The drive toward clean label ingredients is reshaping shelf life strategies across the F&B industry, as consumers prioritize closer-to-nature, minimally processed products that deliver freshness and safety without synthetic additives. This has resulted in technological advances in nature-based preservation and bio-based ingredients to extend shelf life. 

Food Ingredients First sits down with Mary Joe Fernandez, global VP of Sales and Business Development at Layn Natural Ingredients, to understand the company’s myriad shelf life solutions that bolster demand for shorter ingredient lists and emerging technologies in the food preservation space set to transform the industry.

“Consumers are increasingly seeking products free from synthetic additives, so we’re focusing on using single-ingredient plant-based antioxidants and antimicrobials — such as rosemary extract, green tea extract, pomegranate extract, and acerola extract — to extend shelf life naturally,” Fernandez tells us.

Innova Market Insights data also indicates that nearly one in two consumers globally purchased more fresh, unprocessed foods in 2024. In the same year, some 30% of global F&B launches featured a clean label claim.

Fernandez cites botanical extracts and Layn’s antioxidant preservative, SustaNX, which it makes available in oil-dispersible liquids and water-soluble powders.

She says the solution combines various polyphenols and has demonstrated “four times better” performance than mixed tocopherols, enabling compatibility across applications like fats and oils, meats, bakery, seasonings and beverages, and delivery formats.

The company is also adapting its processing methods to preserve products’ nutritional and sensory qualities, including avoiding harsh treatments that could “compromise the clean appeal.”

“This shift requires a more holistic approach, integrating ingredient functionality, supply chain management, and packaging innovation to meet clean label expectations and shelf life requirements.”

The plant-based challenge

Ideally, the world’s 8 billion people should eat 172 million metric tons of protein yearly. However, conventional animal agriculture accounts for 20% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Additives that can increase the nutritional profile or shelf life of plant-based and alternative proteins can drive consumer appeal.

However, shelf life extension in the plant-based protein space poses unique challenges.

“One of the main challenges is managing oxidation and microbial stability without compromising clean label goals. These products often contain oils or protein sources highly sensitive to oxidation, which can lead to off-flavors, discoloration, and nutrient degradation,” Fernandez explains.

Plant-based formulations tend to avoid synthetic preservatives, which makes it crucial to find natural replacements that are just as effective. This requires a thorough understanding of each product’s composition and how it could react with natural antioxidants and antimicrobials.

Moreover, refrigerated or frozen conditions, which “vary greatly” across plant-based matrices, can make it challenging to maintain texture and freshness.

“It’s a delicate balance between shelf life, clean label demands, and sensory quality — but one that natural solutions are increasingly well-positioned to support,” asserts Fernandez, adding that for imported and exotic products, Layn uses recognizable ingredients to maintain sensory and nutritional qualities across long supply chains.

These enable manufacturers to mitigate oxidation and microbial spoilage while keeping ingredient lists clean.

Sustainability and emerging tech

As the F&B sector works to minimize its environmental footprint, the link between shelf life solutions and sustainability is becoming critical as food loss and food waste increase. The UN estimates that 13.2% of food produced is lost between the harvest and retail stages.

Fernandez emphasizes that Layn is targeting these trends on two fronts. Its antioxidant and antimicrobial ingredients are “biodegradable and derived from renewable sources.”

On the packaging front, Layn is exploring recyclable and compostable materials that can still maintain product freshness. “We’re also optimizing barrier properties to reduce the need for over-packaging while still protecting against oxidation and microbial spoilage,” Fernandez adds.

While innovative packaging and real-time freshness technologies are emerging across the industry, Layn is testing the waters. “These innovations hold a lot of promise for enhancing transparency and consumer confidence. We’re particularly interested in how indicators for freshness, oxygen exposure, or microbial activity could help optimize inventory management and reduce food waste.”

Fernandez identifies several emerging preservation technologies poised to “significantly transform” the food industry in the coming years.

“High-pressure processing involves subjecting food products to extremely high pressures to inactivate pathogens and spoilage organisms without the need for high temperatures.”

She also highlights biopreservation and nanotechnology in packaging as innovation opportunities to meet transparency expectations and industry-wide sustainability goals.