Food Quality
Some have suggested that the reason they don’t need OmniFresh is that they turn food over so quickly, once received, it doesn’t have time to spoil. It’s true; the distribution – preparation – delivery pipeline moves very quickly in most cases. But, foods deteriorate at a relatively constant rate and continue until it is consumed or disintegrates. The clock starts ticking at harvest. It continues to run through processing, packing, transportation, distribution and storage.
How flavourful and healthy the food you eat is, is primarily dependent on where it is in that continual process of deterioration when you eat it.
It stands to reason that anything that can be done to slow the ripening and spoilage process in fresh foods will make the food you eat taste better and remain more healthful whenever you eat it. Refrigeration, for example, has no purpose in food storage but to extend the useful shelf life of fresh and prepared foods. But, as we know, refrigeration alone has some serious limitations. Among these are dehydration through acceleration of natural water activity and biological contamination resulting from liquid water being blown around a cooler then collecting on produce with microbes attached.
In the graph (below), the vertical axis represents the “Useful Shelf Life” remaining in food stored or transported under proper refrigeration. We assume that there is a “Last-Use Point” beyond which food is so deteriorated that it is unappetizing at least and may be unsafe to consume fresh or to cook with. There is an earlier stage when food becomes sufficiently unattractive, unpalatable or potentially dangerous (if eaten fresh) it can, only, be used to cook with in soups, etc. The range between when the food is received and the point at which its use is limited to ingredients for recipes represents the period during which the foods may be served fresh: meaning they are still appetizing, firm, attractive, retain their natural texture and are safe to consume (without being processed).
We can debate exactly where these three “use and scrap” brackets fall; but, not that they do exist. And, the slope of the timeline on the chart may be shorter or longer depending on which food we’re talking about, how fresh it was when received, what it’s been stored or transported with and how it was treated between harvest and delivery.
Pick any point on the (red) line representing “Normal Spoilage” of a given foodstuff and make a mark. From that mark extend a line vertically until it intersects the (green) line representing deterioration in food stored in a space treated with ShelfLife™ . The length of that line represents the quality improvement in the food at that time.
If you picked the point where the red line crosses into the “Use for cooking only” bracket (line 1) you will notice that with OmniFresh you could still be serving the product fresh. If you picked the point where the red line crosses into the “scrap / waste” bracket (line 2) you would, still, be able to serve most OmniFresh protected produce fresh. Everything to the right line 2 is added useful shelf life. (Notes-2)
Long after natural ripening or shrinkage would force you to throw most unprotected food into the stock pot or the bin, you will still be serving it fresh and safely with OmniFresh in the cooler.
Most importantly, no matter when or how you serve it, your finished product will be safer, healthier and more appetizing – food will retain a larger portion of the original quality it had when you received it, “…for vastly extended periods.” (Notes-4)
So far, we haven’t discovered how to stop the natural processes of ripening and spoilage without damaging the food. We dehydrate it, cook it, freeze it, or irradiate it to try to stop the process. All these technologies work well in certain applications. In the process, they all impose a huge price on freshness, palatability, packaging, and processing cost. We do know, however, how to slow the natural process way down without affecting any of the factors that keep food tasting good, safe and good for us both emotionally and physically.
Applications
It should be obvious that if the natural deterioration timeline of fresh foods can be extended, by any means, the safety and quality of the food will be better. This is true regardless of the point on the timeline at which this intervention takes place or, when it is consumed or used as a cooking ingredient. Further, if the point at which it becomes unsafe and turns into scrap can be extended, you won’t throw so much of it away. We know this. That is why we spent countless dollars to refrigerate it. But what else can we do?
Dr. John Roberts, PhD., has stated that accelerated deterioration of fresh food is much more a mechanical (rather than purely biological) process. It starts at harvest as a result of loss of internal water and continues in a predictable, straight, line (as shown below). This will happen in any event. But the slope of the line can be changed if water migration (or, loss) can be controlled. (Notes-1)
OmniFresh have demonstrated a singular ability to manage the natural environmental systems which contribute most directly to the deterioration and spoilage of foods within refrigerated spaces.
Notes
- Dr. John Roberts, PhD., is Professor of Food Science at Cornell University, Geneva Research and Demonstration Centre and has written widely on the importance of water loss and mechanical systems to food safety and spoilage issues.
- This graph is an illustration only and although it does reflect portions of the empirical data found on our website, it is not intended to reflect actual OmniFresh performance relative to any specific food or application.