like in a store bought bolognaise sauce, how does the meat in it stay safe to eat? the ones where it has the part on the lid that u press to check it hasn’t been unsealed.
i love meat sauces but genuinely just curious about what happens to it that makes it able to be kept in a jar out of the fridge for months and it still being safe to eat?
In: Other
During the canning process (or jarring process) the meat is cooked in the can/jar.
Since it’s hot enough to kill off any bacteria or fungus and it’s sealed in thay state, more contaminates from the atmosphere can’t make it in. The food then cools down to room temperature. This cooling causes air and liquid in the can/jar to contract, which is how the safety seal stays down. Once the can/jar is opened, the pressure equalizes, and the safety seal pops out and outside contaminants have very likely made it in, even during the briefest opening.
The canning process cannot prevent rancidity, however, since that’s a chemical change in the food. It can slow it down if the food becomes rancid due to oxidation, due to a lack of oxygen. That’s why you don’t see canned milk, because it will still spoil.
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