Scientific Discoveries

By samantha gian
  • 1600 BCE

    Around 16000

    Around 6500 B.C. salt mines were discovered in Salzburg, Austria. It was also discovered that when salt was added to food it allowed the food to be eaten longer (even though it was very salty). The scientific reason is that the salt removes the water in the food. The bacteria cannot survive without water so the growth of bacteria is slowed down.
  • 800 BCE

    800Bc

    800 B.C. Ancient Greeks discover that food does not spoil as fast when it is cooled by ice or snow. This early discovery used a method we still use today for many foods in our refigerators to slow bacteria growth in fresh foods.

  • Early people

    Early people did not have much scientific knowledge, but they used trial and error to learn new things. They discovered that if meat was smoked it would last much longer than regular cooked meat. We later learned that there are phenolic compounds in the smoke that slow down the growth of harmful bacteria. The smoking process allowed people to preserve their food longer after hunting or butchering a domestic animal.