The food processor is profoundly affected by the consumer’s pursuit of health. Today’s marketplace includes more perishable products, including fruits and vegetables, and more inventive packaging than it had 25 years ago. In addition, the reluctance of consumers to traditional chemical preservatives has reduced the variety of preservation options available to food producers. Food processors are investigating novel processing and preservation technologies to get a technological edge in the industry. These technologies consist of ohmic heating, high pressure, pulsed electric field, intense light, and aseptic processing, among others. Ohmic heating includes putting an electric current through the meal to generate heat as a result of the food’s electrical impedance. Using ohmic heating, food particles are heated at the same pace as the vehicle or sauce. Ohmic heating can improve meal quality by protecting the sauce and food particles from heat damage. In order to pasteurize meals without the use of heat, foods are pasteurized by high-pressure processing, which employs very high pressure, frequently in the thousands of atmospheres. High-pressure processing is great for heat-sensitive foods, however certain enzymes are difficult to deactivate. Pulsed electric field processing use a highly powerful pulsed electric current to break microbial cells and pasteurize meals with minimal or no heat. This light cannot penetrate deeply into foods and can only be used for surface pasteurization.
Aseptic processing has existed since at least the middle of the 1940s, although it has yet to reach its full potential. Aseptic processing, the most prevalent of these new technologies, involves sterilizing a food product continuously using a heat exchanger and then filling it in an aseptic filler. The aseptic filler is a highly specialized piece of machinery that sterilizes the packaging material, fills the sterile product into its container in a sterile environment, and then seals the package.
Additionally, food processors have investigated unique food preservation methods. The ideal food preservative would be derived from a natural source and preserve food without being labeled as a chemical preservative. Bacteriocins, dimethyl decarbonate (Velcorin), competitive microbial suppression, regulated and modified atmospheres, and irradiation are examples of such preservatives. Bacteriocins are not new; nonetheless, like nisin, they are currently utilized to increase the safety and shelf life of a variety of food goods. Future use of bacteriocins is anticipated to increase. Dimethyl dicarbonate, a relatively new preservative used in beverages including wine, tea, and juices, is especially good at preventing yeast-caused deterioration. Competitive microbial inhibition relies on the fact that many harmless bacteria, notably lactic acid bacteria, may suppress the growth of both spoilage and pathogenic bacteria. It is possible to choose inhibiting strains of lactic acid bacteria for use in dairy cultures or for addition to refrigerated foods to lengthen shelf life and improve food safety. In the food business, modified atmosphere and controlled atmosphere packaging are already prevalent. They have the potential for considerably wider application, particularly with retail-sold fresh fruits and vegetables. These approaches rely on oxygen deprivation or carbon dioxide concentrations that impede microbial development. In addition to delaying the ripening of certain fruits and vegetables and extending the shelf life of fresh meats, carefully designed gas combinations can delay the ripening of other produce. Also, not a new technology, irradiation is poised for widespread usage to improve the safety and shelf life of numerous goods. Irradiation could be an effective method for minimizing Salmonella infection of chicken and Escherichia coli O157:H7 contamination of ground beef if suitable controls are used.
