shelf-stable food
{{Short description|Foods that can be stored at room temperature}}
File:PostKatrinaStairsRedCrossPantry.jpg in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Some perishable foods such as oranges can also be seen; these were distributed at the end of each month.]]
Shelf-stable food (sometimes ambient food) is food of a type that can be safely stored at room temperature in a sealed container. This includes foods that would normally be stored refrigerated, but which have been processed so that they can be safely stored at room or ambient temperature for a usefully long shelf life.
Various food preservation and packaging techniques are used to extend a food's shelf life. Decreasing the amount of available water in a product, increasing its acidity, or irradiating{{cite web|last=Harris|first=Gardiner|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/22/health/policy/22spinach.html|title=Irradiation: A safe measure for safer iceberg lettuce and spinach|work=The New York Times|date=August 21, 2008|access-date=December 30, 2009|archive-date=September 4, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240904032613/https://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/22/health/policy/22spinach.html|url-status=live}} or otherwise sterilizing the food and then sealing it in an air-tight container are all ways of depriving bacteria of suitable conditions in which to thrive. All of these approaches can extend a food's shelf life, often without unacceptably changing its taste or texture.
For some foods, alternative ingredients can be used. Common oils and fats become rancid relatively quickly if not refrigerated; replacing them with hydrogenated oils delays the onset of rancidity, increasing shelf life. This is a common approach in industrial food production, but concerns about health hazards associated with trans fats have led to their strict control in several jurisdictions.{{cite web|last=Leth|first=Torben|website=tfX: The campaign against trans fat in foods|url=http://www.tfx.org.uk/page116.html|title=Denmark's trans fat law|date=2012|access-date=December 14, 2011|archive-date=September 17, 2012|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120917154619/http://www.tfx.org.uk/page116.html|url-status=dead}} Even where trans fats are not prohibited, in many places there are new labeling laws (or rules), which require information to be printed on packages, or to be published elsewhere, about the amount of trans fat contained in certain products.
Packaging
{{Main|Aseptic processing}}
File:PreservedFood1.jpgPackage sterility and seal integrity are vital for commercially packaged shelf-stable food products. With flexible packaging (plastic films, foils, laminates, etc), the choice of materials and process conditions are an important decision for packaging engineers.{{cite journal
| last = Mokowena
| first =K K
| title =Ethylene Vinyl Alcohol: A Review of Barrier Properties for Packaging Shelf Stable Foods
| journal = Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition
| date =2012
| pages =640–650
| volume = 52
| issue =7
| doi =10.1080/10408398.2010.504903
| pmid =22530715
| s2cid =28396532
| url =https://www.researchgate.net/publication/224834485
| access-date =June 21, 2018
| last1=Koutchma
| first1=Tatiana
| last2=Song
| first2=Yoonseok
| last3=Setikaite
| first3=Ilona
| last4=Juliano
| first4=Pablo
| last5=Barbosa-Cánovas
| first5=Gustavo V.
| last6=Dunne
| first6=C. Patrick
| last7=Patazca
| first7=Eduardo
| title=Packaging Evaluation for High-Pressure High-Temperature Sterilization of Shelf-Stable Foods
| journal=Journal of Food Process Engineering
| date=2010
| volume=33
| issue=6
| pages=1097–1114
| doi=10.1111/j.1745-4530.2008.00328.x
| url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1745-4530.2008.00328.x
| access-date=2024-01-13
| archive-date=2024-01-13
| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240113143024/https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1745-4530.2008.00328.x
| url-status=dead
|number = US4729926A
|title = Packaging material for long-term storage of shelf stable food products and method of making same
|pubdate = 1988
|inventor = Koteles
|url = https://patents.google.com/patent/US4729926A/en
}} {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240904032504/https://patents.google.com/patent/US4729926A/en |date=2024-09-04 }}
All aspects of food production, package filling and sealing must be tightly controlled and meet regulatory requirements. Uniformity, sterility and other requirements are needed to maintain good manufacturing practices."Main Components of GMP (Good Manufacturing Practices)." Scilife Blog, n.d. Accessed April 18, 2025.
Product safety management is vital. A complete quality management system must be in place. Verification and validation involves collecting documentary evidence of all aspects of compliance. Quality assurance extends beyond the packaging operations through distribution.{{Cn|date=August 2021}}
Examples
= Canning and bottling =
{{Main|Canning}}
{{See also|Home canning}}
Commercial canning involves cooking food and sealing it in sterilized tin cans. Home canning (or bottling) uses glass jars, such as Kilner jars or Mason jars, and boiling the containers to sterilize the contents.
=Retort pouch=
{{Main|Retort pouch}}
Retort pouches involve heat processing the food in sterilized heat-stable flexible packages. This is used for camping food and military field rations.
=Ranch dressing=
The first shelf-stable formulation of ranch dressing, created in 1983, had a shelf life of 150 days.{{cite web |last=Koerner |first=Brendan I. |url=http://www.slate.com/id/2123991/ |title=America's love-affair with ranch dressing |website=Slate Magazine |date=August 5, 2005 |access-date=December 30, 2009 |archive-date=September 15, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110915185542/http://www.slate.com/id/2123991/ |url-status=live }}
=Milk products=
Pasteurized milk in aseptically processed cartons (such as Tetra Brik) is shelf-stable without refrigeration.
=Fruit juice=
Fruit juice can be processed with proper pasteurization to allow shelf-stable options.{{cite journal
| last = Silva
| first =F V M
| title =Target Selection in Designing Pasteurization Processes for Shelf-Stable High-Acid Fruit Products
| journal = Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition
| date =2004
| pages =353–360
| volume = 40
| issue =5
| doi =10.1080/10408690490489251
| pmid =15540648
| s2cid =33963439
| url =https://www.researchgate.net/publication/51371453
| access-date =June 14, 2018
}}
See also
{{portal|Food}}
References
{{reflist}}
{{Food science}}
{{Packaging}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shelf Stable Food}}