Food & Beverage Asia June/July 2022

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PROCESSING AND PACKAGING
chamber intermesh without
touching, generating pulsation
and oil-free compressed air for
beverage manufacturing. Once the
compressors connect to a nitrogen
pressure swing adsorption (PSA)
generator, pure compressed air is
readily supplied. Nitrogen prohibits
further wine fermentation and the
formation of bacteria and mould
in the bottle, preserving the high
quality and taste even over a lengthy
ageing process. In applications like
decanting wine, this is advantageous.
COLD PRESERVATION AND HPP
In recent years, the food and beverage
industry has experienced a notable
change in consumer demand for
fresh, healthy and natural products,
without the use of harmful additives
for preservation. Notably, the
COVID-19 pandemic has also upended
the cold chain logistics sector with
massive changes in operations, supply
chains and regulations. In South East
Asia, the growing urban population
and changing consumer perception
have boosted refrigerated storage
and transport. As the distribution of
food products shifts from traditional
markets to supermarkets and
convenience stores, many consumers
are becoming more discriminating
with their food purchases in terms
of naturalness and degree of
processing. With meat and poultry,
shoppers are drawn to fresh-frozen
raw poultry, minimally processed
prepared frozen or RTE meals and
meats with natural, organic or freefrom
claims and longer shelf life.
Many of us are familiar with hummus,
a light-yellow paste that is often
used as a dip. It is also popular
among those seeking healthier
alternatives. Unlike most brands
that blend their hummus while
the chickpeas are still hot, Ithaca
Hummus cools the chickpeas and
blends their hummus cold to keep
the ingredients fresh. As one of
America's fastest-growing hummus
brands, the company uses fresh
ingredients, such as cold-pressed
lemon juice and fresh garlic, in
conjunction with high pressure
processing (HPP), a cold preservation
method to maintain the freshness
and home-made characteristics,
without the need for heat. HPP
helps to eliminate acidifiers and
preservatives, extend the shelf
life of the products, inactivate
pathogenic bacteria responsible for
spoilage, and reduce food waste.
The company has added several
flavours to their range, including
dill pickle-flavoured hummus.
PRESERVING THE FUTURE
As developers progress with creating
naturally preserved products that
are comparable to conventionally
preserved foods, a better
understanding of the shelf-life
expectations of naturally preserved
foods will be paramount as the
applications of natural shelf-life
extenders increase across all
food manufacturing categories.
For example, processors shifting
to plant-based and other natural
preservatives, controls during
shipment and storage will be
required to maintain the integrity
of finished products, as some
natural preservatives are more
susceptible to temperature and
environmental fluctuations.
Just as important is the need for
increased consumer education
around the capabilities and
shortcomings of clean-label
preservatives and shelf-life
extenders. Today’s consumers are
savvy and they value brands that
meet their labelling desires upfront,
with no surprises or gimmicks.
“All it takes is a few taps on a
smartphone to figure out if a
food product is clean. Food
manufacturers and processors
have to overcome the challenge
to meet the growing consumer
demand for natural and cleanlabel
products — without
sacrificing the finished products’
flavour, appearance or shelf life,”
Amunugama reiterated. FBA
FOOD & BEVERAGE ASIA JUNE / JULY 2022