Article
Food Preservation: Extending Product Shelf-life
Food and Nutrition
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The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) reported in its Food Balance Statistics report that the use of advanced food preservation technologies can help reduce annual losses for food groups such as meat, fruit, and vegetables to less than five percent of the production or domestic supply quantities throughout the supply chain. However, these advanced solutions include preservatives that may impart off notes or required chemical additives to extend the product shelf-life. Due to the increased consumers’ awareness concerning sensorial and nutritional qualities of fresh produce, the industry seeks new and improved shelf-life extension technologies without any chemical additives. This article covers emerging, innovative, natural shelf-life extending solutions that help prevent food waste.
Need for food preservation
Health benefits, convenience, nutrition, and flavor drive the demand for freshly cut fruits and vegetables. However, fresh and minimally processed produce deteriorates faster than any unprocessed raw materials or processed food, mainly due to the damages caused by contamination and minimal processing methods – peeling, slicing, dicing, and shredding. The critical outcome of fresh produce damages includes low-quality produces – soft tissue, brown cut surface, decreased nutritional value, off-notes, and microbiological spoilage during storage. Additionally, the exposed surface after minimal processing also benefits the growth of some pathogenic microorganisms. These outcomes usually impact the shelf-life of fresh produce.
Shelf-life extension
Traditional food preservation methods – physical and chemical have existed for centuries to prolong the product shelf-life. However, consumers with growing awareness regarding synthetic (chemical) preservatives’ health concerns are keen on adopting preservatives-free products. Industry players are keen on developing innovative food preservation solutions that extend product shelf-life while maintaining their freshness.
The shelf-life extension technique depends on the product type, its quality, stability in different conditions – temperature/pH, and extended shelf-life period.
Innovative shelf-life extenders
Enlisted below are a few attractive, innovative shelf-life extending solutions in the market:
Saniconcentrate by Parx Materials
- Antimicrobial biocompatible plastic with features inspired from human skin that comprises of trace element – Dietary Zinc, found abundantly in the human body to prevent bacteria and viruses from adhering to surfaces, causing them to run through their usual lifecycle, and die within hours
- Broad-spectrum antimicrobial (Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria), antifungal, and antiviral performance (including SARS-CoV-2/Covid-19, Influenza, Human Corona 229E, etc.), and helps prevent biofilm formation
- Biocompatible and trace elements that can be incorporated into polymers – PP, PE, PET, PS, etc. without the chances of migration/leaching
- Safe food contact materials prolong shelf-life and prevent contamination
- Applicable for meat, poultry, chicken
SAF-D by Bluwrap
- Shelf-life preservation and delivery service technology
- A patented oxygen management technique creating and maintaining a controlled atmosphere
- It extends the shelf-life of perishable proteins
- Advantageous for seafood distribution and inventory services with a cost-effective protein delivery and distribution system by enabling transport of fresh seafood, enhancing profitability, freshness, and sustainability across value chains
- Applicable for perishable food products like seafood, pork beef
NanoPack
- A three-year EU funded project aimed at developing a shelf-life extending solution
- Uses novel antimicrobial surfaces in active food packaging products including essential plant oils sith anti-microbial activities into halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) for mass-scale food packaging
- It aims to enhance food safety by up to 25% and prolong the shelf-life of food products
- Currently at a pre-commercialized stage – Technology Readiness Level of 7 out of 9
- Applicable to a variety of products like salmon, fresh meat, cheese, bread, and cherry
Edible coating by Apeel Sciences
- Edible and protective lipids and glycerolipids from the fruit wastes act as a protective layer of fresh produces – fruits
- The coating acts as a barrier
- It inhibits the entry of gases protecting the fruit from the external environment and extends the fruit shelf-life by about 50%
- Applicable for fruits & vegetables
References
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