Innovation in the culinary Industry

Science always surprises us. Although technology seems confusing to those of us who are not experts, we all use it. Technological advances have constantly helped us progress as a society and make our daily lives easier, and the gastronomic world is not the exception. From the use of motors in blenders and processors, the ingenious design of tools such as peelers and strainers, the amazing dynamics of ovens and freezers, to the greatness of the preservation processes.

(Illustration by Teeturtle)

What is the problem with food?

The food is great, I love eating, and I love cooking. However, there are two big problems with the food.

First, in order to be alive, we have to eat, (Just in case you don't know), and if we want our lives to be good, we have to eat healthy food.

Second, the food spoils. Sadly, over 90% of the food we need goes bad quickly. This is because the bacteria and micro-organisms that are in the food reproduce and end up turning our source of vitality into something harmful.

(Imagen from Theconversation.com)

Preservation, innovation, necessity, and science

For me, preservation methods are without a doubt one of the oldest and constantly most innovative technologies in the food industry. Using science and technology to extend shelf life without compromising the taste or quality of food is the biggest concern of food producers all around the world. This has been an ongoing problem since time immemorial with ancient and modern solutions such as canning, dehydration, fermentation, pickling, smoke or salt curing, pasteurization and even adding questionable chemicals as preservatives.

(Imagen from Thedreampage.com 2011)

HPP Food Under Pressure

HPP or High-pressure processing is an innovative method of non-thermal food preservation, which uses pressure to eliminate the presence of microorganisms harmful to health, and simultaneously preserve the flavor, texture, and nutrients of the food. HPP process introduces foods sealed in packaging into a high isostatic pressure environment (300-600 MPa). Which is six times more pressure than can be found at the base of the Mariana Trench, the deepest part of the ocean. That is a lot of pressure!.

(Illustration from ThyssenKrupp Industrial Solutions 2019)

The future is today

This amazing process was invented by French scientist Blaise Pascal during the 17th century. However, this process was not brought to market until the 1990s, because the technology at that time wasn't enough. However, today is a reality, it sounds crazy, but this food has gone through a level of pressure that no one could survive, and still be intact and delicious. After the hard work of the scientist and engineers developers of this technology, now we can already consume foods that have been packaged using HPP. In Canada, it is no longer a novel process given that there is sufficient knowledge and data available supporting that HPP can be safely applied to food, so you have probably already tried HPP-preserved food. (Inspection.canada.ca)

(Imagen from Hiperbaric.com 2018)

How High Pressure benefits the culinary industry?

Safety.

As cooks, we have many responsibilities first of all to ensure the safety of food production, and HPP eliminates most bacteria and microorganisms that spoil our food, which means we can reduce foodborne diseases. Each year worldwide, unsafe food causes 600 million cases of foodborne diseases and 420 000 deaths and 1 of 10 people fall ill after eating contaminated food. (WHO 2021).

Nutrition.

We also have to offer healthy and nutritious food for our customers. There is nothing better than fresh, organic, seasonal food. However, it is not always possible to use fresh ingredients, because of pricing or geographical position, access to nutritious food became a privilege that not everyone has. High-Pressure Processing respects the sensorial and nutritional properties of food, because the process doesn't use heat treatment, and maintains its original freshness without the necessity to use irradiation or chemical preservatives in the process.

Sustainability.

One of the saddest parts of the food industry is that we produce more food than is used. Just in the US, food waste is 30 to 40 percent of the Food produced, which is almost HALF. If we can help to stop food waste by increasing the shelf life of the food that we are producing in the industry some big changes can be done for good.

Quality.

Finally, as cooks, we all want to offer the best quality to our customers. Having the opportunity to cook with culturally appropriate ingredients that can be brought from all over the world is exciting, but having these ingredients with all the nutritional value, the flavors, colors, and texture as the same in their country of origin is a fantasy. If I start a Taqueria in Canada, thinking of the possibility to get a nice avocado pulp, handmade chorizo, lime juice, and huitlacoche no matter the season of the year is very exciting.

(Imagen from Hiperbaric.com 2018)

Citations:

Estimating the burden of foodborne diseases. (2021, December 1). WHO. https://www.who.int/activities/estimating-the-burden-of-foodborne-diseases#:%7E:text=Each%20year%20worldwide%2C%20unsafe%20food,under%205%20years%20of%20age.

Foods treated with high-pressure processing (HPP) - Canadian Food Inspection Agency. (2022). Inspection Canada. https://inspection.canada.ca/preventive-controls/high-pressure-processing/eng/1498504011314/1498504256677

McFadden, C. (2020, June 11). 11 Innovations That Could Build the Food of the Future. Interesting Engeenering. https://interestingengineering.com/11-innovations-that-could-build-the-food-of-the-future

HPP - What is HPP? (2016, February 5). [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_2Wc1a0x7U&t=87s

Benneter, K. (2016, November 15). HPP: Culinary Meets Tech. 2016–11-15 | Prepared Foods. https://www.preparedfoods.com/articles/119040-hpp-culinary-meets-tech