Freezing technology focusing on liquid nitrogen: Boon or ban to the Food industry

Freezing is one of the oldest methods widely used for food preservation, which allows the retention of taste, texture, and nutritional value in foods better than any method. Way back in 1755, the first-time a small quantity of ice produced without using a ‘natural cold’ was regarded as a milestone and considered as a new beginning in the food industry.

- Sumit Kumar Bansal , Priyanka Kajla and Vandana Chaudhary

In initial days, ice-salt systems were used to preserve fish and meats, later on by the late 1800’s, freezing was introduced into large scale operations as a method of commercial preservation. Meat, fish, and butter were preserved commodities. Fruits were one of the most important commodities for preservation, later on process into jams, jellies, ice-cream, pies etc. Although commercial freezing of small fruits and berries first began around 1905 in the US. Trials were conducted for freezing of vegetables. In 1929, blanching was required as a pre-treatment to inactivate enzymes before freezing to avoid deterioration and off-flavors caused by enzymatic degradation.