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.: Food Stability :. |
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Making Progress
In Food Preservation -
A number of
available technologies help the food processor deliver safe and quality
products. Some processes are new; others are familiar technologies applied
in novel ways…
The Complexity of
Shelf-Life Stability -
Each food category has its
own unique set of ingredients, processes, packaging, shipping and storage
parameters that affect the shelf life of a food product.
Creating Quality
with Sensory Shelf-Life Studies -
Combining quantitative
descriptive methods with consumer liking provides the research and marketing
teams with valuable insight into product behavior over time. The data tells
a story: How has the product changed, and does the change matter to
consumers?
All
Natural Preservation -
The
trans fatty acids (TFA)
ruling has given many companies an incentive to remove as much trans fat
from their products before January 1, 2006, as possible. However, if TFAs
are replaced with polyunsaturated oils, antioxidants may be required to
extend the shelflife of foods by quenching free radicals, thereby delaying
oxidation, degradation, and loss of nutrients, pigments and flavor in foods.
When natural antioxidants are used, the finished product’s label can be very
consumer-friendly. Formulation Challenge: Chill Factors - When creating refrigerated foods, processors should utilize effective formulation hurdles, new technologies and shelf-life studies.
http://www.preparedfoods.com/CDA/ArticleInformation/features/
Food Protectants – A range of food additives.
http://www.preparedfoods.com/CDA/ArticleInformation/products/
http://www.preparedfoods.com/CDA/ArticleInformation/features/
Meat Product Safety - Meat processors, especially those operations manufacturing ready-to-eat (RTE) foods, are under great pressure to assure the safety of their products. Almost all RTE products, including sausages and luncheon meats, are thermally processed to destroy pathogenic organisms, so they are safe immediately after the process.
http://www.preparedfoods.com/CDA/ArticleInformation/features/
Life, Lot and a Label for All - Every day, in every country and in every food product development lab, these words will spring into a food formulator’s mind, “What if I…?”
http://www.preparedfoods.com/CDA/ArticleInformation/features/
Category Analysis: Off the Shelf - Due to few recent advances, consumers have viewed canned items as less-than-fresh. However, the shelf-stable sector has benefited from technological innovation to expand its range of offerings.
http://www.preparedfoods.com/CDA/ArticleInformation/features/
To Preserve and Protect - Extending product shelf life helps ensure safety and profitability. This integral guide covers today’s food preservatives, from antimicrobials to antioxidants, and examines available ingredients, uses, restrictions and the problems they help prevent. http://www.foodproductdesign.com/toolbar.html
Accelerated Shelf-life Testing – Is Faster Better? - For some food products, determining shelf life may only be a matter of days or weeks, barely affecting the timing of a product launch. For products with storage lives of months or years, the testing can add significantly to the development timetable. http://www.foodproductdesign.com/archive/1991/1291QA.html
Formulating for shelf stability - Food packages that require no refrigeration allow consumers to keep a variety of foods on hand, ready for swift preparation in virtually any setting. Combining the latest in formulation, processing and packaging technologies with a well-planned experimental design is the best way to assure quality in shelf-stable food products. http://www.foodproductdesign.com/archive/1992/0292CS.html
Sensory
Analysis and Shelf-Life Testing -
If
there is one thing everyone agrees on regarding the use of sensory analysis
in shelf life testing, it's that sensory is one of the best tools available.
From there, the paths of the experts may diverge in the search to implement
the best program.
Shelf
Stability: A Question of Quality -
Until
refrigeration became the norm, creating shelf-stable foods was the only way
to assure a consistent, somewhat variable food supply throughout the year.
But, as consumers demand more for their food dollar, the convenience of room
temperature storage must share the stage with high quality and a satisfying
eating experience.
Freeze/Thaw-Stability –
For frozen foods, it is
difficult to maintain food products in a constant, optimum frozen state.
With every change in the mercury comes a little more freezing or a little
more thawing. Ultimately this temperature cycling can adversely affect the
finished product quality.
The
Changing Face of Shelf Life -
Preserving
food for distribution to consumers is the foundation upon which the food
industry was born. Although the concept has been established, technologies
for extending shelf life and for improving the quality of stability-enhanced
foods are far from static.
Keeping Foods Fresh
- Consumers
like - no, love - the concept of fresh food. However, fresh and convenience
foods don't always go together.
Nutrient
Stability Overview -
The issue of nutrient stability and bioavailability in foods
and beverages is not new. In the past century, the expanding knowledge base
of nutrition and food science enlightened scientists on the effects of
processing, handling and storage on bioactive components.
Preventing
a "Nutrient" Breakdown -
Addition of nutrients is
not always a simple task, though, as many cannot withstand the rigors of
processing, storage or further preparation. Luckily, technology for
maintaining nutrients has grown almost as quickly as the industry it serves.
Antioxidants "Meat" Needs -
The average consumer might
not know BHA from BHT, much less why they might be added to meat, but
chances are they are familiar with the term "antioxidant."
Reducing Microbes
-
Though proper heat treatments and subsequent sanitary handling should keep
most pathogens out of the food supply, they are common in production
environments of raw foods. Therefore, continuous efforts are needed to
effectively prevent pathogenic contamination and growth.
Limiting
Growth: Microbial Shelf-Life Testing -
Establishing the
microbiological shelf life for many foods becomes important at some point in
their history. The determination may be required during product development,
after they have been established on the market, or at some time in between.
Shelf Life
and pH Testing -
A product's shelf life or safe storage time of a product, is
affected by a number of variables, including intrinsic parameters, such as
pH and moisture content, and extrinsic parameters, such as environmental
factors. Understanding these variables is key to producing a consistently
high-quality and safe food product. A Guide to Calculating the Shelf Life of Food - The New Zealand Food Safety Authority (NZFSA) and Health Protection Officers regularly deal with enquiries on the shelf life and date marks on foods. This Guide to Calculating the Shelf Life of Foods contains background information on the factors that influence shelf life and a procedure to assist you to calculate the shelf life of foods. Download the pdf file (456 K) from the website. http://www.nzfsa.govt.nz/processed-food-retail-sale/shelf-life/
How to Determine the Shelf Life of Foods – Basic guidelines for the consumers.http://www.ehow.com/how_134828_determine-shelf-life.htmlShelf life testing: Procedures and prediction methods for frozen foods – A pdf file downloadable from Prof. Labuza’s website.
http://faculty.che.umn.edu/fscn/Ted_Labuza/PDF_files/papers
Water activity and Food Stability Kinetics – A 60 pages pdf file downloadable from Prof. Labuza’s website. http://courses.che.umn.edu/00fscn8334-1f/Topics_Folder/aw%20and%20kinetics.pdf
Water Activity for Product Quality – This article and other articles related to water activity can be found at Decagon website (manufacturer of water activity meter, Aqua-Lab). http://www.decagon.com/aqualab/aw_info.html
Water Activity – Food Science Australia fact sheet. http://www.foodscience.afisc.csiro.au/water_fs.htm
Water Activity - The concept of water activity may seem esoteric and unimportant to many food technologists. But more and more, food product designers these days are paying close attention to measuring water activity in food products. http://www.foodproductdesign.com/archive/1993/1293QA.html
Ingredients to Raise the Microbial Bar - Part Two - The types of foods we eat, their method of preparation and the seriousness of the effects of microbial contamination all require increased vigilance and improved methods to defeat the microbial marauders that plague the food supply.
Keys to Fresher Produce - If you've ever walked up to a peach tree on a hot summer day, plucked a ripe fruit off the branch, and tasted that sweet, juicy nectar, you know without a doubt that fruits ripen best on the tree.
Maintaining Vigilance Over Quality - With greater emphasis being placed on the food industry to provide safe and nutritious foods, it's become increasingly important to monitor those products from the beginning of the production phase, to storage and handling, and finally to the consumer.
An overview of oxygen scavenging packaging and applications - One of the most effective methods of oxygen management in packaging and packaging process applications is the use of “active packaging.” Active packaging refers to packaging and packaging systems that respond to changes in the surrounding environment.
http://www.foodproductdesign.com/archive/2003/0603AP.html
Food should also look
good – why antioxidants are so important?
-
Antioxidants are present in many foodstuffs,
and everyone has heard of them at some time or other or seen them listed as
additives on food packaging. But what are they supposed to do in foods? And
why do they play such an important role in many products?
Preservatives to keep
foods longer – and safer
-
Preservatives are a
recurring topic in public discussions, and whenever it crops up, many
consumers associate them with harmful, modern chemicals in foodstuffs. But,
as a brief look back into the past will show, preservation of food was
practised several hundred years ago…
How Food
Preservation Works
– A topic from How Stuff Works, providing concise explanation of different
food preservation techniques. |