Shelf-stable food (sometimes ambient food) is

food Food is any substance consumed by an organism for Nutrient, nutritional support. Food is usually of plant, animal, or Fungus, fungal origin and contains essential nutrients such as carbohydrates, fats, protein (nutrient), proteins, vitamins, ...

of a type that can be safely stored at room temperature in a sealed container. This includes foods that would normally be stored

refrigerated Refrigeration is any of various types of cooling of a space, substance, or system to lower and/or maintain its temperature below the ambient one (while the removed heat is ejected to a place of higher temperature).IIR International Dictionary of ...

, but which have been processed so that they can be safely stored at room or

ambient temperature Room temperature, colloquially, denotes the range of air temperatures most people find comfortable indoors while dressed in typical clothing. Comfortable temperatures can be extended beyond this range depending on humidity, air circulation, and ...

for a usefully long

shelf life Shelf life is the length of time that a commodity may be stored without becoming unfit for use, consumption, or sale. In other words, it might refer to whether a commodity should no longer be on a pantry shelf (unfit for use), or no longer on a s ...

. Various

food preservation Food preservation includes processes that make food more resistant to microorganism growth and slow the redox, oxidation of fats. This slows down the decomposition and rancidification process. Food preservation may also include processes that in ...

and

packaging Packaging is the science, art and technology of enclosing or protecting products for distribution, storage, sale, and use. Packaging also refers to the process of designing, evaluating, and producing packages. Packaging can be described as a coo ...

techniques are used to extend a food's shelf life. Decreasing the amount of

available water In food science, water activity (''aw'') of a food is the ratio of its vapor pressure to the vapor pressure of water at the same temperature, both taken at equilibrium. Pure water has a water activity of one. Put another way, ''aw'' is the equil ...

in a product, increasing its acidity, or

irradiating Irradiation is the process by which an object is exposed to radiation. An irradiator is a device used to expose an object to radiation, most often gamma radiation, for a variety of purposes. Irradiators may be used for sterilizing medical and p ...

or otherwise sterilizing the food and then sealing it in an

air-tight A hermetic seal is any type of seal (mechanical), sealing that makes a given object airtight (preventing the passage of air, oxygen, or other gases). The term originally applied to airtight container glass, glass containers but, as technology ad ...

container are all ways of depriving

bacteria Bacteria (; : bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one Cell (biology), biological cell. They constitute a large domain (biology), domain of Prokaryote, prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micr ...

of suitable conditions in which to thrive. All of these approaches can extend a food's shelf life, often without unacceptably changing its taste or texture. For some foods, alternative ingredients can be used. Common

oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) and lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturate ...

s and

fat In nutrition science, nutrition, biology, and chemistry, fat usually means any ester of fatty acids, or a mixture of such chemical compound, compounds, most commonly those that occur in living beings or in food. The term often refers specif ...

s become rancid relatively quickly if not refrigerated; replacing them with

hydrogenated oil Fat hydrogenation is the process of combining unsaturated fat with hydrogen in order to partially or completely convert it into saturated fat. Typically this hydrogenation is done with liquid vegetable oils resulting in solid or semi-solid fats. ...

s delays the onset of rancidity, increasing shelf life. This is a common approach in industrial

food production The food industry is a complex, global network of diverse businesses that supplies most of the food consumed by the World population, world's population. The food industry today has become highly diversified, with manufacturing ranging from sm ...

, but concerns about

health hazard A hazard is a potential source of harm. Substances, events, or circumstances can constitute hazards when their nature would potentially allow them to cause damage to health, life, property, or any other interest of value. The probability of that ...

s associated with

trans fat Trans fat is a type of unsaturated fat that occurs in foods. Small amounts of trans fats occur naturally, but large amounts are found in some processed foods made with partially hydrogenated oils. Because consumption of trans fats is associated ...

s have led to their strict control in several jurisdictions. Even where trans fats are not prohibited, in many places there are new labeling laws (or rules), which require information to be printed on packages, or to be published elsewhere, about the amount of trans fat contained in certain products.

Packaging

Package sterility and seal integrity are vital for commercially packaged shelf-stable food products. With flexible packaging (plastic films, foils, laminates, etc), the choice of materials and process conditions are an important decision for

packaging engineer Packaging engineering, also package engineering, packaging technology and packaging science, is a broad topic ranging from design conceptualization to product placement. All steps along the manufacturing process, and more, must be taken into ...

s. All aspects of food production, package filling and sealing must be tightly controlled and meet regulatory requirements. Uniformity, sterility and other requirements are needed to maintain

good manufacturing practices Current good manufacturing practices (cGMP) are those conforming to the guidelines recommended by relevant agencies. Those agencies control the authorization and licensing of the manufacture and sale of food and beverages, cosmetics, pharmaceutic ...

. Product safety management is vital. A complete

quality management system A quality management system (QMS) is a collection of business processes focused on consistently meeting customer requirements and enhancing their satisfaction. It is aligned with an organization's purpose and strategic direction ( ISO 9001:2015). ...

must be in place.

Verification and validation Verification and validation (also abbreviated as V&V) are independent procedures that are used together for checking that a product, service, or system meets requirements and specification (technical standard), specifications and that it fulf ...

involves collecting documentary evidence of all aspects of compliance. Quality assurance extends beyond the packaging operations through distribution.

Examples

Canning and bottling

Commercial

canning Canning is a method of food preservation in which food is processed and sealed in an airtight container (jars like Mason jars, and steel and tin cans). Canning provides a shelf life that typically ranges from one to five years, although under ...

involves cooking food and sealing it in sterilized

tin can A steel can, tin can, tin (especially in British English, Australian English, Canadian English and South African English), or can is a container made of thin metal, for distribution or storage of goods. Some cans are opened by removing the to ...

s. Home canning (or ''bottling'') uses glass jars, such as

Kilner jar A Kilner jar is a rubber-sealed, glass jar used for preserving ( bottling) food. It was first produced in 1900 by John Kilner & Co., Yorkshire, England. History The Kilner Jar was originally invented by John Kilner (1792–1857) and associa ...

s or

Mason jar A Mason jar, also known as a canning jar, preserves jar or fruit jar, is a glass jar used in home canning to food preservation, preserve food. It was named after American tinsmith John Landis Mason, who patented it in 1858. The jar's mouth has a ...

s, and

boiling Boiling or ebullition is the rapid phase transition from liquid to gas or vapor, vapour; the reverse of boiling is condensation. Boiling occurs when a liquid is heated to its boiling point, so that the vapour pressure of the liquid is equal to ...

the containers to sterilize the contents.

Retort pouch

Retort pouches involve heat processing the food in sterilized heat-stable flexible packages. This is used for

camping food Camping food is food brought on or designed for camping, hiking, and Backpacking (hiking), backpacking trips. The term also encompasses ingredients that can be used to make said foods. The primary differences relate to campers' and backpackers' s ...

and military

field ration A field ration is a type of prepackaged military ration designed to be easily and quickly prepared and consumed in the field, in combat, at the front line, or where eating facilities are otherwise unavailable. Field rations are primarily used ...

Ranch dressing

The first shelf-stable formulation of

ranch dressing Ranch dressing is a savory, creamy American salad dressing usually made from buttermilk, salt, garlic, onion, black pepper, and herbs (commonly chives, parsley and dill), mixed into a sauce based on mayonnaise or another oil emulsion. Sour cre ...

, created in 1983, had a shelf life of 150 days.

Milk products

Pasteurized milk In food processing, pasteurization ( also pasteurisation) is a process of food preservation in which packaged foods (e.g., milk and fruit juices) are treated with mild heat, usually to less than , to eliminate pathogens and extend shelf life. ...

in aseptically processed cartons (such as

Tetra Brik Tetra Brik is a brand name for a carton package produced by the Swedish packaging company Tetra Pak. Its shape is cubic or cuboid, and it is available with or without various different caps. The Tetra Brik is the best-known and most sold package ...

) is shelf-stable without refrigeration.

Fruit juice

Fruit juice can be processed with proper pasteurization to allow shelf-stable options.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shelf Stable Food Food preservation Food packaging