This text describes food preservation techniques, with emphasis being placed both on the innovative exploitation of traditional procedures, including combination preservation methods, and on more radical approaches such as the use of high hydrostatic pressures or voltage pulses to inactivate micro-organisms in food, and the direct and synergistic application or ultrasonic radiation. The book is intended to enable food technologists, product development staff, production managers and quality assurance personnel to assimilate the essential principals behind each technique and review the applications.

The majO.r techniques emplO.yed fO.r fO.O.d preservatiO.n have a 100ng histo'ry O.f use. They include chilling; freezing; drying; curing; cO.nserving; fer- menting O.r O.therwise acidifying; the additiO.n O.f preservatives; heat- pasteurisatiO.n and sterilisatiO.n. Newer techniques mO.re-O.r-less derived frO.m these traditiO.nal proce- dures include the successful applicatiO.n O.f cO.mbinatiO.n. preservatiO.n O.r 'hurdle' methO.ds, vacuum- and mO.dified atmO.sphere-packaging, and cO.ntinuO.us sterilisatiO.n cO.upled to' aseptic packaging. More innO.vative techniques, such as the use O.f iO.nising radiatiO.n, are increasingly being emplO.yed. At the same time, there is a reawakening O.f interest in even mO.re radical apprO.aches. The reaSO.ns fO.r this derive principally from cO.nsumers' requirements fO.r fO.O.ds that are higher in quality, so. less severely prO.ces- sed; mO.re natural, so. less heavily preserved; nutritiO.nally healthier, so. cO.ntaining less salts, sugars and fats; and, with respect to' fO.O.d pO.isO.ning, with retained, O.r preferably improved, assurance O.f safety.