Preserving Ready-to-Eat Meals Using Microwave Technologies for Future Space Programs
The crewed suborbital and space flights launched by private companies over the past three years have rejuvenated public interest in space travel, including space tourism. Ready-to-eat meals (MREs) are the main source of nutrients and energy for space travelers. It is critical that those meals are fr...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2023-03-01
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| Series: | Foods |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/12/6/1322 |
| _version_ | 1827749712631955456 |
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| author | Carolyn Ross Shyam Sablani Juming Tang |
| author_facet | Carolyn Ross Shyam Sablani Juming Tang |
| author_sort | Carolyn Ross |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The crewed suborbital and space flights launched by private companies over the past three years have rejuvenated public interest in space travel, including space tourism. Ready-to-eat meals (MREs) are the main source of nutrients and energy for space travelers. It is critical that those meals are free of bacterial and viral pathogens and have adequate shelf life. The participation of private companies in space programs will create new opportunities and demand for high-quality and microbiologically safe MREs for future space travels. In this article, we provide a brief review of nutrition and energy requirements for human activities in space. We discuss the general thermal processing requirements for control of bacterial and viral pathogens in MREs and introduce advanced thermal preservation technologies based on microwaves for production of MREs with different shelf-lives under various storage conditions. We also present the latest advancements in the development of polymer packaging materials for quality preservation of thermally stabilized MREs over extended storage. Finally, we recommend future research on issues related to the sensory quality of specially formulated MREs, microbial safety of dried foods that complement high moisture MREs, and food package waste management in future space missions. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T06:32:25Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-d49247c7fda94fba8d781bdbc5c8ce0e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2304-8158 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T06:32:25Z |
| publishDate | 2023-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Foods |
| spelling | doaj.art-d49247c7fda94fba8d781bdbc5c8ce0e2023-11-17T11:07:47ZengMDPI AGFoods2304-81582023-03-01126132210.3390/foods12061322Preserving Ready-to-Eat Meals Using Microwave Technologies for Future Space ProgramsCarolyn Ross0Shyam Sablani1Juming Tang2School of Food Science, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164, USADepartment of Biological Systems Engineering, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164, USADepartment of Biological Systems Engineering, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164, USAThe crewed suborbital and space flights launched by private companies over the past three years have rejuvenated public interest in space travel, including space tourism. Ready-to-eat meals (MREs) are the main source of nutrients and energy for space travelers. It is critical that those meals are free of bacterial and viral pathogens and have adequate shelf life. The participation of private companies in space programs will create new opportunities and demand for high-quality and microbiologically safe MREs for future space travels. In this article, we provide a brief review of nutrition and energy requirements for human activities in space. We discuss the general thermal processing requirements for control of bacterial and viral pathogens in MREs and introduce advanced thermal preservation technologies based on microwaves for production of MREs with different shelf-lives under various storage conditions. We also present the latest advancements in the development of polymer packaging materials for quality preservation of thermally stabilized MREs over extended storage. Finally, we recommend future research on issues related to the sensory quality of specially formulated MREs, microbial safety of dried foods that complement high moisture MREs, and food package waste management in future space missions.https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/12/6/1322space foodsfood safetynutritionthermal processingsensorypackaging |
| spellingShingle | Carolyn Ross Shyam Sablani Juming Tang Preserving Ready-to-Eat Meals Using Microwave Technologies for Future Space Programs Foods space foods food safety nutrition thermal processing sensory packaging |
| title | Preserving Ready-to-Eat Meals Using Microwave Technologies for Future Space Programs |
| title_full | Preserving Ready-to-Eat Meals Using Microwave Technologies for Future Space Programs |
| title_fullStr | Preserving Ready-to-Eat Meals Using Microwave Technologies for Future Space Programs |
| title_full_unstemmed | Preserving Ready-to-Eat Meals Using Microwave Technologies for Future Space Programs |
| title_short | Preserving Ready-to-Eat Meals Using Microwave Technologies for Future Space Programs |
| title_sort | preserving ready to eat meals using microwave technologies for future space programs |
| topic | space foods food safety nutrition thermal processing sensory packaging |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/12/6/1322 |
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