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[[File:The ritual to inaugurate a new plaited granary. Kapsiki.jpg|thumb|A new [[braid]]ed [[granary]] is inaugurated. [[Kapsiki]], North Cameroon.]]
'''Food storage''' is a way of decreasing the variability of the food supply in the face of natural, inevitable variability.<ref name="Lawrence-2014">{{cite book | last=Lawrence | first=R.J. | editor-last=Freedman | editor-first=Bill | title=Global environmental change | publisher=Springer | publication-place=Dordrecht | year=2014 | isbn=978-94-007-5783-7 | oclc=888154438 | language=en | pages=XXVII+973}} {{isbn|978-94-007-5784-4}} {{isbn|978-94-007-5785-1}} p.{{nbs}}507</ref> It allows [[food]] to be eaten for some time (typically weeks to months) after [[harvest]] rather than solely immediately. It is both a traditional [[home economics|domestic skill]] (mainly as [[root cellar]]ing) and, in the form of '''food logistics''', an important industrial and commercial activity. [[Food preservation]], storage, and [[transport]], including timely delivery to [[Consumer|consumers]], are important to [[food security]], especially for the majority of people throughout the world who rely on others to produce their food.
Significant losses of food are caused by inadequate storage conditions as well as decisions made at earlier stages of the supply chain, which predispose products to a shorter shelf life.<ref name="Butler-2014">{{cite book | last=Butler | first=C.D. | editor-last=Freedman | editor-first=Bill | title=Global environmental change | publisher=Springer | publication-place=Dordrecht | year=2014 | isbn=978-94-007-5783-7 | oclc=888154438 | language=en | pages=XXVII+973}} {{isbn|978-94-007-5784-4}} {{isbn|978-94-007-5785-1}} p.{{nbs}}645</ref> Adequate cold storage, in particular, can be crucial to prevent quantitative and qualitative food losses.<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://www.fao.org/documents/card/en/c/ca6122en|title=The State of Food and Agriculture 2019. Moving forward on food loss and waste reduction, In brief|publisher=FAO|year=2019|location=Rome|pages=12}}</ref>
Food is stored by almost every [[human society]] and by many [[Animal|animals]]. Storing of food has several main purposes:
*Storage of harvested and processed plant and animal food products for [[distribution (economics)|distribution]] to [[consumer]]s
*Enabling a better [[balanced diet]] throughout the year
*Reducing
*Preserving [[pantry]] food, such as spices or dry ingredients like rice and flour, for eventual use in cooking
*Preparedness for catastrophes, [[emergency|emergencies]] and periods of food scarcity or famine, whether as basic [[emergency management#Preparedness|emergency preparedness]] (for most people) or in its more extreme form of [[survivalism|survivalism (prepping)]]
*Religious reasons
*Protection from animals or theft
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[[File:Small authentic tupperware.JPG|thumb|upright|Plastic storage containers can be used to store food.]]
The safe storage of food for home use should strictly adhere to guidelines set out by reliable sources, such as the [[United States Department of Agriculture]]. These guidelines have been thoroughly researched by scientists to determine the best methods for reducing the real threat of [[Foodborne illness|food poisoning]] from unsafe food storage. It is also important to maintain proper kitchen hygiene, to reduce risks of bacteria or virus growth and [[Foodborne illness|food poisoning]]. The common food poisoning illnesses include [[Listeriosis]], [[Mycotoxicosis]], [[Salmonellosis]], [[Escherichia coli|E. coli]], [[Staphylococcal food poisoning]] and [[Botulism]]. There are many other organisms that can also cause food poisoning.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Health, Safety, and Nutrition for the Young Child|last=Marotz|first=Lynn R.|publisher=Wadsworth Publishing|year=2008|pages=[https://archive.org/details/healthsafetynutr00maro_3/page/491 491–2]|isbn=978-1-4283-2070-3|url=https://archive.org/details/healthsafetynutr00maro_3/page/491}}</ref>
There are also safety guidelines available for the correct methods of [[home canning]] of food. For example, there are specific boiling times that apply depending upon whether pressure [[canning]] or waterbath canning is being used in the process. These safety guidelines are intended to reduce the growth of mold and bacteria and the threat of potentially-fatal food poisoning.
===Food storage safety===
====
Food frozen at {{convert|-18|C|F}} 0 °F and below
▲Food frozen at 0 °F and below is preserved indefinitely. However, the quality of the food will deteriorate if it is frozen over a lengthy period. The United States Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service publishes a chart showing the suggested freezer storage time for common foods.<ref name="fsis.usda.gov"/>
====Refrigeration====
Safe storage times vary from food to food and may depend on how the food has been treated prior to being placed in the refrigerator.<ref name="Refrigeration and Food Safety"/>
===Storing oils and fats===
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[[Grain]], which includes dry kitchen ingredients such as [[flour]], [[rice]], [[millet]], [[couscous]], [[cornmeal]], and so on, can be stored in rigid sealed containers to prevent moisture contamination or insect or [[rodent]] infestation. For kitchen use, glass containers are the most traditional method. During the 20th century plastic containers were introduced for kitchen use. They are now sold in a vast variety of sizes and designs.
Metal cans are used (in the [[United States]] the smallest practical grain storage uses closed-top #10 metal cans measuring about 3 to 3.5 liters). Storage in [[Flour sack|grain sacks]] is ineffective; mold and pests destroy a 25 kg cloth sack of grain in a year, even if stored off the ground in a dry area. On the ground or damp concrete, grain can spoil in as little as three days, and the grain might have to be dried before it can be [[
====Spices and herbs====
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====Meat====
Unpreserved meat has only a relatively short life in storage. [[Perishable]] meats should be [[Refrigeration|refrigerated]], [[Frozen food|frozen]], [[Drying (food)|dried]] promptly or [[Curing (food preservation)|cured]]. Storage of fresh meats is a complex discipline that affects the costs, storage life and eating quality of the meat, and the appropriate techniques vary with the kind of meat and the particular requirements.<ref>Michael Richardson, Kim Matthews, Chris Lloyd, Katie Brian. Meat quality and shelf life. Better Returns Programme [[EBLEX]] Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board. brp_b_betterreturnsfrommeatmanual-meatqualityandshelflife.pdf [http://www.eblex.org.uk] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121015194307/http://www.eblex.org.uk/ |date=2012-10-15 }}</ref> For example, [[Beef aging|dry ageing]] techniques are sometimes used to tenderize gourmet [[meat]]s by [[Meat hanging|hanging]] them in carefully controlled environments for up to 21 days, while game animals of various kinds may be hung after shooting. Details depend on personal tastes and local traditions.<ref>Editors of Creative Publishing. Dressing & Cooking Wild Game. Publisher: Creative Publishing international 1999 {{ISBN|978-0865731080}}</ref> Modern techniques of preparing meat for storage vary with the type of meat and special requirements of tenderness, flavour, hygiene, and economy.<ref>Matthews, K. R. Review of published literature and unpublished research on factors influencing beef quality. [[EBLEX]] R&D UK Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board 2011 rd_qs_b_-_meatqualityreview2010-beef.pdf from [http://www.eblex.org.uk/research/meat-quality.aspx] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130324054312/http://www.eblex.org.uk/research/meat-quality.aspx |date=2013-03-24 }}</ref>
Semi-dried meats like salamis and country style hams are processed first with salt, smoke, sugar, acid, or other "cures" then hung in cool dry storage for extended periods, sometimes exceeding a year. Some of the materials added during the [[Curing (food preservation)|curing]] of meats serve to reduce the risks of [[Foodborne illness|food poisoning]] from [[Anaerobic organism|anaerobic]] bacteria such as species of [[Clostridium]] that release [[botulinum toxin]] that can cause [[botulism]]. Typical ingredients of curing agents that inhibit anaerobic bacteria include nitrates. Such salts are dangerously poisonous in their own right and must be added in carefully controlled quantities and according to proper techniques. Their proper use has however saved many lives and much food spoilage.
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===Food rotation===
Food rotation is important to preserve freshness. When food is rotated, the food that has been in storage the longest is used first. As food is used, new food is added to the [[pantry]] to replace it; the essential rationale is to use the oldest food as soon as possible so that nothing is in storage too long and becomes unsafe to eat. Labelling food with paper labels on the storage container, marking the date that the container is placed in storage, can make this practice simpler.
===For emergency preparation===
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In the United States, [[livestock]] is usually transported live, slaughtered at a major distribution point, hung and transported for two days to a week in [[refrigerated car|refrigerated rail car]]s, and then butchered and sold locally. Before refrigerated rail cars, meat had to be transported live, and this placed its cost so high that only farmers and the wealthy could afford it every day. In Europe much meat is transported live and slaughtered close to the point of sale. In much of Africa and Asia most meat is for local populations is raised, slaughtered and eaten locally, which is believed to be less stressful for the animals involved and minimizes meat storage needs. In [[Australia]] and [[New Zealand]], where a large proportion of meat production is for export, meat enters the [[cold chain]] early, being stored in large freezer plants before being shipped overseas in [[Reefer ship|freezer ships]].
==Food storage facilities==
{{Expand section|date=April 2020}}
Food storage facilities may include those used for [[dry goods]], or in [[canning]], [[Food dehydration]], [[pickling]], [[Curing (food preservation)|curing]] and more. They include:
*[[Pantry]]
*[[Larder]]
*[[Root cellar]]
Fully dedicated food storage facilities include:
[[Silo]]: these are used to store grains like wheat and maize.▼
*[[Cool store]] — a large refrigerated room or building
*[[Cool warehouse]] — a very large refrigerated building
*[[2800 Polar Way]] — world's largest food freezer
==See also==
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* [[Candying]]
* [[Food science]]
** ''[[Food and
** [[Food chemistry]]
** [[Food engineering]]
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* [[Root cellar]]
* [[Shaker-style pantry box]]
* [[Storage clamp]]
{{div col end}}
== Sources ==
{{Free-content attribution
| title = The State of Food and Agriculture 2019. Moving forward on food loss and waste reduction, In brief
| author = FAO
| publisher = FAO
| page numbers = 24
| source =
| documentURL =http://www.fao.org/documents/card/en/c/ca6122en
| license statement URL = https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_State_of_Food_and_Agriculture_2019._Moving_forward_on_food_loss_and_waste_reduction,_In_brief.pdf
| license = CC BY-SA 3.0
}}
== References ==
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