Driven by consumer preference for natural or clean-label products, shelf-life-extending ingredients that are growing continue to be natural or clean-label ingredients. For example, food-grade cultured-dairy- and/or sugar/dextrose-based ingredients along with plant extracts, buffered vinegar and citrus-based products are all growing in use.
“These shelf-life extenders are basically antimicrobials and/or antioxidants that help reduce microbial growth that impacts product safety or reduce the growth of spoilage organisms that impact product quality attributes such as color, flavor and aroma,” explains Wesley Osborn, associate professor of meat processing at Texas A&M University, in College Station. “These ingredients can be added to the product formulation or be applied to the product after it has been thermally processed.”