Food Science and Technology

Food Packaging and Preservation

The term "food preservation" refers to a range of techniques used to protect food from rotting. Examples include canning, pickling, drying and freeze-drying, irradiation, pasteurization, smoking, and the use of chemical additives. Food security has become an increasingly significant aspect of the food industry as fewer people consume foods grown on their own land and customers expect to be able to buy and eat items that are out of season. Dairy items are now using advanced packaging technology to improve shelf life. Ryan Foods, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Dean Foods that makes extended shelf life (ESL) fluid milk products, employed ESL production and packaging to push back its "best before" dates. In the manufacturing and packaging of ESL, ultra-high temperature (UHT) pasteurization is employed.