Allpax partners with LSU to develop shelf-stable foods

Allpax has announced it is partnering with the School of Nutrition and Food Sciences from Louisiana State University (LSU) Agricultural Center to assist North American shelf-stable food companies that create nutritious products.

Over the past five years, shelf-stable foods have developed significantly due to multiple research studies and advances in technology. As a result, these products can produce a similar culinary experience to refrigerated or frozen products, are easy to store and provide the added convenience of reducing preparation and cooking time.

“We know that taste is a fundamental driver of food sales. By combining food formulation with messaging that connects with a target audience, I know that shelf-stable foods can fit the lifestyles of even the most discerning consumer,” explained Dr Louise Wicker, Professor and Director of the School of Nutrition and Food Sciences, LSU Agricultural Center.

This partnership combines sensory scientific research with packaging laboratory capabilities, and allows researchers to have access to technology such as the Allpax Shaka retort. The Shaka’s retort capability reduces cooking and cooling times required for in-container sterilisation of low-acid foods.

Allpax’s 2402 multimode R&D retort is customisable and can work in combination with seven easily changeable modular agitation modes: still, end-over-end, swinging, Gentle Motion shaking (low-speed), The Shaka (high-speed), hydrostatic simulation and axial rotation. They can be used for cans, bottles, pouches, cups, trays, metals, glass, plastics and double-seam film.

“We have the ability to prepare and package foods into metal cans and injection in-mould-label oxygen barrier packaging,” Wicker said. “We can evaluate foods after retort processing for quality, acceptance and stability, and allow informed decisions about commercial viability.”

With food such as shrimp creole, gumbo and jambalaya featuring heavily in Louisiana’s cuisine, the partnership between LSU and Allpax makes these staple foods more convenient for global consumption, which is partly a result of retort technology.