HURDLE TECHNOLOGY

DM -

512

Presented by -
Manshi Singh
24- M-DM-02
WHAT IS HURDLE
TECHNOLOGY ?
Hurdle technology has been developed to reduce the usage of
preservatives in foods, and consists of the combined effect of
hurdles to establish an additional antimicrobial effect , thus
improving the quality of food .
 This modern preservation technology has been developed for
the consumers who demands healthy and fresh foods that retains
its nutritional and organoleptic properties as well.
Cont..
 Leistner ( 2000) , defined 'hurdle technology' as an
intelligent combination of hurdles which secures the
microbial safety and stability as well as retains the
organoleptic, nutritional quality and economic viability
of food products .
WHY HURDLE TECHNOLOGY ?
• Consumers eating out and consuming more Ready-
to-Eat products.
• More demand of minimally processed, fresh &
natural food products.
• Emergence of new routes for growth of
microorganisms.
PRINCIPLE OF HURDLE
TECHNOLOGY
 Preservatives factors or hurdles disturb the
homeostasis of microorganisms.
 Microorganisms should not be able to “ jump over ” all
the hurdles present in food products .
 Preservative factors prevents microorganisms from
multiplying and causing them to remain inactive or
even die .
 The hurdle concept illustrates that complex
interactions of temperature , water activity , pH etc
are significant to the microbial stability .
THE HURDLE CONCEPT
 Microbial safety and stability , as well as
the sensory and nutritional quality of
most preserved foods are based on a
combination of several empirically applied
Preservation Factors.
 These preservations factors are called as
HURDLES .
 The word hurdler imply superficially “a
sequence of effects ”.
MAJOR CAUSES OF FOOD
DETERIORATION
→Bacteria , Yeast,Mold
→Enzymes , Chemical reactions
→Infestation ( Insects , Parasites , Rodents )
→Moisture loss / gain
→Reaction with oxygen
→Reaction with light
→Time and Temperature
SOME OF THE MOST IMPORTANT
HURDLES USED
• Heating - high temperature

• Chilling , freezing - low temp.

• Drying , curing - reduced aw

• Acid addition or formation - increased

acidity

• Removal of oxygen or addition of

ascorbate - reduced redox potential

• Sorbate, Sulfite ,Nitrite - preservatives

• Microbial fermentation - competitive flora

POTENTIAL HURDLES IN FOOD
PRESERVATIONS
High Temperature Low Temperature
Pasteurization Refrigeration
Sterilization Freezing
Blanching Reduced Water Activity
Increased acidity
Controlling oxygen
Preservatives
Competetive microflora
1.Pasteurization
 Mild heat treatment ( 63°C for 30 min, 72°C for 15 sec)

 High product quality

 Destroys vegetative pathogens (disease-causing microbes), reduces total

microbial load, increases shelf-life

 Does not destroy spores (dormant stage of some bacteria)

 Usually combined with other hurdles ( e.g. refrigeration )

2.Sterilization

• Complete destruction of microorganisms

• Severe heat treatment ( equivalent to several min 121°C)

• Destroys spores

• Gives "shelf-stable" product

• Some nutrient, quality destruction (colour,flavour , texture)

3.Blanching

• Blanching is a kind of pasteurization generally applied to fruits and

vegetables

• Primarily applied to inactivate natural enzymes .

• Commonly practiced when food is to be frozen

• Depending on its severity, also destroys microorganisms

4.Refrigeration

• Ideally 0°C to 4°C for most foods

• Short-term preservation (days to weeks)

• High product quality (fresh, minimally processed)

• Slows down microbial growth, respiration, enzyme/ chemical

reaction

• Some pathogens can grow (e.g. C. botulinum (type E ), Listeria.

5.Freezing

• Generally - 18°C to - 30°C

• Quality depends on product, time, temperature

• Long-term preservation (months , year)

• Stops microbial growth, respiration

• Slows down chemical reactions

• Must have good packaging

6.Reduced Water Activity(aW)
• aw is water "availability"

• Water is required for microbial growth, enzyme/chemical reactions

• Pathogenic microorganisms cannot grow at aw< 0.86.

• Yeast & moulds cannot grow at aw <0.62.

• Free water can be removed by concentration, dehydration and

freeze drying. In general, the lower the aw, the longer the storage.
7.Increased acidity ( lowered pH
)
• Acidity slows down growth of spoilage organisms and pathogens

• Pathogens won't grow, spores won't germinate at pH<4.5 (e.g., fruit

juices, sauerkraut )

8.Controlling Oxygen
• Low oxygen inhibits growth of many spoilage organism

• Anaerobic conditions required by some pathogens ( C. botulinum )

9.Preservatives
• Inhibit bacteria, yeasts, moulds
• Used at low levels (mg/kg) for specific applications e.g.,
benzoate (soft drinks), propionate (baked goods), nitrites
(meats), sulfites (wine), ascorbate (juices)

10.Competitive Microflora
• "Good" bacteria inhibit "bad ( spoilers, pathogens)
May act by:-Producing acid
• Producing antibiotics (bacteriocins)
e.g., lactic acid bacteria (sauerkraut, yoghurt)
 THE HURDLE EFFECT
• Each hurdles aim to eliminate unwanted microorganisms.

• The microorganisms present ('at the start') in a food should not be

able to overcome (leap over ) the hurdles.

• Otherwise the food will spoil or even cause food poisoning.

• This situation is illustrated by the HURDLE EFFECT.

PHYSIOLOGICAL RESPONSES
DURING FOOD PRESERVATION
• Food preservation implies putting microorganisms in a hostile
environment to Inhibit their growth
• Shorten their survival
• Cause their death.
• The feasible responses of microorganisms to this hostile
environment determine whether they may grow or die.
HOMEOSTASIS
 Homeostasis is the tendency to uniformity and

stability in the internal status of organisms.

 If the homeostasis of the microorganisms is

disturbed by preservative factors (hurdles) in foods,

they will not multiply (i.e. they remain in the lag-

phase or even die, before homeostasis

 It is the process that maintains the stability of the

living cells internal environment in response to the

changes in external environment

METABOLIC EXHAUSTION
• Here the microorganisms in stable hurdle technology foods carryout
every possible repair mechanism for their homeostasis to overcome
hostile environment.

• By doing this they completely use up their energy and die if they
become metabolically exhausted.

• This leads to auto-sterilization of foods.

Cont...

This was first observed in experiments with mildly heated (95°C core temperature)
liver sausage adjusted to different water activities by the addition of salt and fat,
and the product was inoculated with Clostridium sporogenes and stored at 37°C.
Clostridial spores surviving the heat treatment vanished in the product during
storage.
STRESS REACTIONS
• Due to the generation of shock proteins, some

bacteria become more and more resistant /

virulent under stress.

• The stress shock proteins are nothing but a

family of proteins that are produced by cells in

response to exposure to stressful conditions,

induced by heat, pH, aw, ethanol, oxidative

compounds, cold, UV light and

starvation.
Cont...
 The different responses of microbes under stress conditions
might hamper the food preservation. Exposure to multiple
stresses simultaneously activates the energy utilising synthesis
of several stress shock proteins, in turn making the microbes
metabolically weak.
 Therefore, multitarget preservation of foods could be an efficient
approach towards reducing the synthesis of stress shock proteins
and in food preservation.
MULTITARGET PRESERVATION

 This approach is often more effective than single-targeting.

 Enables the use of hurdles of lower intensity.

 Less of an effect on product quality.
 A synergistic effect could be achieved if the hurdles in a food
hit, at the same time , different targets .
WHERE AND HOW TO APPLY ?
 Good Agricultural
practices

• GAP Field Audits.

• External surface
blanching if possible.

• Sanitation of cutting
equipment
Formulation of Food
Products
• Antimicrobial agents
• Acidulants
• Pre-treatment of
components used in
process
• Water Activity Control
 Packaging Hurdle
• Clean Room Environment
• Modified Atmosphere
Packaging
• Barrier Packaging Materials
• Active Packaging Systems
• Intelligent Packaging
Systems check
Processing
Hurdle
Thermal Processing
Hot Fill, Quick Chill
Retort sterilization

Non-Thermal Processing
Irradiation
Ultra High Pressure etc.
Distributio
n
• Immediately following packaging

• Loading Docks, Trucks.

• Distribution centres /depots coolers

• Retail/Foodservice holding coolers

• Store Merchandisers/display cases

APPLICATION OF HURDLE
TECHNOLOGY
So far it has been used unintentionally in:-
» Pickles - pH + Preservative (acid) + Salt
» Sausage - aw + smoke + salt + spices +
preservatives
» IMF (dried fruit, soft cookies) - aw + heating
 Shelf Stable Paneer Brown Peda

 Shelf stable paneer can be prepared by  'Brown peda', a traditional Indian heat

applying various hurdles such as pH, aw, desiccated milk khoa based product have

preservatives and Modified Atmosphere also been prepared and preserved through

Packaging (MAP. hurdle technology.

 The quality and shelf life of hurdle treated  Hurdle treated 'brown peda' could be best

paneer extended from one to twelvedays preserved up to forty days at room

at ambient temperature and six to twenty

temperature (30°C) without any quality loss

days at refrigeration temperature without

.
affecting its physicochemical and sensory
Pork Sausages
Different hurdles such as (pH, aw, vacuum packaging and post
package treatment) in pork sausages at refrigerated temperature.
The combined effect of these hurdles on pork sausages resulted
in the inhibition of the growth of yeast and molds up to 12 days,
while the dipping of sausages into potassium sorbate solution
before packaging inhibited their growth up to 30 days.
 Implementation of hurdle technology into sausages was
beneficial as the shelf life of sausages was increased up to 30
days while the control untreated samples were acceptable up to
18 days.
ADVANTAGES

 Improves product quality and microbial safety.

 Save money, energy & several other resources.

 Food remains stable & safe, high in sensory & nutritive value

due to gentle process applied.

 Doesn't effects the integrity of fruits.

 Applicable in both large & small industries.

CONCLUSION
With the growing economy there is an increased demand for
fresh and minimally processed food products. Conventional food
preservation methods are based on single preservation
parameter that makes changes in the sensory and nutritional
quality of the food.
The hurdle technology makes minimal sensory and nutritional
changes in the product which makes the product more valuable
and acceptable than obtained by conventional methods and has
become a boon for the efficient preservation of food products.