food is a way to transport food long distances so it stays fresh.
Certain types of food like fish used to be much more difficult to deliver to parts of the country or world that were far away from where it was caught. Yet thanks to new types of technology, transporting food and keeping it fresh enough to stock, sell and consume has become much easier. These types of technologies vary between the food's packaging and how it is shipped.
Flash Freezing
Flash freezing is a method of freezing the outside of food in a very cold environment so that it becomes rock solid and won't pick up bacteria over the period of it's transport, but also not lose much of it's freshness or taste when it is thawed and prepared. Some foods, like meats, need to be wrapped in plastic first before they are flash frozen so that there is no freezer burn on the food itself, making it taste bad in that area and creating an area where bacteria can accumulate when it thaws out. The colder the freezer, the better the flash freezing.
Vacuum Packaging
Most food goes bad due to temperature and exposure to air, which has bacteria and will cause to spoil more quickly. Food can be put into plastic packaging and vacuum sealed, which means all the air in the plastic package itself is sucked out around the food, making the plastic fit in form around the food item. This will effectively slow the spoiling process on any food so that it can be transported, though temperature will still play a serious factor or meats and cheeses. Vacuum packaging machines can be purchased for home use and for industrial use, depending on what type of food and how much of it is being packaged.
Refrigerated Trucks
Delivery trucks can now be turned into mobile refrigeration units so that food can be kept colder while it is being delivered from place to place. These trucks are refrigerated at near or below freezing levels to keep any of the seafood inside from spoiling. Many trucks pack their seafood with dry ice, which is a colder form of ice then regular ice and takes much longer to melt. These trucks use a lot of gas and electricity and are often expensive to operate. If a business is trying to transport perishable food using this method, it would probably be a good idea to look into delivering a lot of food at once to pay for the transport.
Tags: around food, Flash freezing, perishable food, These trucks