12/05/05 Extending shelf life

The era of the empty refrigerator is finished at our house, now that it is just my husband and I food no longer disappears instead it often spoils spoiling before we can eat it. There is hope, new technology is on the horizon that could enable a candy bar to remain fresh for years. Technology to protect and prolong food is nothing new; society has been revolutionized with methods like pasteurization, canning and irradiation. What is new is that food technologist are working to discover natural ways to fight the "natural" process of spoilage. Showing promise is a novel method of developing protective coatings from whey that while invisible would be edible. New packaging techniques are even creating marketing categories. In the next few years consumers could chose steak wrapped in packaging made from carrots that dissolves it's own glaze, or lunch meat covered with a edible coating that fights food born diseases, selections guaranteed to take the art of packaging to a whole new level. I'm Susan Allen and this is Food Forethought. Source: ENN Environmental news network December 16 2004 http://www.sacbee.com/24hour/healthscience/story/1930994p-9892091c.html