Leveraging Emerging Trends in the Food Processing Industry

Several emerging food processing technologies are being tested by manufacturers to meet consumer demands for convenience and variety.

FREMONT, CA: A convergence of factors has come together to make this era remarkably fertile ground for innovations in food processing. Innovation has long been driven by the need to ensure food safety. But in the food processing industry, consumer preferences are increasingly important. Convenience consumers can be found in shelf-stable products, which provide more convenience. Additionally, there is a growing market for health and wellness products, so food processing technologies are needed to preserve ingredients and use probiotics. Manufacturers and consumers want more food made more efficiently to feed the world's ever-growing population. As a result, food security is enhanced, distribution options are expanded, and the entire industry enthusiastically adopts new food processing technologies.

Some innovations have already been adopted by many producers (HPP and aseptic processing), while others are still gaining momentum (extrusion), while some remain in the experimental stage (3D printing).

High-pressure processing (HPP): Using HPP, vegetative microbes are killed rapidly, viruses are inactivated, and enzymes are denatured without heat. HPP is the most common emerging food processing technology.

Electrical heating: A product or processing facility's carbon footprint can be reduced using electrical heating instead of fossil fuels and rapid heating. The food processing industry has developed microwave, radio frequency, and ohmic methods of electrical heating, and other technologies, such as induction heating, are under development.

Aseptic processing and packaging: Aseptic processing allows manufacturers to reach new customers and expand their product offerings by eliminating refrigeration requirements during transport and on store shelves. Aseptic processing can produce shelf-stable animal and plant-based products, liquid eggs, puddings, soups, vegetable purees, and bulk ingredients. By sterilizing the food product and cooling it before filling it in a sterile environment, microbes are killed in the food product and not reintroduced during packaging since it involves filling sterilized containers in a sterile environment with a sterilized product. Due to the independence of aseptic packaging from the processing line, a wide variety of packaging sizes and shapes are possible. This food processing technology is important for companies that distribute nationwide, provide food service, sell ingredients, or sell bulk products because it extends shelf life and allows for larger packaging sizes. Using refrigeration eliminates the need for refrigeration, making distribution and warehousing much easier and allowing products to reach farther. Some high-moisture foods can be stored at room temperature with this food processing technology while maintaining a fresher taste or appearance compared to canned goods. In aseptic processing, nutrients are retained, and flavor changes are minimized by combining rapid heating and cooling. The industry can also use sustainable energy sources instead of steam from fossil fuels in aseptic processing using emerging technologies such as microwave and ohmic heating.

3D printing: 3D-printed candy is already on the market; it is one of the most exciting innovations. Sugar Lab prints confections made of sugar at a rate of one per minute. Beyond applications like this, 3D printing is still largely experimental as a food processing technology. To cultivate meat components like fat, tissue, and blood, startups are experimenting with combining them into steaks. It could be possible to combine these components using a 3D printing system. Nevertheless, 3D-printed meat faces numerous obstacles, including the high media cost, cleanrooms, and equipment. The potential for a high degree of automation on the food processing line is one of the benefits of 3D printing.