List the intrinsic and extrinsic factors for the spoilage of food stuffs. Give one example each.

Food spoilage means the original nutritional value, texture, flavour of the food are damaged and it become unsuitable to eat.

The factors that lead to food spoilage are:

Intrinsic factors:

1. Moisture content of food- Food items such as fruits, vegetables, meat, fish, cheese contain certain amount water content in them. This help to keep them fresh. when the food item lost its water content they shrink in size, and their skin become wrinkled.
2. Enzymatic action- Enzymes are chemical substance present in all food items, they speed up the chemical process. Since enzymes are made up of protein they degrade faster in high temperature, so they are kept in freezer to avoid spoilage. Due to enzymatic activity, the food undergoes oxidation, browning and rancidity(souring of food).

Extrinsic factors:

Improper handling during harvesting, packing, storage, transportation, etc. can cause mechanical spoilage of food. Mechanical spoilage leads to entry of microorganism and also attract insects.

1. Micro organism- Improper handling of fruits and vegetables leads to the growth of micro organism. In fact, milk, meat are prone to micro organism infestation. Food rich in nutritional value support micro organism growth. Temperature and pH value also effect micro organism growth.
2. Insects, worms, Rats- Food grains, fruit, vegetables are contaminated due to the dropping of rats, birds and insects.