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Lesson 5 of 10

When food spoils

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6 min

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Two slices of cut mango. One is kept in a steel dabba on the shelf. One is kept in the fridge.

Two slices of the same mango.
Step 1 of 4
  1. Two slices of the same mango.
  2. One on the shelf. One in the fridge.
  3. Some days later, the shelf slice has fuzzy patches.
  4. The fridge slice has far fewer. Cold slows the microbes.

The rule

Food often spoils when microbes grow in it. The fuzzy growth is made of microbes. Moisture means wetness. Damp means a little wet.

Microbes grow on food. Warmth and moisture make them grow faster. Cold makes them grow slower. It does not kill most of them.

Warm, damp and cold
Where the food isWhat happens
Warm and dampMicrobes grow fast
In a fridgeMicrobes grow slowly

Slide the days. Compare the shelf and the fridge.

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