Emerging Techniques in Food Preservation

Today, the major challenge faced by the food industry is to meet the consumers’ needs. The growing awareness among consumers of the importance of safe and high-quality food has pressured the food industry to adopt novel food processing techniques that maintain food quality without losing its freshness. Different conventional methods like heating, freezing, drying, canning, etc., which are being used for preservation, degrade thermolabile nutrients, besides changing foods’ texture, size, and color. This has led to different innovative food preservation technologies that provide biologically safe food without compromising its quality. There are various new thermal and non-thermal techniques based on mechanical, electromagnetic, ultrasonic, plasma, or biological processes which are currently being adapted for food preservation. These techniques inactivate or kill spoiling microorganisms, interfering with food enzymes and pathogens, with minimal deterioration of the food's nutritional, sensory, functional and organoleptic attributes. Besides, most of the techniques are fast and environmentally friendly.