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The natural breakdown of food, usually caused by microbes, enzymes, or oxidation, that makes it unsafe or unpleasant to eat.
The sour smell and slimy texture of milk left outside the fridge on a hot day is a very familiar sign of spoilage.
Deterioration of fats producing off-flavours. Hydrolytic rancidity releases free fatty acids by lipase or water; oxidative rancidity is a free-radical chain reaction with oxygen at unsaturated bonds.
The controlled use of microorganisms or their enzymes to convert food substrates, producing acids, alcohol, gas and flavour compounds.
The period during which a food remains safe and retains its intended sensory, chemical, physical and microbiological characteristics under stated storage conditions.
