Storage and conservation of food has always been a major challenge to feed mankind in times of shortage. Man has always proven very ingenious to come up with efficient, surprising and innovative ways to do that.

400,000 BC – Drying

Used by prehistoric men when they realised that the fires burning in their caves smoke-dried the meat and that dried fruit did not.

8,000 BC – Fermentation

Used by the Sumerians for bread, beer and wine.

1^st century – Ice & snow

The Romans wrapped fish for transportation.

1^st century – Curing

Used in Rome too, salt was used as a preservative. Brine was also used to preserve meat and vegetables.

1790 – Appertisation

Nicholas Appert invents sterilisation and the first heremetic cans.

1900s – Ionising radiation

Exposing food to electromagnetic radiation improves their conservation qualities. The first patents were issued in 1905.

1910s – Refrigerating

The first domestic electric refrigerator was invented in 1913.

1920 – Freezing

In 1923 Clarence Birdseye comes up with an invention to freeze first fish, then meat and vegetables. The first domestic freezers appeared after 1960.

1960s – Vacuum packing

This technique removes all air from the packaging was applied to cooking by Georges Pralus.

1970s – UHT

The ultra heat temperature technique is still used to sterilise milk.

1980s – Membrane filters

The food industry started to use this particle separation technique to improve food stability and security.

Under development

• Pulsed electric fields - Food is exposed to intense and very brief electric impulsions.
• Pulsed magnetic fields – Magnetic pulses provoke collisions between water particles that make the temperature rise immediately.
• Pulsed light – Food is exposed to intense flashes of ultra-violet, infra-red and visible light which turn into energy with an anti-microbial effect.