In the
food processingFood processing is the set of methods and techniques used to transform raw ingredients into food or to transform food into other forms for consumption by humans or animals either in the home or by the food processing industry...
industry a
shelf stable food product is one normally stored refrigerated which has been altered so that it can be safely stored in a sealed container at room or ambient temperature for a usefully long
shelf lifeShelf life is the length of time that food, drink, medicine and other perishable items are given before they are considered unsuitable for sale or consumption...
. For instance, the first shelf stable formulation of
ranch dressingRanch dressing is a condiment made of buttermilk or sour cream, mayonnaise, minced green onion, garlic powder, and other seasonings mixed into a sauce. Ranch dressing is one of the two most popular styles of salad dressing in the United States, together with Italian dressing...
, created in 1983, had a shelf life of 150 days
http://www.slate.com/id/2123991/.
Various
food preservationFood preservation is the process of treating and handling food to stop or greatly slow down spoilage caused or accelerated by micro-organisms. Some methods, however, use benign bacteria, yeasts or fungi to add specific qualities and to preserve food...
and packaging techniques are used to extend a food's shelf life.
In the
food processingFood processing is the set of methods and techniques used to transform raw ingredients into food or to transform food into other forms for consumption by humans or animals either in the home or by the food processing industry...
industry a
shelf stable food product is one normally stored refrigerated which has been altered so that it can be safely stored in a sealed container at room or ambient temperature for a usefully long
shelf lifeShelf life is the length of time that food, drink, medicine and other perishable items are given before they are considered unsuitable for sale or consumption...
. For instance, the first shelf stable formulation of
ranch dressingRanch dressing is a condiment made of buttermilk or sour cream, mayonnaise, minced green onion, garlic powder, and other seasonings mixed into a sauce. Ranch dressing is one of the two most popular styles of salad dressing in the United States, together with Italian dressing...
, created in 1983, had a shelf life of 150 days
http://www.slate.com/id/2123991/.
Various
food preservationFood preservation is the process of treating and handling food to stop or greatly slow down spoilage caused or accelerated by micro-organisms. Some methods, however, use benign bacteria, yeasts or fungi to add specific qualities and to preserve food...
and packaging techniques are used to extend a food's shelf life. Decreasing the amount of
available waterWater activity is a dimensionless quantity used to represent the energy status of the water in a system. It is defined as the vapor pressure of water above a sample divided by that of pure water at the same temperature; therefore, pure distilled water has a water activity of exactly one...
in a product, increasing its acidity, or
irradiatingFood irradiation is the process of exposing food to ionizing radiation to destroy microorganisms, bacteria, viruses, or insects that might be present in the food. Further applications include sprout inhibition, delay of ripening, increase of juice yield, and improvement of re-hydration...
or otherwise sterilizing the food and then sealing it in an air-tight container, can all extend a food's shelf life without unacceptably changing its taste or texture.
http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/qa-sto6.html
For some foods alternative ingredients can be used. Common
oilAn oil is any substance that is liquid at ambient temperatures and is hydrophobic but soluble in organic solvents. Oils have a high carbon and hydrogen content and are nonpolar substances. The general definition above includes compound classes with otherwise unrelated chemical structures,...
s and
fatFats consist of a wide group of compounds that are generally soluble in organic solvents and largely insoluble in water. Chemically, fats are generally triesters of glycerol and fatty acids. Fats may be either solid or liquid at normal room temperature, depending on their structure and composition...
s become
rancidRancidification is the chemical decomposition of fats, oils and other lipids. There are three basic types of rancidity. Hydrolytic rancidity occurs when water splits fatty acid chains away from the glycerol backbone in glycerides. Oxidative rancidity occurs when the double bonds of an unsaturated...
relatively quickly if not refrigerated; replacing them with
trans fatTrans fat is the common name for unsaturated fat with trans-isomer fatty acid. Trans fats may be monounsaturated or polyunsaturated but never saturated.Unsaturated fat is a fat molecule, containing one or more double bonds between the carbon atoms...
s (when trans fats are not banned), delays the onset of rancidity - increasing shelf life. This approach was common in industrial-scale factory production in many countries, but research results on the health hazards of trans fats in human diets has made them unacceptable and they are being or already have been banned in many jurisdictions.