Newsroom

CORVALLIS, Ore. - Pioneering research at Oregon State University has helped develop the use of high-pressure processing technology for a whole range of new food products that are ready for both mainstream shoppers at their local grocery store and new taste treats for NASA astronauts in space.

The fresher taste, improved texture and natural color made possible by this technology is now taking by storm the world's commercial food industry, following almost 20 years of research in university labs. The concept represents one of the leading breakthroughs in food processing since the advent of canning more than two centuries ago, scientists say.

A steady stream of new products, ranging from raw oysters to cheese and lunchmeat, may soon be showing up on grocers' shelves featuring the use of high pressure to kill bacteria and greatly extend the shelf life of many foods while providing an unusually high quality, flavor and appearance.

"Refrigeration is a limited way of preserving foods, and the heat used in canning and other types of food preservation is very detrimental to the color, flavor or texture of many foods - it really abuses the product," said Lisbeth Goddik, an Extension dairy processing specialist at OSU. "What more and more people are looking for are safe, preserved foods that look, feel and taste like they are fresh."

That's now possible, researchers say, using what at first appeared to be a scientific curiosity and then developed into a valuable new technology - the ability of incredibly high pressures to kill undesirable bacteria while leaving a food product largely intact.

The pressures produced in these special stainless-steel cylinders are enormous, up to 100,000 pounds per square inch. That's six times more pressure than is exerted at the deepest portion of the world's oceans, the 35,838-foot-deep Marianas Trench. This amount of pressure kills bacteria in food kept at these pressures for a few minutes, including such notorious concerns as salmonella and E. coli.

Studies began at OSU about a decade ago in this field under the direction of Daniel Farkas. He is now widely viewed as the "father" of high-pressure processing and was recently honored, largely for work in this area, with a lifetime achievement award by the Institute of Food Technologists.

Some of the early supporters of research in this area included the U.S. Department of Defense, which was looking for ways to provide better-tasting field rations that could be stored for long periods of time at room temperature. From that research in OSU labs came spaghetti, Spanish rice and other types of meals that could last for years. These products are still being studied and considered by the military.

Even more recently, NASA became interested in the potential of this technology to provide high quality, shelf-stable dairy products for astronauts in the Space Shuttle or International Space Station, where refrigeration capabilities are limited.

"We've just finished the development of a creamy, thick yogurt with different types of fruit in it that's quite good, a very high quality," said Marcia Walker, a doctoral candidate at OSU. "We've delivered 600 packets of it to NASA where it's being tested for taste and longevity, and it's quite possible this product will soon be used by astronauts in space."

Back on Earth, however, the usage of this technology is more imminent. Most grocery stores already carry a high-pressure preserved guacamole product, which is extremely difficult to preserve with any other technology because of changes in color.

Another booming development is in oysters - high pressure, it appears, not only kills the bacteria in raw oysters but also can shuck them at the same time, a processor's dream. As a mechanism for providing safe-to-eat raw oysters that are increasingly popular, the high pressure technique is already helping to spawn a new industry.

Pressure-processed orange juice lasts a long time and tastes like it's fresh squeezed. And a "fajita kit" is under development to provide all the favorite ingredients for meat fajitas that taste fresh and crisp.

"There's no reason now that these evolving products shouldn't find success in mainstream groceries," Walker said. "We figure, for instance, you can pressure-process a pound of fruit for 18 cents. So there will be some added costs to creating new types of products with this technology, but many consumers are willing to pay a little more for a fresh, higher quality taste and appearance in processed foods."

There are also safety advantages that should provide product niches, Walker said. Processed meats such as hot dogs or lunchmeat often face food safety concerns, and this high-pressure technology offers a new way to make such refrigerated foods last longer and eliminate any risk of food-born illness. Better tasting cheeses that are quicker to produce could be possible. And specialty products could evolve for things like school lunch boxes, opening up some new food opportunities that previously would have required refrigeration.

The OSU research could create some new options for the Oregon agriculture and food processing industries, experts say. All of the work so far in OSU labs has been done with Oregon food products, including the yogurt base for the NASA product from Sunshine Dairy Foods in Portland.

As the products move into the mainstream, Walker said she's moving with them.

"I'm finishing up my doctorate at OSU," Walker said. "And I just accepted a job as head of research and development for the leading company in the nation doing work in high-pressure processing. This field is going to grow fast."