ACTA SCIENTIFIC NUTRITIONAL HEALTH (ISSN:2582-1423)

Volume 3 Issue 12 December 2019

Review Article

Food Preservation: Traditional and Modern Techniques

Anil Kumar*
School of Biotechnology, Devi Ahilya University, Khandwa Road, Indore, India
*Corresponding Author: Anil Kumar, School of Biotechnology, Devi Ahilya University, Khandwa Road, Indore, India
Received: October 17, 2019; Published: November 05, 2019
DOI: 10.31080/ASNH.2019.03.0529

Abstract
In order to store the foodstuffs for a longer period without spoilage, proper preservation is important. However, preservative
must not be toxic to human. There are techniques to eliminate microbial contamination and to avoid rancidity of fat. Care must also
be taken to preserve nutritional value, texture and flavour of foodstuffs. In this mini-review, traditional techniques for preservation
such as curing, freezing, canning, boiling, pickling and many more as well as modern techniques such as pasteurization, freeze drying,
vacuum packing, irradiation, pascalization, biopreservation, hurdle technology and modified atmosphere are briefly discussed.
Keywords: Pickling; Canning; Sugaring; Fermentation; Freeze Drying; Vacuum Packing; Biopreservation

Research on Cancer deputed by the WHO reported that processed

Introduction
meat which was processed by using salt, curing, fermentation and
Food preservation is the process to handle and treat a food in
smoking got carcinogens in it (https://www.cancer.org/latest-
order to control its spoilage by stopping the attack and growth of
news/world-health-organization-says-processed-meat-causes-
food borne diseases causing microbes; to avoid oxidation of fats
cancer.html; https://www.iarc.fr/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/
(rancidity) and to maintain the nutritional value, texture and fla-
pr240_E.pdf). Considering the importance of food preservation in
vour of the food [1,2].
order to reduce the chances of food poisoning and other diseases,
here, various traditional as well as modern methods used for food
It is well known that chemicals, microbes from the vicinity and
preservation have been described.
enzymes present in the food itself may cause spoilage to food prod-
ucts. Besides, food and food products have to be transported from Traditional methods for food preservation
one place to another place. During transit, there are chances to de- The following are the main traditional methods for preservation
teriorate the food, loss or decrease in morphological attraction and of foods:
reduction in nutritional value of the food. Therefore, it is important • Curing: The basic concept in curing of foods like meat,
to do efforts for food preservation for longer shelf life, stability in fishes and vegetables is to reduce the moisture contents by
quality, maintaining the morphological attraction and no change in osmosis process. When moisture contents in any food are
taste [3]. much low, there are much lesser chances of getting micro-
bial infection and subsequently growth. Curing is also done
Although many traditional methods used for food preserva-
for flavouring. It is done by adding salt, nitrates, sugar, ni-
tion, such as preservation of fruits by changing them into jams,
trites in combinations which are capable of dehydrating the
had lower energy input and carbon footprint compared to modern food. Higher salt used for curing also dehydrates bacteria
techniques used. The traditional method involved boiling of fruits resulting in their killing. Not only this, salt is also capable
in order to kill microbes and to decrease the moisture contents, to of slowing oxidation process resulting in slow oxidation of
add enough sugar in order to prevent re-growth of microbes and fat thus avoiding rancidity (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
sealing in an air tight jar to prevent contamination. Sugaring causes Food_preservation).
the jam much hypertonic on which microbes are hard to survive
[4; https://www.chelseagreen.com/product/fields-of-farmers/]. • Freezing: Freezing the food at temperatures ranging from
Some investigators have put a question mark on the current meth- minus 10oC to minus 80oC for long term storage is much
ods used for food preservation. In 2015, an International Agency for

Citation: Anil Kumar. “Food Preservation: Traditional and Modern Techniques". Acta Scientific Nutritional Health 3.12 (2019): 45-49.
Food Preservation: Traditional and Modern Techniques

46

common technique at the commercial scale as well as at soft drinks concentrates like orange squash which have much
homes. Under the freezing condition, microbes generally do sugar amount are also prepared based on this principle.
not survive, and if any already existing microbe survived, it will
not multiply. However, in case of hot served foods, it is always • Pickling: There are many customary ways including immers-
essential to heat the food above 75oC after bringing the food ing foodstuff in vinegar or vegetable oil, or anaerobic fermen-
from freezer to room temperature. Almost in all the countries, tation by which lifespan of foods is increased and this process
cold stores are used for long term storage of fruits, vegetables is called as pickling. This method changes the texture, flavour
and many other foodstuffs. There are processed foodstuffs like and taste of the food and preserved stuff is generally called as
waffles from potato which are stored in a freezer but their raw pickle. Pickle of many vegetables including carrot, cauliflower,
material, potato tubers are stored at a temperature ranging lemon and of raw mangoes is much used in Asian countries
from 0oC to 10oC in a cold room if storage has to be done for including India. In many European countries, Canada and USA,
many months. pickles of eggs, fish and meat among others are eaten. Anaero-
bic fermentation (storing in vinegar) of vegetables and fruits
• Refrigeration: Refrigeration is considered to be artifi- such as mangoes, radish and carrots is also commonly used in
cial cooling to bring the temperature below room (ambi- Asian countries. Under fermentation conditions, there is pro-
ent) temperature where heat is transferred from low tem- duction of organic acids like lactic acid, acetic acid which act as
perature reservoir to high temperature reservoir either preservative agents. In some countries, brine (high salt) is also
mechanically or electrically using laser or magnetically. used for preservation. Under the conditions, there is killing of
bacteria and other microbes (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Processed and perishable foods are preserved traditionally by Pickling).
storing in a refrigerator. Generally, temperature in the refrig-
erator is maintained between 4oC to 10oC. At low temperature, • Canning: The process of canning for extending the shelf life
mostly microbes do not grow and multiply or if grow, then at of foodstuffs was discovered by Nicolas Appert, a French con-
a much slower rate. In perishable foods where enzymes cause fectioner in early nineteenth century. The process involves
the rotting, these enzymes catalytic rate becomes much slower cooking of the food, and thereafter sealing it in sterilized jars
at low temperature. Although it has been observed that food or cans, and boiling the containers for sterilization. Under
may stay good in the refrigerator for a shorter period only (say the conditions, there is killing or weakening of any remaining
for few hours or a day or so), however, refrigerator has proved microbe. The process could not be popular until 1864 when
good inside homes and in restaurants especially in summers. Louis Pasteur showed the relationship between the food spoil-
People in rural areas also use ice boxes with ice for cooling of age and microbes, and subsequently illness [6; https://nchfp.
the foodstuffs. Earlier or even today, some people also use root uga.edu/publications/nchfp/factsheets/food_pres_hist.html].
cellar for storage/ preservation of fruits, nuts and vegetables.
Root cellar is an underground or partially underground struc- It has been shown that different foodstuffs have natu-
ture and it is synonym of root crops which are stored in un- ral protection against spoilage, however to different de-
derground cellar. In root cellar, depending upon the foodstuff, grees. High acid foodstuffs such as strawberries do not
storage can be done for weeks [5; https://en.wikipedia.org/ need any preservative for canning and only boiling for a
wiki/Refrigeration; https://www.chelseagreen.com/prod- little time is sufficient. On the other hand, many other food-
uct/fields-of-farmers/]. stuffs such as carrots need longer boiling and one has to
add acidic preservative such as citric acid. Foodstuffs with
• Boiling: It is a traditional way especially in developing coun- low acid constituents such as vegetables and meats need
tries to boil water in order to kill microbes if any in it, and pressure canning. However, canned foodstuffs are spoiled
thereafter, it is cooled to room temperature before drinking. It within a short span of time after opening the can or bottle.
is also customary to boil milk before drinking (even pasteur-
ized milk) in order to kill the microbes if any. Sometimes, can with canned food gets swollen or bursts due
to gas production inside since canned foods are prone to en-
• Sugaring: It is customary even today to preserve certain food- trance of water or microbes which help in decomposition of
stuffs using sugar as a preservative. The basic mode of action food. There are reports that canned food contained anaerobic
is that high sugar contents make the foodstuff hypertonic and microbe, Clostridium botulinum which produces a toxin capa-
microbes do not survive in hypertonic solution since hyper- ble of causing food poisoning or even sometimes death upon
tonic solution will draw water from the microbe and it will be- consumption by humans. The contamination of this microbe
come dehydrated. It is quite common to store fruits in honey is generally not visible by naked eye, however, its toxin can be
or sugar. Jams and jellies are also examples of sugaring. Many denatured by proper cooking. The Staphylococcus aureus con-

Citation: Anil Kumar. “Food Preservation: Traditional and Modern Techniques". Acta Scientific Nutritional Health 3.12 (2019): 45-49.
Food Preservation: Traditional and Modern Techniques

47

tamination is also much common in canned mushrooms. This Organization (WHO) and Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO)
microbe also produces a toxin, however unlike toxin produced have affirmed food irradiation, but there are controversies in this
by Clostridium botulinum, this is not inactivated by heating the technique. Some people have a misconception that upon irradia-
canned food (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canning). tion, food may become radioactive. Others oppose this technique
by saying that irradiation may sterilize contaminated food [12-15;
• Fermentation: Certain foodstuffs such as beer, wine and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_irradiation]. This technique
cheese are manufactured by the process of fermentation using has been mostly used for spices, condiments and fresh fruits.
specific microbes. These fermentative microbes protect the
foodstuff against other pathogenic microbes by producing an Chemical food preservatives
acid or alcohol which is toxic to other pathogenic microbes.
In processed foods, anti-microbial chemical agents are added
During fermentation, controlled conditions such as salt, tem-
to preserve them. These agents are added in smaller amount since
perature, oxygen level and other parameters are maintained
these are mostly toxic when consumed in larger amount. Common
which help the fermentative microbe to produce the food
preservatives are benzoic acid and benzoates which are used in
product good enough for human consumption [6; https://
acidic foods such as jams, salad dressing, juices, pickles, carbon-
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fermentation_in_food_processing].
ated drinks, soy sauce among others. Sorbic acid and sorbates
are used as preservatives in cheese, wine and baked foods among
Modern methods for food preservation others. Nitrites and nitrates are used as preservatives in meats to
The following are the main modern methods for preservation prevent botulism toxin. Sulphur dioxide and sulphites are used in
of foods: fruits and wine. Similarly, propionic acid and propionates are used
in baked foods (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preservative).
Pasteurization
Even today, traditional way of heating a foodstuff to a tempera- Pascalization
ture capable of killing microbes is used. In the market, milk is gen- In this technique, foodstuff is pressed inside a vessel exerting
erally sold in sealed packets or jars after pasteurization. In homes, very high pressure to the tune of 70,000 lb per square inch. This
it is common especially in Asian countries including India to boil technique is good since foodstuffs retain their freshness, flavour,
milk in order to kill microbe(s), if any, and thereafter, it is stored in texture and nutrients with destruction of microbes. Following
a refrigerator this technique, there is much slower rate of spoilage of foodstuffs.
This technique has been used for orange juice, guacamole and deli
Freeze drying meats (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pascalization).
This is one of the modern techniques where moisture contents
Biopreservation
from the foodstuff are removed at much lower temperature under
When natural microbes or antimicrobials are used for preserva-
frozen conditions using vacuum. The basic principle applied is to
tion and increasing the shelf life of foodstuffs, it is called biopreser-
evaporate solid water (ice) by sublimation at lower pressure. It re-
vation. Here, generally either beneficial bacteria or fermentation
sults in a foodstuff of high quality. Under the conditions, there is no
products are used for controlling the spoilage and to inactivate
change in the shape of the foodstuff. This technique is used in food
pathogenic microbes, if present in the foodstuff [16,17]. Lactic acid
processing and preservation of coffee. Vacuum drying is also used
bacteria have been used as biopreservatives. These bacteria pro-
for long term storage of bacteria and yeasts [7-10].
duce lactic acid, acetic acid, bacteriocins and hydrogen peroxide
Vacuum packing among others which act as antimicrobials.
In this technique, foodstuff is put in a plastic film bag and vac-
uum is created inside the bag by sucking air using a vacuum pump Horie., et al. [18] studied the importance of lactic acid bacteria
before sealing the bag. Under the conditions, microbes do not grow and component change during fermentation of Ishizuchi-kurocha,
since they require oxygen for survival. This technique is mostly a post-fermented tea used in Japan. The leaves of this tea are first
used for packing nuts since it keeps them fresh without losing fla- fermented aerobically by fungi and thereafter anaerobically using
vour from oxidation [11; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vacuum_ lactic acid bacteria. They studied Lactobacillus plantarum subsp.
packing] plantarum isolated as the dominant species in Ishizuchi‐kurocha.
The component analysis showed that level of catechins, amino ac-
Irradiation ids and γ-amino butyric acid in tea leaves changed during anaero-
Foodstuff is exposed to ionizing radiation either as β- particles bic fermentation. They showed that growth of Lactobacillus plan-
or γ- rays. The radiation is capable of killing bacteria, molds and tarum subsp. Plantarum and Lactobacillus brevis is important for
pests among others. The irradiation is also capable of decreasing taste and flavour.
the ripening of fruits and stops spoilage. Although, World Health

Citation: Anil Kumar. “Food Preservation: Traditional and Modern Techniques". Acta Scientific Nutritional Health 3.12 (2019): 45-49.
Food Preservation: Traditional and Modern Techniques

48

D’Amico de Alcântara., et al. [19] demonstrated antibacterial ac- There is a concept of air tight storage of foodstuffs especially
tivity of Lactobacillus rhamnosus against Pseudomonas fluorescens of grains which is also called hermetic storage. In this storage, it
and Pseudomonas putida both isolated from refrigerated raw milk. is considered that as a result of respiration of grains, insects and
The anti-bacterial activity was due to production of organic acids. fungi, there are changes in the enclosed atmosphere which help in
They showed that antibacterial activity of Lactobacillus rhamnosus controlling insect pests. It depends on the proper sealing, moisture
can be exploited to improve quality of raw milk. contents in grains and temperature among others [23].

Martindale and Sciebel [24] correlated between food preserva-

Hurdle technology
tion and food waste and showed that proper food preservation will
In this technology, more than one approach are applied to inac-
reduce wastage of food and suggested that it may solve the meal re-
tivate any pathogenic microbe, if present in a foodstuff. It is con-
quirement in developing countries. They studied the frozen foods
sidered that these approaches act as hurdles for the microbes. It
and fresh foods using Austrian marketplace and showed about six
is important to select correct combination of approaches for effec-
fold reduction in wastage upon emphasis on frozen food.
tive food preservation. Leistner [20] defined hurdle technology as
an intelligent combination of hurdles that secures the safety from Agugo., et al. [25] studied the nutritional, sensory and storage
microbes and ensures no loss of nutritional quality and economic aspects of mungbean substituted garri prepared in 30%, 40%, 50%
viability of foodstuffs. Besides, these hurdles also don’t change the and 60% proportions for addition in ready to eat diet. They stored
smell, look and texture of the foodstuff. The main approaches used a sample of mungbean garri having 30% mungbean and 70% garri
in hurdle technology are higher temperature during processing, in different packaging materials namely polythene bag, sac bag and
increasing acidity, lowering redox potential, presence of preserva- plastic container on shelf and also inside the cupboard for four
tives and lower temperature for storage. Lactic acid bacteriocins weeks. They observed lower microbial growth in mungbean garri
have also been used in combination with other approaches to con- sample packaged in sac bag and stored on the shelf during first
trol the spoilage [16]. The intensity of these approaches is decided and second week of storage. However, samples in plastic container
based on the nature of probable pathogen(s) in the foodstuff. stored in the cupboard showed lowest microbial growth during
third and fourth week of storage. On the basis of observation about
Nonthermal plasma
microbial growth, they concluded that substituted mungbean garri
In this technology, surface of the foodstuff is exposed to a flame
having 30 to 70% ratio of mungbean and garri was better storage
of ionized gas molecules such as nitrogen and helium. It helps
wise as well as nutritionally for a feeding trial involving school chil-
in killing the microbes if present on the surface of the foodstuff
dren.
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_preservation).
Conclusion
Modified atmosphere Considering food borne diseases due to consumption of spoiled
In this approach, atmosphere in the surrounding of foodstuff is food, proper preservation of foodstuffs is very important. Although,
altered. Salad crops are packed in sealed bags where concentration there are many existing techniques used for food preservation,
of carbon dioxide is increased and of oxygen is reduced. However, considering the economic viability and social responsibility, more
under the conditions, there are chances of changing some nutrients effective and safer techniques must be searched. There is much
such as vitamins. Grains are preserved using carbon dioxide. Some scope of food preservation including packaging commercially.
people put a block of dry ice (solid carbon dioxide) in the bottom More research must be carried out in this direction.
of the container. Another way is by purging the container at the
bottom by carbon dioxide. Generally, a cylinder of carbon dioxide Acknowledgements
can be used. Carbon dioxide prevents insects, molds and oxidation Author acknowledges the facilities of the Department of Bio-
from damaging the grains. Nitrogen gas is also used to preserve technology, Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of In-
grains. It is also capable of killing insects [21,22]. dia, New Delhi (DBT) under the Bioinformatics Sub Centre as well
as M.Sc. Biotechnology program used in the present work.
For storage of larger quantities of foodstuffs, Controlled Atmo-
spheric Storage (CAS) is used which is a sealed room where oxygen
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