, but the former can always be made possible if you take the latter’s risk.
Whiffing food before eating is the mark of a smart person. Be it at the airport or even something you bought from a famous eatery, always see if it smells alright. Deli meat, red meat, and all kinds of food tend to go bad very early on.
Rotten eggs have a strong repelling smell, so do cooked vegetables and fruits. Almost all fruits show a change in texture as a sign of spoilage; however, some only show such warnings when we cut or peel them.
We should never store food for longer than the one that it is known to last for. We should keep checking for their expiration dates, shelf life, and these warning signs should also be kept in mind.
Foodborne diseases have proven to be very dangerous. Food poisoning can also have lifelong effects. It is best to avoid them in every way possible.
