Glossary
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Lye Peeling
Lye peeling treats fruit with a food-grade caustic soda solution to loosen the skin. Concentration, temperature and exposure time are…
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Mandatory Label Particulars
Mandatory label particulars are the information items EU law requires on prepacked food, including the name of the food, ingredients…
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Master Carton
A master carton is the outer shipping carton that contains several retail or consumer units, protecting them during transport and…
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Maximum Residue Limit
A maximum residue limit (MRL) is the highest legally tolerated level of a pesticide residue in or on food, set…
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Mechanical Pressing
Mechanical pressing extracts oil from oilseeds by squeezing them in a screw or expeller press. It produces oil and a…
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Melissopalynology
Melissopalynology is the microscopic analysis of pollen in honey, used to determine and verify its botanical and geographical origin. Pollen…
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Microbiological Criteria Regulation
Regulation (EC) No 2073/2005 sets microbiological criteria for foodstuffs, defining food safety criteria and process hygiene criteria for pathogens such…
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Migratory Beekeeping
Migratory beekeeping moves hives between locations to follow successive bloom periods or to provide pollination services. It increases honey yields…
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Milling
Milling is the process of grinding cereal grains into flour, semolina or other fractions. Modern milling is a gradual reduction…
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Mineral Content
Mineral content, often reported as ash, is the inorganic residue remaining after a sample is incinerated, representing the total minerals.…
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Minimum Font Size
EU food labelling rules set minimum legibility requirements, with mandatory particulars printed at an x-height of at least 1.2 millimetres,…
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Modified Atmosphere Packaging
Modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) replaces the air inside a pack with a defined gas mixture, typically adjusting oxygen, carbon dioxide…
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Moisture Content
Moisture content is the percentage of water in a product, determined by drying or refractometric methods. It is a critical…
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Moisture Determination
Moisture determination measures the water content of a product, typically by oven drying to constant weight or by rapid moisture…
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Monofloral Honey
Monofloral honey comes wholly or mainly from a single plant species, such as acacia, linden or sunflower, and possesses the…
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MOQ (Minimum Order Quantity)
MOQ, or Minimum Order Quantity, is the smallest amount a supplier is willing to sell in one order. In B2B…
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Mulching
Mulching covers the soil surface with organic material or film to conserve moisture, suppress weeds and moderate soil temperature. In…
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Multi-Residue Pesticide Analysis
Multi-residue pesticide analysis screens a sample simultaneously for hundreds of pesticide residues using chromatographic methods with mass spectrometric detection. It…
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Multifloral Honey
Multifloral, or polyfloral, honey is produced from the nectar of many plant species blooming in the same area and season.…
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Multimodal Transport
Multimodal transport moves goods under a single contract using at least two different modes, such as road and sea. For…
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Mushroom Blanching
Mushroom blanching applies a short heat treatment before freezing, canning or drying to inactivate enzymes, stabilise colour and reduce volume.…
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Mushroom Canning
Mushroom canning heat-sterilises blanched mushrooms in brine within cans or jars for ambient shelf stability. Drained weight, brine salt concentration,…
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Mushroom Cleaning
Mushroom cleaning removes growing substrate, casing material and debris by brushing, trimming and air jets. Water washing is used cautiously…
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Mushroom Cultivation
Mushroom cultivation controls temperature, humidity, CO2 and light to trigger and manage fruiting. Precise climate control determines cap size, stem…
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Mushroom Extract
Mushroom extract is a concentrated preparation obtained by hot water or other extraction of mushroom solids, then spray-dried or sold…
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Mushroom Flush
A mushroom flush is one wave of fruiting bodies harvested from a crop cycle, typically followed by one to three…
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Mushroom Freezing
Mushroom freezing preserves blanched or raw mushrooms at temperatures of minus 18 degrees Celsius or below, typically as IQF product.…
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Mushroom Grading
Mushroom grading sorts fruiting bodies by cap diameter, colour and veil condition into commercial grades such as closed cup, button…
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Mushroom Harvesting
Mushroom harvesting picks fruiting bodies by hand at the optimal maturity stage, typically at the closed-button stage for cultivated Agaricus…
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Mushroom Powder
Mushroom powder is produced by drying mushrooms to low moisture and milling them to a fine particle size. It is…
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Mushroom Quality Defects
Mushroom quality defects include open veils, discolouration, bruising, elongated stems, water spotting and pest damage. Defect tolerances are defined per…
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Mushroom Shelf Life
Mushroom shelf life is short because fruiting bodies respire rapidly and discolour easily. Fast cooling after harvest, storage between 0…
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Mushroom Sizing
Mushroom sizing separates fruiting bodies by cap diameter using rollers or sieves so that packs and processing batches are uniform.…
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Mushroom Slicing
Mushroom slicing cuts cleaned mushrooms into slices of defined thickness using industrial slicers. Sliced formats dominate frozen, canned and dried…
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Mushroom Sorting
Mushroom sorting removes discoloured, damaged, insect-infested or off-spec pieces before packing. It is performed on inspection belts by operators or…
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Mushroom Spawn
Mushroom spawn is grain or other carrier material inoculated with pure mushroom mycelium, used to seed the growing substrate. Spawn…
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Mushroom Substrate
Mushroom substrate is the composted organic medium on which cultivated mushrooms grow, typically based on straw, poultry litter or hardwood…
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Mushroom Trimming
Mushroom trimming cuts away the substrate-covered base of the stem and removes damaged tissue before packing or processing. Trimming standards…
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Nectar Flow
A nectar flow is the period when forage plants in an area secrete abundant nectar, enabling bees to collect and…
