Indian Origin Researcher Develops Tech To Make Perishable Foods Last For Months
The tech is not just limited to fries. They've tested all kinds of food items like vegetables, salsa, dairy products like paneer and even cooked chicken.
An Indian origin scientist has developed a technology that would allow perishable food to last for months, without requiring it to be refrigerated.
Cornell University
This has been made possible by Vipul Saran, co-founder of Farther Farms, who has created a new pasteurisation method to kill the germs in the food and allowing it to last longer without any special storage device.
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Usually, when we buy milk, we boil it in order to pasteurise it which allows the existing pathogens in it to die and help the milk last fairly longer than it normally would. He¡¯s doing something similar with food, except it doesn't involve heat, just carbon dioxide.
The food is packed in special proprietary packaging and processed with high-pressure CO2 at a moderately high temperature. This according to Vipul, inactivates the microorganisms and enzymatic activities.
He showcased his technology on a pack of french fries that are otherwise sealed shut and kept in a freezer to be stored for long periods of time. However, with Vipul¡¯s technology, the fries survived at normal room temperature for 90 days with ease.
What makes this process stand out is that the pressurising doesn't impact the nutritional value of food as much as freezing it, and it does so without the need for any preservatives.
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According to CEO of Farther Farms, Mike Annunziata, in a conversation with FastCompany, ¡°Because of our use of carbon dioxide instead of steam or water, the product damage to nutrition is significantly less, but we achieve safety in the same way as milk is pasteurized, or as beer is pasteurized, or as cheese is pasteurized.¡±
Farther Farms via Fast Company
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The tech is not just limited to fries. They've tested all kinds of food items like vegetables, salsa, dairy products like paneer and even cooked chicken, all of which have managed to last for around three months with ease.
Annunziata added, ¡°We envision a world where this technology is on every continent, really having an impact on farmers who want to process their food, and turn it into value-added products to earn a premium.¡±
