Food Preservation by Hurdle Technology*
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7 TheLa~PanelPreliminao,Reporl:UK~ComemusConference Mmeum, London,UK on P/antBia~.hno/ob'y 2.-4/~vember 1994 (19e;4), p. 3, 5cier,ce 10 Me::~l,~ (Ig94) New ..¢ci.144, 4 Museum,london, UK 11 Tbe Lay PanelPre/~inary Repon: UK ~ Comemm Con[erence 8 ll~l.ayPanelPrelimiraryRelx~:UKNat~lCow*~em~ on tVanCB~tec~ 2-4 ~1994 (1994),p.12, Sd~nce on l~antBiotec~ 2-4 Novend~1994 (1994),p. 8, Sciew'_e Maxseum,Londen, UK Museum,London, UK 12 Z-lo~dlxxe~tCozTm~egeOorton~ege~ui~o~d~Ug 9 ~ Lay PanelPreliminary Report: UK NationalConsensus Conference on PlantBiofechno~ 2-4 November1994 (1994), p. 10, Science (1993), HMSO,London, UK Review Food preservation Hurdle technology was developed several years ago as a new concept for the production of safe, stable, nutritious, tasty by hurdle technology* and economical foods. It advocates the intelligent use of combinations of different preservation factors or techniques ('hurdles') in order to achieve multi-target, mild but reliable preservation effects. Attractive applications have been ident- Lothar Leistnerand Leon G.M. Gorris ified in many food areas. The present article briefly intro- duces the concept of hurdle technology, presents potential applications and gives details on a recently concluded study concerned with this topic and to which scientists from vative factors (hurdles) that any mict~3rganisms l~esent 11 European countries have contributed. should not be able to overcomet~-6. These hmdles may be temperatm~, water activity (a,), pH, redox potential, preservatives, and soon. It requites a cena~ amonnt of effort from a micromganism to overcome each hurdle. The 'higher" the hurdle, the greater the effort (i.e. the The spoilage and poisoning of foods by micrnorgenisms larger tbe number of orgenisms ueeded to overeome it). is a problem that is not yet under adequate control, Some hurdles, like pasteurization, can be high for a despite the range of preservation techniques available large number of different types of (e.g. freezing, blanching, pasteurizing and canning). In whereas others, like salt content, have a less strong fact, the current Consumer demand for more natural and effect or the effect is limited in the range of types of fresh-like foods, which urges food m~nufactorers to use microorganisms it effects. only mild preservation techniques (e.g. refrigeration, The fact that a combination of weservafive factors modi~ed-atmosphere packaging and biocoaservation), influences the microbial stability and safety of foods has should make this problem even greater. Thus, for the been known for many centuries. Tbe coueopt is mole or benefit of food manufacturers there is a strong need for less unconsciously used in many traditional foods, es- new or improved mild l~..~-rvation methods that allow pecinlly in the developing countries. It was re-invented for the production c_ fresh-like, but stable and safe some 15 years ago in the meat industry where the con- foods. The concept of hurdle technology is not new but seinus employment of hurdles was found to be highly addresses this need in full '.2. favonrable for the production of shelf-stable sansages2. Hurdle technology (also called combined methods, The concept is now ready to be iatxedueed for u~ with combined processes, combination preservation, combi- a much wider range of food products, including fruits nation techniques or barrier technology) advocates the ve~, t,~-y products, dairy products, fish, deliberate combination of existing and novel preser- and so on. Several novel preservative factors (e.g. vation techniques in order to establish a series of preser- gas packaging, biueooservation, hacterincins,ultraldgh- pressure treatment, edible coatings, etc.) that speciti- *Revised version d an a~icle ~l~ished in 1994 in Vaed/n~m/dde~n- c~lly fucilltate this development have been assessed7. ~chnotog~ 27(21), 15-17 [in Dutch] and AUTECNA4, 17-19 [in Hurdle technology is a crucial concept for the mild Portuguese]. Weservation of foods, as the hm'dles in a stable product concertedly control microbial spoilage and food poison- tear teMner is at the Federal Centre for Meat Research, E.C. Baumannstrasse20, D-95326 Kulmbach, Germany.L,'~ C~M.Gm'fis tag, leaving desiged fennentation processes unaffected. (curespondin8 author) is at the Institm for/~mechnol~.~: Re~,.h Because of their concen~ sometimes synergistic ef- (ATO-DLO), BornseKeeg59, PO Box 17, NL-6700 AA Waseningen,The fect. the individual hurdles may be set at lower intensi- Nethedands(fax: +31-8370-12260; e-mail: L.G~.CORRISt~TOAGRO.NU. ties than would be required if only a single hurdle were Trends in Food Science & Technoto~/FebruaTy 1995 [VoL 6i re.s, ~.~.r sc~e L~ ogZ4-Z2On~Og.SO 41 used as the Weserva~ion tecb~ue. The application of in Fig. la represents a food containing six hat'dles: high ~s co~ ~ ~ven very success~ as en appropd- temperature during processing (F value), low tempera- a~e combin~on of hurdles achieves microb~l stability ture during storage (t value), low water activity (a~), and safety and also stabilizes Ihe sensory, nutritive and acidity (pH) and low redox potential (Ell), as well as eco~n~ ~es of a food~ . preservatives (pres.) in the Im~uct. Some of the micro- organisms present can overcome a number of hurdles r~mp~ of ~hehm~ ef~ but none can jump over all the hurdles used together. A food pgodect is mlcrobiologically stable and safe Thus the food is stable and safe. This example is only a beceme of the presence of a set of hurdles ~ is theorelical case, because all hurdles are depicted as hav- spec~ for t~e pmicu~r product, in terms of the naune ing the same intensity, which is rarely the case in prae- end suengt~ of t~e~r effecL Tog~, t~ese bpadles keep rice. More likely, hurdles are of different intensity, as in spoilage o~ pathogenic n~cmm'g~ms under control the second exemple (see Fig. lb), where a, and preserva- bcca~ Ibee¢ n~moorgmdsms cannot overcome ('jump fives m-e the main hurdles and storage te~, pH over') all of the hm'~es p~.eent. Exmnples of sets of and Eh are minor hurdles. If there are only a few micro- hurdtes are ~lustreted by Figs la-e. The example shown orgadsms l~nt at the smt (see Rg. lc), fewer dilferent i I ~ i s i I s I I ~*~, l/ ~% t" / 4 '," '4 '," aw / s t S • .~, ! i: ,,' , , (c) ,f"'-'"'~ //< I , ,I ,; ~. :,, ', ,' Fiveexamp~ d the hurdleeffect used in food preservation."lEe individual hurdlesmay be encounteredsimultanemJsly or sequentially,depending on the type of hurdle and the overall processing.Symbols have the ~lowing meaning:F, heating;t, chilling; ~, low wmr activity; pH, aciclif'~a~on;Eh, low redoxpo~ial; pres.,presevatives; V, vitamins;N, nu~ents. Seetext ~ordetails. 42 Trends in FoodScience & TechnologyFe~umy 1995 Wol. 6] hurdles or hurdles of lower intensity my echieve stable, innovative food preparations based on tropical microbiological stability. On the other hand, if high and subtropical fruits (peach, pineapple, mango, pep~a, numbers of microorganisms are present owing to poor ete.)to.-. hygienic conditions, the usual set of Mudles may not An overview of ~ of hunl~ that have suffice to prevent spoilage or food poisoning (see eitber been studied or already employed, to date, in a Fig. ld). The example shown in Fig. le is a food rich range of food Weducts is given in Table 1. Ina~ in nutrients and vitamins, which may allow for slum- of recently developed food products, in almost infinite term, strong growth of the microorganisms, and as a sbeff life can be obtaln~ An exami~ of tl~s is cammi result their initial number is increased sharply ('booster peas ram'keted in the UK, in which tbe host-stable effect'). In the examples shown in Figs Id and le, ad- hacterio~ nisin is used as m extra har~L~. Nomad. ditional or higher hurdles are needed to assure product heating and pH reduction m~ the only two hurdles stability. employed, bm these do no~ s~o~.ss the l~mw~ of sw- riving egid-tolerant, spree-forming clostrkUa, wh~h are Ex~ of hm~e~ned ~ completely inhibited by nisin. Using hurdle technology, salami-type fermented saus- ages can be produced that are stable at ambient tempera- Homeo~B a~ hallle ~ ture for extended periods of time. The microbial stab- An impomm phenomenon ~ is cn~ with m- ility is achieved by the use of a combination of hmdles gard to hun~ techaologyis the so-called~ of that are hnportant in different stages of the ripening pro- micmo~|.~m~3. Homeostasis is the constanttendency cess, leading to a stable final product. Important hurdles of micrea~anisms to malnteintho stabilityand balance in the early stage of the ripening process of salami (uniformity)of theirintental environment. For instance, are the preservatives salt and nitrite, which inhibit many although the pH values in different foods may be quite of the hacteda present in the meat hatter. However. variable, ~-. ~ms living in them expend con- other bacteria multiply, u~ up oxygen ~_n,:l thereby siderable effort keeping their internal pH values within cause a drop in Ell, which inhibits aerobic organisms very nawow limits'4. In an acid food, for example, they and favours the selection of lactic acid bac*.eria.The lac- will actively expel ptotom against the pressure of a tic acid bacteria then flourish, causing acidification of passive Woton influx. Another impemm hotucosta~ the product and a decrease in pH. During long ripening mechanism regulates the intenud osmotic pressure of the salami, the various hurdles gradually become (osmohomeostasis). The osmotic strength (which is lower:, nitrite is depleted, the number of lactic acid bac- inversely miated to the a,) of a food is a cngial physicel teria decreases, Eh and pH iucrease.