Text B. The present day food industry

The assortment of products of the food enterprises is a wide and varied one.

Bread and macaroni, meat and fish products, milk and butter, canned foods and vitamins, sugar and sweets, tea and coffee, beer and wine and dozens and hundreds of other items are produced at the food mills and factories of the country.

The technological processes and methods of treating raw materials are wide and varied. The food enterprises use heat and refrigeration, high pressure and deep vacuum, electric energy and radiation.

While mechanical methods prevail at some enterprises, invisible chemists work at others - microorganisms and enzymes. They are used at such enterprises which are based on fermentation: bread-baking, production of beer, vinegar, wine.

The food industry produces such foods that look and taste like meat but are made from soyabean proteins. If soyabean proteins are dissolved in alkali they form a sticky liquid. This liquid may be extruded through tiny holes and then recoagulated in an acid bath in the form of fibers. The fibers then can be spun into ropes with texture approaching the fibrous texture of chicken or beef muscle tissue. The fabricated tissue then can be interlaced with fats, food flavouring and food colours. Products are almost indistinguishable from chicken meat, fish, ham or beef. The products also may be dehydrated, compressed or otherwise processed.