Just In Time Best Practices On Food Safety
New Allies In Your War Against Waste
It's always been a race against time. Primitive humans had only one strategy available to them; gather everyone around the fresh kill and gobble up every morsel they could possibly cram in, before the meat had a chance to spoil.
Along the way, we discovered substances, like salt and various spices, that act to slow the inevitable decay. Jump ahead to modern day, and we're now armed with the knowledge that by controlling the environment in which meat is stored-- temperature, humidity and the amount of oxygen-- we can temporarily delay spoilage, while maintaining the original taste, texture, and nutrients.
The latter was a giant leap forward. Today, the food manufacturing industry stands on the verge of an equally significant leap-- this time aided by scientific advancements. These technological changes will, naturally, have a dramatic impact on food waste costs and food safety. Perhaps it will even change the methods we use to prepare food in our restaurants' kitchens.
There's a lot at stake here. Every year, millions of Americans contract a food-borne illness. What's more, the public has become much more savvy about this reality. Now toss in the millions in food dollars that are wasted due to spoilage, in just the restaurant industry alone. Together, that adds up to enormous potential profits. It's easy to see why so many companies are rushing to perfect their methods and technologies, in an attempt to control the board early on.
As in the past, the focus of these new methods is in creating an environment that unfriendly bacteria, yeasts and molds find uninhabitable. Here's a brief overview of just a few of the leading contenders-- If their industry sales reps aren't already trying to slip their foot in your door, they will be soon:
Vacuum Packing and Modified Atmospheres
Wrap it nice and snug, suck out the oxygen, and those nasty critters that can make us sick have a hard time flourishing. There's even a collection of gases that you can pump into the packages that will make it all the more inhospitable.
This is hardly new technology-- although it's been refined over the years. And thanks to the recent popularity of Sous Vide cooking methods, more and more walk-in shelves are laden with those plastic packages with their telltale wrinkled, collapsed wrapping.
What's on the horizon? Sealing wraps containing antioxidants in the plastic have been developed that can extend the shelf life of meats by an additional two to three days. Several companies are currently in the process of bringing them to the marketplace.
Dipped In Eatable Plastic
Love the vacuum pack concept, but don't want to hassle with the pesky plastic waste? A new technology on the horizon might be just what the doctor ordered!
Researchers are working on various new plastic compounds that are colorless, odorless and reportedly non-toxic. Most are designed to dissolve away, usually in boiling water, and any trace plastic left on the food is eatable.
Yanyun Zhao and Mark Daeschel, for instance, have developed a liquid plastic that is intended to completely coat the outside of a food product. They claim it can double the shelf life of many products. The two Oregon State University professors create the substance from proteins derived from egg whites and the shells of shellfish, and say it has the added bonus of possessing naturally-occurring properties that microbes find inhospitable.
Neither the U.S. Department of Agriculture nor the Food & Drug Administration have yet signed off on its safety. But that reportedly hasn't stopped such industry giants as ConAgra, Greenpac, and the pharmaceutical company, Fordras, from expressing great financial interest in Zhao and Daeschel's research.
Nature's Arsenal of Antimicrobials
Fish preserved in a lemon-juice gelatin glaze, chicken stored in a soy sauce bath, acidic marinades that retard spoilage in fish; Since day one, cooks have found a bounty of substances in nature's pantry that have helped them stave off invading armies of microbes.
Longtime allies like salt-based brines, for instance, greatly extend the shelf-life of meat, fish, poultry and vegetables. They work by pulling out moisture between the food product's cells, and replacing it with inhospitable salt. The downside of this process, like most replacement methods, is that it changes original flavor and texture dramatically.
Peppers, both sweet and hot, will curb the growth of many forms of bacteria, help slow damaging oxidation, and can help maintain the color of meat. Studies have shown they can even extend the shelf life of beef by as much as four to 16 days! Researchers have also garnered positive results from the use of sodium citrate buffered with citric acid, polylactic acid, and sodium L-lactate. And KMs and chefs have long relied on garlic, horseradish and onions for their ability to retard spoilage.
Irradiation ("Cold Pasteurization")
High-energy, ionizing radiation kills microbes before the food products even show up on your loading dock. Although it doesn't eradicate everything, few dispute the powerful effectiveness of this method. But whether or not it should be used is a matter of great controversy.
While the technology has existed for some time now, as an industry it is still in its infancy. There are three very distinct types of methods that will compete for dominance in the marketplace; and until standardization emerges, costs will remain high.
In a nutshell, one method involves the use of radioactive gamma rays, a second uses concentrated electron beams, and the third is an X-ray technique that is still being developed. Both the first and third methods require heavy shielding to protect technicians; in the case of the gamma ray method, massive concrete walls are necessary. However, neither process give off neutrons, so equipment and products are not left radioactive.
The method involving electron beams is similar to the technology used inside TV tubes. There is little risk to workers, so the facilities are relatively inexpensive; and that should keep costs down. The downside is that the beams can only reliably penetrate a couple of inches deep into food.
The technology exists. But whether or not the public will accept that they have nothing to fear from irradiated food, is a different matter. Most experts in the field declare that it's safe, and believe that it's only a matter of educating the public before they eventually come around.
But it's worthwhile remembering that a growing segment of the population has become skeptical of government and big business assurances of safety. There's a sense shared by many that they've been misled too many times; and that, in a world run by powerful interest groups, distrust is the safest course of action.
Consumers are increasingly wary of factory-style livestock raising, pesticide residue, and the use of hormones and antibiotics. At the same time, sales of organic produce-- and anything with "free-range" or "cage-free" stamped on the label-- have exceeded demand. Given these market trends, proponents of food irradiation certainly have an uphill battle ahead.
|
