Introduction

Life-sustaining energy in all living things comes from food. Without food that provides nutrition and energy our bodies would not function. Moreover, the quality of food is also a very important factor. It affects  and the functionality of organs in the body and therefore the health of a person. The process by which grains are obtained involves 5 steps, namely sowing, harvesting, storing, distributing, and preserving. The main factors that affect the quality of grains are storage and preservation. Unhygienic methods used for the above processes may lead to serious problems.

The food in the world has to reach over 900 million people in a safely edible state. More than 3 million children die of undernutrition and malnourishment every year. But few people realise that a staggering 9.3% of the food produced in India is lost due to improper, unhygienic storage and preservation methods. Improved storage or preservation tries to eliminate health problems caused by consuming contaminated food. The goals to be achieved  are :

1. More hygienic food to ensure good health and nutrition
2. Sustainable, fairly marketed food to avoid malnutrition and undernutrition
3. Efficient methods of minimizing the exposure to harmful conditions between production and consumption  

Significance of Storage

Grain is stored in large amounts after being harvested. In poor countries, the methods of storage are generally defective. This could cause grain to get exposed to moisture or air, encouraging the rapid growth of microbes. Conditions also have to be kept cool, as in warm and damp situations, microbes can multiply up to 2 million in 7-8 hours. To prevent contaminants from affecting food while being kept in storage, grains are sun-dried before they are introduced in the silos or other containers. This does not have any relation with the condition of the container.

The aim of proper storage of food is to ensure that food which reaches either the consumer or a preservation plant is still in edible form. The product must be clean, without microbial growth, insect infestation or exposure to moisture which may cause other problems later. Food quality should not be affected; the nutritive value of the item must not be degraded.

Effects of improper storage

In the recent past, India has experienced loss of large amount of wheat grains due to rotting. The main culprit for this was the lack of sufficient and proper storage facility.
Excess amount of grain was produced during the year of 2011 ( the country’s highest ever wheat crop ) because of which all grain was not able to be efficiently stored.

“ The union ministry of agriculture had in early February estimated that the 2010-11 harvest of foodgrains will be, at 2,321 lakh tonnes, the second highest of all time. Of this, the rice harvest was estimated at 940 lakh tonnes and wheat at 815 lakh tonnes, a record. ”
                                                                                             - The Times of India

This enormous loss has caused the food prices to break the back of man and millions in the rural areas are dying of starvation. Tonnes of grains are rotting in the godowns of India every year - the reason, inefficient storage facilities and lack of space. In sufficient space caused wheat sacks to be dumped inside public places such as schools and roads. A bumper crop in certain states like Punjab and Haryana which was earlier a boon has now become a bane. Now it is very evident how storage makes a difference to the life of man.   

Storage Methods

The most popular kind of grain accommodations are silos. There are 4 main silos in India located in Kolkata, Chennai, Mumbai and Hapur. Grain from fields is transported here in order to be stored until the time of distribution. Silos were earlier made of weak substances such as wood and were not of such a large size, but now, they are made of cement, iron, or steel to prevent rusting.

*** Question - Why can’t grain be stored in bulk by the farmer on the farm ?
*** Answer - The reason is that a farmer lacks sufficient equipment for storage. The grain may be exposed to open air on the farm and this may affect its quality due to weather conditions like rain and fog. Microbes from the air have easy access to food and can cause spoilage of the grain.  Grain may be lost due to an accidental fire too. Therefore, the crop should be thoroughly dried and only then conserved in efficient equipment.

Problems associated with using silos include -

1. Machinery can cause sparks- in dry and dusty conditions this can lead to fires or even explosions
2. Since they are very difficult to fill, machines are used which are dangerous to operate
3. Elevated work platforms and long ladders pose the risk of falling
4. silos take up a considerable amount of space and require time and money to be invested

Mr. R. Prabhakar, Retired Deputy Director of Agriculture says -
“In India during olden days, there were two types of grain storage devices, called grain bins. The first one is shaped slightly like an upside down cone made of coiled bamboo. It is covered with a paste of cow dung and clay to make it airtight. It is kept upon a platform about two feet above the ground made of wood. A small opening is left at the bottom to allow the grain stored inside to be scooped out.

The second one uses the same concept but its body is made of metal instead of bamboo. This is more advantageous as it completely rules out the chances of contact with moisture, loss due to fire accidents and attack by rodents. The bamboo ones are also considered weaker as creatures like rats can easily enter and eat the grains. The bamboo bins are also prone to getting completely destroyed in case of fire. One more slightly inefficient method is a large container made of finely woven grass. This has a capacity of about 50 bags of grain. It is porous, which allows contact with air and is also prone to loss due to fire or rodent infestation.

Nowadays, as infrastructure has developed, farmers store their produce in large godowns which are constructed at an elevation of about 3 feet from the ground. The grains are periodically sprayed with chemicals to avoid loss due to pests “

Importance of Preservation

Problems like iron or iodine deficiency can kill people. Lack of access to healthy food is one of the main reasons for such extensive child death. Effective preservation ensures that the nutrients, flavour and quality of food is retained. If preservation is carried out in a proper way, it enables the access of food in disaster-hit regions, deserted regions, or in far off places during off season.

Methods of Preservation

Basic aim of all methods of preservation - Stop or remove moisture and growth of microbes

Canning - It is basically a method of placing food ( mainly fruits or meat ) in an airtight container and then heating to a high temperature to kill microorganisms present.

Freezing - It is a method of storing food at sub-zero temperatures. It reduces the rate of respiration of microbes, thus keeping food unaffected.

Pickling - It is a method where either salt, sugar or vinegar are used to remove moisture from food, thus preventing growth of microbes. Onions are preserved in vinegar to provide them with a long life without spoilage as well as good taste and flavour.

Sun-drying is a very old method. Raisins were dried in Mesopotamia, and tomatoes are sun-dried in Greece. This method is still used. 


Candying - It is infusion in sugar syrup, which is used to dry a variety of fruits including pineapples, papayas, and mangoes, as well as concentrated fruit bars ( like Naturo ).


Food Irradiation - It is treating the food with gamma rays which kills microbes. This does not affect the look or feel of food but could affect the quality. It is also very expensive as gamma rays are the most energetic form of light produced only by the hottest regions of the Universe.

Hot-air dehydration - It is method where a hot air blower dries the food placed on trays. It heats air up to 140 degree F blows it through the unit. This causes water to evaporate and reduces moisture content. 

Comparison

Definitely, the benefits of some methods of preservation outweigh the others - but which ones and why ? We have researched all various processes, taken into account important statistics and kept in mind all the information given to us by experts and real life incidents to come up with the following conclusions -

• Canned food is preferred by a large number of people ( approximately 6/10 ) as it has minimum effect on health under most circumstances and is the cheapest way of preserving common food items. Botulism ( a muscle paralyzing disorder ) is a rare disease caused by a bacteria, Clostridium botulinum, which attacks improperly canned food. In U.S.A. an average of 100 botulism cases are noted p.a.

• There are numerous issues when it comes to freezing fish -
• Proteins in fish are reduced somewhat because of the denaturation of proteins.
• Fats in fish oxidize which is not necessarily good for the food.
• Minerals in frozen fish are intact; however, when the fish is thawed, the water which runs off contains most minerals resulting in heavy losses.

• Pickling of vinegar is effective but being acidic, it is not suitable for all food items and is preferred by only 30% people.

Results

On the basis of all our research, we have come to the conclusion that storage and preservation make numerous differences to man’s life. We would like to spread awareness about this life-changing issue and hope for the betterment of the world. The better the storage and preservation facilities, the better the development of a region - its people, infrastructure, and economy. Grain saved is grain earned.

Acknowledgments

 The following websites have helped us during research :

• http://www.agricoop.nic.in

• http://eands.dacnet.nic.in

• http://www.fao.org/docrep/x0039e/x0039e00.htm#contents

The following people have contributed greatly and helped us achieve our goals :

• Ms. Harini

• Mr. R. Prabhakar