1. The document provides a timeline of food preservation methods from prehistoric times to present day, including drying, salting, canning, pasteurization, refrigeration, freezing, irradiation, aseptic processing, and retort pouch technology. 2. Key developments included Nicholas Appert's invention of canning in the 1800s, Pasteur discovering pasteurization in the 1860s, refrigeration emerging in the late 1800s, and freezing foods becoming popular in the 1920s-30s. 3. More recent advancements discussed are spray drying in the 1940s, food irradiation and aseptic processing in the 1950s-60s, microwave technology and sous-vide cooking in the 1970s

1. Note:
Presentation to 2nd year food students on
preservation of foods.
NIFTEM, Sonepet, India
If someone reading this presentation can update it
with events I have missed email: godesai@gmail.com

2. FOOD PRESERVATION
- A TIMELINE
Nitin Desai, Ph.D
godesai@gmail.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/nitin-desai-1bbb8036
Saoirse, LLC
Consultants
Florida, USA
July 2016

3. “Food preservation is a method or process to extend
the shelf-life of foods. The main objectives are to
prevent food spoilage, maintain the aesthetic value -
sensory properties (color, texture, flavor) and
nutritional value of the stored food”
“The preservation method or the process to be used
would largely depend on the type of food – solid,
semi-solid, liquid, living (fruits and vegetables) and
the shelf-life needed”

4. Food Preservation has evolved over time……..
Let us construct a timeline and we will learn from the
history about food preservation

5. A Timeline for Preservation of Foods
Paleolithic/Mesolithic
Age
Hunters, Gatherers
Before 10000 BC Around 10000 BC
Neolithic Age
Agricultural Based Life
Mesopotamia 10,000BC
Greece 7,000 BC
India 5,000 BC
Solar Drying of Grains, Spices,
Fish
Control Fire
Heating, Smoking
Of Foods

6. Around 2500 BC
Excavations in Egypt at the Giza
Pyramids. Show the presence of
large bakery sites.
Drying Grains, Milling into flour,
Making/Baking flat breads
National Geographic January, 1995
Around 2500 BC ca 30 BC
Cleopatra used to have cucumber pickles
• Brining in salt
Fermented cabbage – Sauerkraut in Germany
and Kimchi in Far East - Korea
• Low pH, salt
India - Mango Pickles

7. So far from our time line of food
preservation we have learned the
following:
1. Heat and Smoke
2. Solar Drying (Dehydration)
3. Milling grains, Baking flat breads
4. Brining (salt) and low pH (acidity)

8. 1800 AD
Antoni Van Leeuvenhoek
1632 – 1723 Delft, Netherlands
Microscopy, Biologist
Father of Microbiology
Hobby – grinding lenses
Invented simple single lens
microscope and first to
observe unicellular
organisms
500+ letters to Royal Society
in UK including specimens
First to observe large
bacteria in saliva and other
specimens
1650 AD
Napoleon Bonaparte
1769 – 1821 France
Emperor, Military Leader
“An army marches on its
stomach”
In 1795 he offered 15,000
Francs to anyone who could
invent new preserved food
for his army

9. 1810 AD
Nicholas Appert
1749 – 1841 France
Confectioner, Chef
Father of Canning
Experimented with success and
preserved soups, vegetables, juices,
dairy products, jellies, jams, and syrups
in glass jars, capping with cork and
heating in a water bath. He won the
prize and published “The Art of
Preserving Animal and Vegetable
Substances” the first cookbook with
preservation methods. Since 1942 IFT
has an award recognizing lifetime
achievement in food technology its
called the Nicholas Appert award
Food in sealed water bottles in
water bath attained temp. 70-
80⁰.
In 1810 Peter Durand (British
Inventor) patented the tin can.
In 1900’s mass production of
foods in tin cans started after
the invention of the can
opener!
Note: Canning/Sterilization is
accomplished at 121⁰C for 3 to
15 minutes at 15-20 psig
pressure in an autoclave
Canning became popular
during World War I

10. 1860 1880 – 1910’s 1920 – 1930’s
Louis Pasteur
1822 – 1885 France
Chemist, Scientist, Inventor
Fathers of Germ Theory
Found that heating beer or wine
killed most bacteria and prevented
it from becoming sour. The process
is known as pasteurization and is
used to pasteurize milk, fruit juices,
beer. HTST involves heating the
product to 75⁰C for 15 secs. This
heat treatment was sufficient to
eliminate pathogenic bacteria and
lower the count of spoilage causing
bacteria
Development of Vapor
Compression systems
using Ammonia leads to
the development of
Refrigeration for foods.
Dairy Products – milk,
butter, cheese
Fruits and Vegetables
Juices stored at 3 - 5⁰C.
1930 GE develops the first
home electric refrigerator.
Frigidaire introduces CFC’s
safer and cheaper
refrigerator. Soon 50%
households is US own
refrigerators.
Clarence Birdseye
1886 – 1956 USA
Inventor, Entrepreneur
Started the Birds Eye
Frozen Company
Had 26 varieties of
frozen products –
Frozen meats, oysters,
filet of fish, spinach,
peas, fruits berries.
Temperature -10⁰C
inhibits growth of
microorganisms
REFRIGERATION

11. So far from our time line of food preservation we
have learned the following:
1. Heat and Smoke
2. Solar Drying (Dehydration)
3. Milling grains, Baking flat breads
4. Brining (salt) and low pH (acidity)
5. Canning
6. Pasteurization
7. Refrigeration
8. Freezing

12. 1930’s 1940’s
Alexander Fleming
1816 – 1888 UK
Bacteriologist, Immunologist
Nobel Prize 1945
Fleming discovered the antibiotic penicillin.
Chain, Florey and Heatley worked on
purification, stabilization and manufacture of
penicillin.
Since World War II millions of lives have been
saved using penicillin.
1950’s research was conducted on use of
antibiotics to preserve foods.
Spray Drying Technology
Patents filed in 1870’s
but large scale
manufacture started in
1940’s
Milk powders, starch and starch
derivatives, proteins, gums,
encapsulated flavors, spices, vitamins,
enzymes, sweeteners, colors
SPRAY DRYING

13. 1950’s
Food Irradiation the
application of ionizing
radiation to food.
Application of Gamma
rays emitted from
radioactive forms of
Cobalt 60 or Cesium
137. Does not produce
radio activity.
Meats, sea-foods, fresh
fruits, vegetables, eggs,
seeds, spices and
seasonings.
Used in several Space
program foods. Food
Irradiation is also
known as “Cold
Pasteurization”
FOOD IRRADIATION
International Symbol
for Irradiation
A low dosage of irradiation
is used to:
Inhibit sprouting, Delay
ripening of fruits and stop
insect infestation
Permitted in 60
countries and
approximately 500,000
tons are processed
annually. Most
countries allow the
irradiation of herbs,
spices and seasonings,
fruits and vegetables
and meat and poultry

14. 1960’s
It is a process where a sterile (aseptic) product is
placed in a sterile container and sealed. The first
aseptic processing plant was in Switzerland in 1961
for milk.
UHT or flash heating process 146⁰C for
sec/min is used to sterilize fluid foods.
Typical containers are laminates of
paper, LDPE, and aluminum. Containers
are sterilized using peroxide, live
steam, irradiation.
Aseptic containers can be from several
liters – Bag-In-Box to millions liters for
shipping containers.
ASEPTIC PROCESSING

15. 1970’s 1975
Microwave Technology
Non-ionizing microwave
radiation at frequency near
2.45 Ghz and wavelength
12 cm are produced in a
cavity magnetron
Industrial applications –
pasteurization of fresh
pasta. Drying and baking
applications.
House hold use of
microwave ovens to heat
foods is the most
common use for
microwaves
MICROWAVE TECHNOLOGY SOUS-VIDE
Sous-vide is French meaning under
vacuum. In this method food is
sealed in evacuated plastic bags
and immersed in a water batch at
55 - 60⁰C for 1 to 4 hours. The
purpose is to cook the food evenly
without overcooking the outside.
Sous-vide is used in gourmet
restaurants in Europe and
USA. Gourmet food
companies sel sous-vide
products. Small market.

16. 1978
Retort Pouch Technology was a joint effort of
US Natick Labs, Reynolds Metals Co. and
Continental Flexible Packaging Co.
Developed for the Army as Meals or Ready-
To-Eat (MRE’s). The invention received the
IFT Industrial Achievement Award 1978
Process is similar to canning
the pouches are filled with
food and sealed. Heated in
retort to 116-121⁰C for
several minutes ensure kill of
Clostridium botulinum spores
Variety of foods and drinks
can be made. Armed forces,
Space and Consumer Foods
The DFRL, Mysore has developed
this technology in India and
companies can license the
technology
RETORT POUCH TECHNOLOGY

17. 2000 and beyond – the future
High Pressure Technology
Ohmic Heating
3-D Printing Technology
Natural Preservatives
Driving factors:
Cost – Process, Raw Material
Availability
Natural
Nutrition
Space Travel
Adapting new technologies from other fields

18. Methods/Process for Food Preservation
1. Heat and Smoke
2. Solar Drying (Dehydration)
3. Milling grains, Baking flat breads
4. Brining (salt) and low pH (acidity)
5. Canning
6. Pasteurization
7. Refrigeration
8. Freezing
9. Antibiotics
10. Spray Drying
11. Irradiation
12. Microwave
13. Aseptic Processing
14. Retort Pouch Technology
15. Food Additives not on the timeline
In most of the methods/process there is one
common theme..it’s HEAT