PRESERVATION OF FOODS, FOODSTUFFS OR NON-ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES

**Definition:** This place covers:

Processes or apparatus for the preservation of foods or foodstuffs in general, e.g. by pasteurising, sterilising, heating, freezing, drying, pressurising, irradiation or treatment with chemicals, specially adapted for foods or foodstuffs and where the nature of the product is not relevant or specified.

Processes for preserving meat, sausages, fish, fish products, eggs, egg products, fruit, vegetables (preservation of raw potatoes), edible seeds, milk, dairy products, edible oils or fats, flour, dough before baking, finished bakery products, non-alcoholic beverages, beverages from legumes, cocoa or cocoa products, tea, tea substitutes, herbal tea, tea containing beverages, coffee, coffee substitutes or coffee containing beverages by heating, drying, freezing, irradiating, smoking, using chemicals or microorganisms and compositions therefor.

Apparatus for preserving meat, sausages, fish, fish products, eggs, egg products, fruit, vegetables or edible seeds using liquids, solids or gases.

Apparatus, processes and compositions for coating meat, sausages, fish, fish products, eggs, egg products, fruit, vegetables or edible seeds with a protective layer.

Apparatus for compressing sauerkraut.

Chemical ripening of fruit or vegetables with liquids, solids or gases.

Preserved, ripened or canned products (i.e. meat, sausages, fish, fish products, eggs, egg products, fruit, vegetables, edible seed, milk, dairy products, edible oils or fats, flour, dough before baking, finished bakery products, non-alcoholic beverages, beverages from legumes, cocoa or cocoa products, tea, tea substitutes, herbal tea, tea containing beverages, coffee, coffee substitutes or coffee containing beverages), per se.

**Glossary:** - coffee: stimulant product or beverage made from roasted seeds that are commonly called coffee beans and come from a plant of the genus Coffea, e.g. Coffea arabica or Coffea canephora - coffee substitutes: coffee substitutes (solid or liquid) are non-coffee products normally without caffeine, used to substitute coffee while preserving its taste. Grain coffee and other substitutes can be made by roasting or decocting various organic substances. Common ingredients include acorn, barley and malt, beech nut, chicory root, corn, fig or rye. - edible oil: edible or cooking oil that is a fat of plant, animal or microbial origin, is liquid at room temperature and is suitable for food use. Some of the many different kinds of edible vegetable oils include: olive oil, palm oil, soybean oil, canola oil, pumpkin seed oil, corn oil, sunflower oil, safflower oil, peanut oil, grape seed oil, sesame oil, argan oil and rice bran oil. Many other types of vegetable oil are also used in cooking. The generic expression "vegetable oil", when used to characterise an oil-based cooking product, refers to a blend of different oils, often based on palm, corn, soy or sunflower oils. Fish oil is an example of an edible oil of animal origin. Microbial oils are also included in this category. - egg product: all or a portion of the contents found inside eggs that have been separated from the shell. They may be pasteurised in a food processing plant, with or without added ingredients and are intended for human consumption, such as dried, frozen or liquid eggs. Egg products do not include food that contains eggs only in a relatively small proportion, such as cake mixes. - fat: unctuous substance of little consistency that melts easily, known in chemistry as body fat and present in various parts of the human or animal body. Fats consist of a wide group of compounds that are generally soluble in organic solvents and largely insoluble in water. Chemically, fats are generally triesters of glycerol and fatty acids. Fats may be either solid or liquid at normal room temperature, depending on their structure and composition. Although the terms "oils", "fats" and "lipids" are all used to refer to fats, "oils" is usually used to refer to fats that are liquids at normal room temperature, while "fats" is usually used to refer to fats that are solids at normal room temperature. The term "lipids" is used to refer to both liquid and solid fats, along with other related substances. Fats form a category of lipids that are distinguished from other lipids by their chemical structure and physical properties. This category of molecules is important for many forms of life, serving both structural and metabolic functions. They are an important part of the diet of most heterotrophs (including humans). Fats or lipids are broken down in the body by enzymes called lipases produced in the pancreas. - fish: any fish, including shellfish, crustaceans and marine animals (marine being defined as "of, found in or produced by the sea"), and any parts, products or by-products thereof - fish product: product containing a predominant amount of fish - oil: substance that is in a viscous liquid state ("oily") at ambient temperatures or slightly warmer and is both hydrophobic (immiscible with water) and lipophilic (miscible with other oils). This general definition includes compound classes with otherwise unrelated chemical structures, properties and uses, including vegetable oils, petrochemical oils and volatile essential oils. Oil is a nonpolar substance. The term "oil" is used for any substance that does not mix with water and has a greasy feel, such as petroleum (or crude oil) and heating oil, regardless of its chemical structure. - herbal tea: any Camellia sinensis-free product or beverage prepared by hot water infusion of plant material, usually leaves but also including fruits, flowers and possibly even bark or other parts. Herbal teas are belonging to the group of tea substitutes. - tea: stimulant product or beverage made from the leaves of the traditional tea plant (Camellia sinensis) - tea substitutes: tea substitutes (solid or liquid) are non-tea products, i.e. not coming from the traditional tea plant (Camellia sinensis, e.g. mate (Ilex paraguariensis), lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) or rose hips (Rosa canina); cf. "herbal tea"