Trends and Innovations in Sterilization of Ready-to-Eat Food Products: Challenges and Future Directions

The growing demand for Ready-To-Eat (RTE) food products has significantly shaped the industry. RTE foods, including meat, dairy and vegetable-based products, offer convenience and practicality but are highly susceptible to contamination by pathogenic microorganisms. Sterilization, an essential process to eliminate viable pathogenic microorganisms, including spores, has become an important solution to ensure food safety and extend shelf life. Based on research data visualization focusing on trends over the past decade (2014-2024) analyzed using the VosViewer app, thermal sterilization processes such as using retorts and microwaves are effective methods in eliminating pathogenic microorganisms and prolonged shelf life. However, thermal processes can affect the quality of the resulting food products. Recent advances in sterilization technology aim to overcome this challenge by maintaining product quality while ensuring microbial safety through non-thermal sterilization in the form of irradiation, pulse electric field, cold plasma and high-pressure processing. These findings underscore the need for continuous innovation and optimization in sterilization processes to balance safety, nutrient preservation and industrial viability. By integrating advanced technologies and addressing existing challenges, the food industry can better meet consumer preferences for high-quality, safe and sustainable RTE products.