Impact of Developing Military Foods That Do Not Need Refrigeration

Abstract

Military food requirements have driven the development of food stabilisation technologies. Innovations in food technologies for military purposes lie way behind shelf-stable foods, such as sterilised ready meals that are commercially manufactured and distributed. Originally, traditional preservation technologies like drying or salting were the predominant approaches for military feeding. Increasingly, military specifications for extreme shelf stability, transportability, preservation of nutrition, high nutritional density and sensory acceptability have driven many subsequent technological food advances. Refinements to food stabilisation technologies enabled empire-building military conquests. They also increased naval voyage endurances to the point where global circumnavigation was possibl