Instituto CEASA
How can food last two years without refrigeration?
Through autoclave sterilization: food is sealed in its package and heated under pressure until microorganisms are destroyed, as in industrial canning.
Food can last up to two years without refrigeration when it goes through commercial sterilization in an autoclave. It is sealed in its package and heated under pressure to temperatures above 100 °C, around 121 °C, until the microorganisms capable of spoiling it are destroyed. This is the process Instituto CEASA, founded by Bairo Leandro Gonzalez Martinez, proposes to use.
How an autoclave works
An autoclave is a closed chamber that uses steam or water under pressure. Under pressure, water goes beyond 100 °C without boiling, and the heat reaches the center of the already packaged food. Time and temperature are calculated to destroy even the most resistant spores, such as those of the bacterium that causes botulism.
Because the food is sterilized inside its own package, nothing contaminates the product afterward. That is why it can stay at room temperature for months or years, without relying on preservatives to do so. It is the same principle as canning, which goes back to the Frenchman Nicolas Appert in the early 19th century, and as the sterilized pouches used today by armies and humanitarian aid missions.
Why this matters against hunger
Much of the cost of getting food to those in need lies in keeping it cold: refrigerated trucks, cold rooms, energy. Food that needs no refrigerator can be stored in any warehouse, taken anywhere and kept at home for a long time. For communities without a stable cold chain, that makes a difference.