Minimal Processed Products, Free of Additives, Safe, Tasty, and with Prolonged Shelf Life: The Holy Grail

The increasing demand on European retail for food products that have a fresh-like image places important challenges before the food industry. To cope with these demands, their products should be produced with milder processing techniques and without the addition of food additives. At the same time, safety, as well as an acceptable shelf-life with natural organoleptical properties, has to be guaranteed. Food scientists, therefore, are continuously looking for mild processes and new bio-active compounds and are exploring the boundaries of microbial development. In this talk different strategies to meet the above described demand, with their advantages and disadvantages, will be given. Several examples regarding processing of fresh fruit products will be discussed. And, an example of a quantitative microbial exposure assessment approach to identify the key steps in guaranteeing the microbial safety of mildly heat treated food products, more specifically for Bacillus cereus in REFPEDS, will be presented.