How to package and preserve food in a chemical-free way

To meet the increasing demands of the supply chains, businesses are in search of effective methods to preserve perishable foods. Food Packaging companies use chemical preservatives for food preservation. However, many of these preservatives are responsible for different health issues in people. Today, common folks are getting more and more informed about health and wellbeing. And thus they don’t want to consume foods that are preserved chemically. Here are some useful ways to preserve food without using harmful preservatives.

Canning

With this method, hermetically sealed boxes and containers are used for food packaging and storing. The heat used during the method extensively reduces the growth of microorganisms and thus enhances the shelf life of the food. Though canned foods are not completely microorganism-free, they are very less in number. Canning is greatly related to sanitation and cleanliness. The proper amount of heat helps to can and seal containers in order to prevent spoiling of food. Previously corked glass containers were used. However, now the manufacturers use steel for manufacturing cans. Canned food can remain in a consumable condition even beyond its expiry date. Both low acid foods and high acid foods can be preserved using the method of canning. Pickling This is another great and less-expensive way of Food Packaging and preservation. With this method, fruits or vegetables are completely immersed into a solution of salt and vinegar. Fermentation takes place while the food is in brine. And this causes lactic acid formation within the container. The high acidic nature of lactic acid slows down the process of spoilage. Previously, pirates and sailors used this method for preserving food. Pickling is equally popular even today. Departmental stores have a huge collection of pickled foods. From pickled eggs to ghost peppers – everything is available in the supermarkets. Usually, glass containers are best to hold picked items instead of metal jars. A high level of acidity may react with metal containers and even plastic containers. And thus they are typically avoided. Sealed pickled containers can hold food in fresh condition for a year while the unsealed ones can hold food fresh for as long as 3 months. Pickling is a natural method of food preservation.

Freezing

This is the most contemporary way of food preservation. This is simple, effective and natural. Freezer storage significantly slows down the growth of various microorganisms and thus delays food degradation. Commercially frozen consumable items use flash freezing for better preservation. Nowadays, rapid freezing is in vogue. There are many methods for freezing foods fast. With an air blast freezing tunnel, frozen air is blown onto the food. On the other hand, the flash freeze method is also very popular. The food is being placed in an environmental chamber and frozen air is allowed to pass through it. This quickly freezes food items. Frozen foods can last for years. However, be careful about freezer burn. This may cause moisture loss in food and thus degrade the quality. Today, people have become more health-conscious than ever before. Thus they want to consume foods preserved in a chemical-free way. Canning, pickling and freezing are the most common methods of chemical-free food preservation.