2024 Volume 25 Issue 1 Pages 9-14
In order to acquire frost resistance, various organisms produce various ice crystal-controlling materials. Ice crystal-controlling materials include the supercooling-facilitating materials that inhibit heterogeneous nucleation caused by foreign materials, and ice recrystallization suppressing materials that suppress the growth of minute ice crystals in water. We have successfully produced multiple extracts with supercooling-facilitating activity from unused resources produced during food processing production. Among these extracts, the extract with the highest activity was coffee refuse extract. Furthermore, they also discovered the same activity derived from melanoidin, which is produced during food processing and cooking. As part of the implementation of extracts, we attempted to establish an unfrozen preservation technology for fruits and vegetables. Through field spraying of figs, harvested figs become unfrozen after being stored at -2°C for 15 days, extending the retail restrictions from 5 days to 15 days. Furthermore, by absorbing a mixture of coffee refuse extract and miso extract during hydroponic lettuce cultivation, the harvested lettuce could be stored unfrozen at temperatures below 0°C for about two weeks.
