UNLESS YOU LIVE IN A TROPICAL CLIMATE with a plentiful supply of fresh food growing around you and have unrestricted ready access to it for your needs, --- you will likely find it necessary to process and store food for a period of time. The length of time required for your storage will depend upon the length of the growing season, how many crops you can grow each year, local temperature and humidity fluctuations, the number of persons sharing the supply, and whether you can grow additional produce indoors during the cold and/or wet seasons. The manner in which you preserve and store that food will determine how toxic it will be when it comes time to use it.

DRYING is one of the earliest methods of storage used by humans.
Meats have been hung and dried successfully without anything being added. Others have coated the outside of the meat (beef, chicken, pork, fish) with salt and/or spices ... each of which function as a bactericide, insecticide and fungicide.

DRIED SALTED MEAT:
Use requires soaking it in water to both rehydrate it and dissolve and remove some of the salt which is excessive for human consumption.

DRIED FRUITS:
Fruits may be skinned, cored, blanched, and mashed.
Thinly spread out, they dry into "fruit leather" which may be rolled or cut into strips before packaging. Commercial varieties often have sulfur, sugar, preservatives, or other additives.

DRIED VEGETABLES:
Most vegetables can be preserved by drying
There will be a significant loss of vitamins C and A as well as of taste and color in the process. Efficient drying requires that the product be thinly sliced so that more surface area is exposed for the release of moisture. Most vegetables must be blanched or precooked in boiling water or steam. This sets the color, hastens the drying time, stops enzyme-activated aging and helps retain flavors which would otherwise be lost.

Drying may be accomplished by placing the product on screened trays (so there is equal air access from all sides) either in the sun or in a controlled heat device --- such as an oven or specialty produce dryer. Fruit is usually finished when it is dry and tough on the outside yet still has some softness inside. Vegetables must usually be dried to the brittle stage. Hours of duration are required in the normal drying process so prepare accordingly.

IF LEFT UNATTENDED for a time, ensure that the food is protected from insects and dust --- particularly if dried outdoors. If insects are in the fresh fruit, it can be dried-cooked in an oven at 300 degrees F. for about 30 minutes by which time the fruit is dried and the bugs or worms are cooked protein.

DRYING IS A POINTLESS ACTIVITY IF the produce becomes contaminated in storage. Dried fruit and vegetables are best stored in a cool, dry, dark location. Heat attracts pests and insects. Moisture promotes mould and fungus growth. Light can encourage aging through exposure to ultraviolet radiation and additional heating and drying.

REHYDRATION before eating is also important for taste, chewing and digestion. Meat, fruit or vegetables --- all must be soaked in water. For vegetable fiber to be digestible more than wood, it must be cooked. Add to boiling water and then simmer until at a preferred softness.

DRYING OF HERBS must be done according to type and part used.

1. Whole plant herbs:
   Sage, savory, oregano, basil, marjoram, mint, lemon balm, and horehound are best cut as whole plants near the ground and hung upside down in a dry, clean, warm place. The inverted position assists in keeping the natural oils in the leaves rather than having them settle into the stem.

2. Leaf herbs:
   Thyme, parsley, rosemary and chervil are usually removed from the stem and dried on trays like fruit leather.

3. Seed herbs:
   Anise, coriander, cumin, caraway, dill, and fennel should have their seed pods harvested just after they turn color (begin to dry on the stem). The drying process can then be completed on your drying trays.

HEALTH-CONSCIOUS and HYPERSENSITIVE persons will appreciate a few cautions. Darkened fruits, discolored meats, fermented flavor, obvious mould and unusual odors indicate a likelihood of a contaminated spoiled product. If the zinc coating in some cans appears damaged, is flaking off, or discolored ... the contents are likely contaminated and toxic.

An EXAMPLE of Hypersensitivity:

Some produce manufacturers have "washed" the inside of their cans with a phenol solution, perhaps as early as 1965. This well-intentioned effort to chemically sterilize mass produced containers before filling them with food can be disastrous for some hypersensitive persons. The dried film of phenol, a highly toxic bactericide, insecticide and fungicide, on the inside of the can enters into solution with the food during the cooking operation.

When a person who is hypersensitive to phenol eats some of the contents, their reaction is comparable to acute poisoning.

REMEMBER, a hypersensitive person may react to the presence of a substance AS IF it were present in 1000 times its actual amount. A fraction of a drop of phenol, to a hypersensitive person is comparable to a tablespoon of phenol to a normally responding person. A tablespoon of phenol is a fatal dose! A tablespoon of food from such a can could produce such a reaction in a hypersensitive person.

CHOICE OF MASS PRODUCED FOODS can be difficult.
There is typically no record of which manufactures-processors use what chemicals in their operations and no mention of it on the container. Often, customer service and publicity persons working for the company are also not aware of "technical" aspects of the production. Manufacturers themselves are almost totally unaware of the potential difficulties ... not having seen this or similar descriptions of the hazard. Others know that any lawsuit against them will be easily defended against in the courts by well paid so-called scientific and medical experts who do not understand hypersensitivities --- and have little acknowledgement of or respect for those who are hypersensitive.

In addition, as was true in my own case, the company involved may be unaware of the problem until it is reported, then deny it, fix it, and continue with no acknowledgement to either the hypersensitive person or the public. This effectively hides the problem and enables it to be repeated by another brand or with another product or container. The phenol example applies to plastic, paper Tetra packs, glass, and metal containers.

A DOWNSIDE to providing reports on or lists of "acceptable" brands of processed foods is that the brand which is unsafe today may be safe tomorrow ... and, the brand which is safe today, may be unsafe tomorrow. Manufacturing resources used by a processing factory, particularly if located in an economically depressed region --- can encourage the use of chemicals like phenols, bromides, and sulfurs to eliminate or reduce hazards of bacteria contaminated wash water. This can obviously be disheartening for the hypersensitive person who finds her/his food options continually being removed from the table as "dangerous".

TOXIC MANUFACTURED PROCESSED PRODUCTS in the past have included canned tuna and salmon, canned luncheon meats, fruit juices and drinks, eggs, and tomato-based sauces. It is pointless to mention brand names for the reasons stated above. The safest canning alternative is home-based canning --- either by yourself or by someone whose methods you have observed. Yes, some household cleaning solutions and many industrial cleaning solutions contain phenol. A thorough rinsing and inverted drying would help in those cases. These added provisions are largely discounted by processors as the rise necessary in shelf price would make the products non-competitive unless standards were enforced worldwide.

MYTHS abound regarding canning.
An aware person knows the difference between the fact and the associated misinformation recalled as myth. Some of these have already been noted. Canning food does not guarantee that it is or will remain healthy for some or all people.

A SUGAR SYRUP as a necessary base for fruit canning is another myth. Sugar (acid producing, unhealthy) was originally added to canned fruit because it helped the fruit hold its shape, color, and flavor. The thickness of the sugar solution deters the juices within the canned fruit from seeping out of the fruit into a surrounding water and thinning the solution. A hot, light flavored honey (alkaline reacting, healthy) syrup will accomplish the same function, but costs more. On a mass production basis, sugar is easier to handle and measure than honey. Honey also has much more food value as demonstrated by its ability to attract insects, pests, and bacteria more readily than sugar --- not a mass production advantage. Without sugar mass, many added pectin products used to produce jellies, remain jams or sauces.

SUGAR IS NOT A PRESERVATIVE.
Neither sugar nor honey provide any benefit in preventing spoilage of the canned produce. The real reasons for the use of sugar had been forgotten by the public before 1970 by which time it was assumed that there must be a reason for such a widespread practice --- and that it must obviously be one of food preservation. It was only with an epidemic of diabetes and overweight occurring in the past 30 years (1970's to 1990's) in North America ... that the public began seeking "lower calorie" products. To comply, manufacturers began experimenting with lowering the sugar content of the packaging syrup, OR, substituting synthetic sweetness flavorings and bulking agents. Now you have the facts, and a choice.

FREEZING is one of the more ancient and newer forms of food preservation. Long used in arctic and subarctic regions and where glaciers and mountain elevations provide the necessary cold temperatures, freezing can be one of the most effective and healthful ways to preserve food.

VEGETABLES SUITED FOR FREEZING are those which are usually cooked before serving: asparagus, lima beans, beets, beet greens, cauliflower, broccoli, Brussel sprouts, peas, carrots, kohlrabi, rhubarb, squash, sweet corn, spinach and other vegetable greens.

VEGETABLES WITH A HIGH WATER CONTENT and which are often eaten raw will develop ice crystals within their flesh which will break the cell walls and usually result in thawed mush later. These include celery, cabbage, cucumbers, lettuce, onions, radishes, and tomatoes. Partly cooking, freeze drying, or combining these in a cooked sauce ensures better success with their freezing for storage. Much of the flavor, color and texture of vegetables can be retained more effectively than with other forms of preservation if they are blanched first.

BLANCHING INVOLVES dipping the vegetables or fruits in boiling water, or briefly steaming and then immediately cooling with cold water followed by freezing. Blanching deactivates some of the enzymes within the food which otherwise continue to "digest and age" the food stored. Fruits freeze better if frozen in a light syrup of honey and pectin ... which retards vitamin C oxidation and the brown discoloration that then results. Coating with lemon juice serves the same function. Thawing and refreezing of any food provides an opportunity for bacterial growth and a resultant contamination.

HEALTH and ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS about freezing are largely attached to its use in regions where freezing is only possible through the use of power-driven refrigeration units. Most of these are electrically powered ... one of the least efficient power sources, which makes the user completely dependent upon a continuous source of electricity. Purchasing high quality freezers which have highly efficient insulation, low power use ratings, and, locating them in the coolest location you have ... often a basement or underground crop storage shelter, can reduce this dependency.

POWER DEPENDENCY IS A WEAKNESS.
If the electrical power in interrupted long enough for the food to begin to thaw, the only safe option is to remove the food and cook all of it! How long that period is depends upon the factors mentioned above regarding energy conservation. As we near the end of the 1990's, the potential for regional electrical "brown-outs", weather mediated power interruptions, and accident induced power cuts will increase over any previous frequency. North American societies have grown increasingly dependent upon powered freezing methods since their introduction almost 100 years ago.

REMEMBER THIS:
Dependency always encourages complacency, routine, and reduced levels of flexibility and awareness --- all factors which encourage the development of ill health. There are few absolutes in reality. One is that it is always more healthful to be aware of and skilled in several alternatives than to be solely dependent upon one solution.

Underground and Location Centred storage options.

Use the links below to find out more about hypersensitivities and how to avoid and recover from them.