How Can You Increase The Shelf Life Of A Food Product?

When you are running a food business, it is important to consider the different factors to preserve and extend the shelf life of your products. You will be wondering, "How do companies make food last longer?" You need to make use of the best practices for food storage. 

It is important to know that protecting products is necessary when you are looking to serve customers with fresh, mouth watering food. Moreover, it is important to safeguard your food products to present on shelves and engage potential customers. In this blog post, we will explore different useful sources for increasing the shelf life of products. 

How Can Shelf Life Be Increased?

Which increases the shelf life of food? There are different factors that help you to increase the shelf life of your products. It is economically and environmentally beneficial for your food brand. You need to implement important techniques for the preservation of freshness for a long time. 

Proper Packaging

Packaging has become an important source for preserving the freshness of each food product. Proper packaging protects food from factors such as light, moisture, and oxygen. It means food will remain safe from spoilage. 

The right selection of packaging material offers the ultimate extension for the lifetime of products on the shelves. You can use an airtight container, a custom aluminum foil bag, or a vacuum-sealed bag to prevent microbial growth that can affect shelf life.

Temperature Control

It is important to control the temperature to extend the shelf life of delicious food items. You must remember that cold storage for products always slows down the growth of molds, yeasts, and bacteria to prevent spoilage. It is important to maintain a consistent temperature of 0°C to 4°C for the refrigerated products. 

When you maintain the freezing below -18°C, you will note that the shelf life for your products will be prolonged. Moreover, you must avoid the temperature fluctuations that can affect the food quality. 

Use of Preservatives

It is important to remember that you need to add additional preservatives to prevent the growth of microorganisms. A preservative has become the best way to preserve fruits and vegetables. The familiar preservatives are acidity regulators, antimicrobials, and antioxidants for extending the shelf life of products. 

You can also prefer natural preservation items such as salt and vinegar to prolong the product's life span. Sulfite and sorbic acid are also the best preservatives to enhance the shelf life of each food item.

Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP)

It is a process of modifying the composition of the atmosphere for a food item to ensure the slowest deterioration. This MAP method enables you to replace oxygen with gasses such as carbon dioxide or nitrogen to ensure a controlled environment for your food products. 

It is a useful technique for dairy products, meat, and other fresh products. In MAP, the growth of aerobic bacteria will be slowed down to extend the shelf life in the presence of minimal oxygen level.

Hygiene and Sanitation

How to keep fresh fruit longer? It is very important to ensure hygiene to protect your food products for a long time while reducing the effect of contamination. This approach helps you to extend the shelf life of your valuable food items. 

You need to ensure the surfaces are sanitized with clean equipment to safeguard the food products from pathogens and bacteria. You must take regular inspections to ensure quality control that aligns with safety standards.

Product Formulation

It is important to remember that the formulation of food items can impact their shelf life easily. The presence of ingredients with natural antimicrobial properties can restrict the growth of microbes and enhance the shelf life. Therefore, you must use spices and herbs to prolong the lifetime of your precious food products. 

It is important to optimize the moisture, water activity, and pH level to ensure the stability of products while eliminating spoilage risks. You can collaborate with food researchers and scientists to get the most valuable insights regarding the proper formulation of products to extend their shelf life.

Top Packagings To Increase The Shelf Life Of A Food Product

It is important for you to know about the best packaging boxes to extend the shelf life for your food products. 

Vacuum-Sealed Bags

Vacuum packaging bags prevent the package from air to ensure a slow oxidation process. It is an effective packaging solution for magnificent items such as certain snacks, cheeses, and meats. 

Airtight Containers

An airtight offers fantastic protection against different contaminants such as air and moisture. It can maintain the freshness of food items. These containers are available in different sizes and shapes to become the ideal solutions for storing products such as bakery items, dried fruits, cereals, and grains.  

Barrier Films and Foils

Foils and films have become the perfect source for protecting food products against light, moisture, and oxygen. You can utilize these packaging solutions to avoid food spoilage. Foils and films are important materials in flexible packaging, such as wrappers and pouches, to prevent food from direct contact with moisture and glasses.

Oxygen Absorbers

These are the small packets that contain the different elements, such as iron powder, that react with the oxygen to ensure a vacuum environment for the products. These oxygen absorbers remove the oxygen to prevent microbial growth and extend the shelf life of products. You can use this packaging solution with other packaging methods to ensure extra protection for food products on the shelves.

Tamper-Evident Packaging

It is another packaging solution that helps you to extend the shelf life of your precious food items. A tamper-evident packaging ensures ultimate protection with exceptional maintenance for freshness through preservation from tampering and contamination. 

This packaging includes shrink wraps, bands, or seals to offer a longer lifetime for your products and engage potential customers. You can use this packaging for pre-packed meals and dairy products.