Food Preservation Patents: Leaders, Trends & White Space 2026
- Filing activity peaked in 2018 at 13 families and has not returned to that level since — the trend across 2017-2026 is flat to declining, not a growth curve.
- A23L and A23B dominate the IPC mix at 113 and 55 records respectively, while packaging-adjacent classes like B65D (37) and B65B (9) trail well behind.
- The most-cited record is a 1990s-era process patent US6177115B1 on ultra-high-pressure, high-temperature preservation still carries 42 citations — a sign of foundational influence, not current activity.
What the filings cover
Food preservation patenting in this dataset spans 145 families filed between 2015 and mid-2026, concentrated around modified atmosphere packaging, high pressure processing, water activity control, and natural or clean-label preservatives. The technology composition skews heavily toward core food-science classifications — A23L (foods and non-alcoholic beverages) and A23B (food preservation specifically) together account for the bulk of records — with packaging and materials classes present but secondary.
Filing offices are spread across the United States, China, the EPO, India, WIPO, and Australia in roughly descending order, indicating this is a globally contested but not single-market technology. Publication lag means the most recent filing years understate real activity, since it typically takes around 18 months for a filing to appear in the record.
Filing trend and technology composition
Two views of the same 145-family dataset: how filing activity has moved year over year, and how those filings distribute across IPC subclasses.
A peak in 2018, then a plateau
Filings rose from zero in 2017 to a peak of 13 in 2018, sat at 4 by the 2022 midpoint, and reach 2 in the still-partial 2026 count. There is no sustained upward trend across the window — this reads as a technology with an established core rather than one still accelerating.
Food science classes lead, packaging trails
A23L (113 records) and A23B (55) confirm this is primarily a food-formulation and preservation-process field. B65D and B65B packaging classes (37 and 9) and C08L polymer compositions (8) show packaging-side innovation is present but secondary to the preservation chemistry and process itself.
Shares are the percentage of the 145 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Go deeper on Food Preservation Technology with Eureka
This page is one run against one query. Ask Eureka your own question about food preservation technology and every answer comes back with the patent numbers behind it.
Try EurekaThe most-cited prior art
EP3037003B1 — cryogenic freezing combined with modified atmosphere packaging
A method of food preservation comprises providing a frozen food product in modified atmosphere packaging by the steps of: cryogenic freezing of the food product, and modified atmosphere packaging of the food product, wherein the steps can be conducted in either order.Filed by Air Products and Chemicals, Inc., granted 2017-01-25.
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US6177115B1 | Ultra high pressure, high temperature food preservation process | 42 |
| 2 | CN101313698A | 果蔬纳米抗菌保鲜膜 | 33 |
| 3 | JP1991168075A | Ethanol preparation for food preservation | 27 |
| 4 | JP1988022171A | Ethanol preparation for food preservation | 22 |
| 5 | US20130266699A1 | Mircowavable food containers for high pressure process food preservation and reconstitution | 19 |
| 6 | CN101884399A | 一种生鲜面的保鲜方法 | 18 |
| 7 | US20160338361A1 | Systems, methods, and compositions for promoting pathogen control and food preservation | 17 |
| 8 | WO2015147638A1 | Neutralized vinegar concentrates and liquid food grade blends containing said neutralized vinegar concentrates | 16 |
| 9 | US20050118310A1 | Formulations of compounds derived from natural sources and their use with irradiation for food preservation | 16 |
| 10 | US5009907A | Method for treating food to control the growth of yeasts | 16 |
Citation counts reflect influence within this searched corpus and favour older filings; they are not a measure of current commercial relevance.
Patent titles are shown in the language they were filed in, not translated, so that each record stays verifiable against the original filing — a translated title will not match in Eureka or in any national register. Each row carries its publication number; clicking a row searches Eureka by that number.
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Reading filing counts, citation patterns, and office spread together suggests where the technology is settled and where it is still contested.
Activity has cooled, not accelerated
The 2018 peak of 13 families has not been matched since; the 2022 midpoint of 4 and the still-partial 2026 count of 2 confirm a flat-to-declining trajectory rather than a technology in a growth phase.
Foundational patents still anchor the field
US6177115B1 on ultra-high-pressure, high-temperature processing leads citations at 42, well ahead of the next tier. Older process patents like this and the ethanol-preparation filings from the early 1990s remain the reference points examiners and applicants cite against.
No single office dominates filing
The United States leads with 23 records, followed closely by China (18), the EPO (17), India (16), WIPO/PCT (14), and Australia (11). This even spread suggests applicants are pursuing multi-jurisdiction protection rather than concentrating on one market.
Co-filing is rare and mostly regional
Only four co-assignee pairs appear in the dataset, the strongest being a packaging-industry pairing and a university-industry pairing out of China. Most activity in this field comes from single-assignee filings rather than joint ventures.
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to food preservation technology, with the prior art for and against each one.
Who holds the ground
Recent-year momentum across the tracked assignees shows zero new filings in the latest year for every name checked — consistent with the broader plateau in filing activity. This is a field with an established set of holders rather than an actively expanding competitive set.
No assignee shows fresh activity
Every assignee checked for recent-year momentum — including major names in the ranking — recorded zero filings in the latest tracked year. This flat signal across the board, rather than isolated to one player, points to a broader slowdown in new filing rather than one competitor pulling back.
Packaging and university pairings lead joint work
The strongest co-assignee pair links two packaging-industry entities; a second pair joins a Chinese university with a food-products company. Both patterns suggest collaboration tends to happen at the packaging-materials interface or through academic-industry technology transfer, not between direct process competitors.
Influence sits with process and film patents
The most-cited records split between a high-pressure processing method and antimicrobial packaging film work, indicating two distinct technical lineages — thermal/pressure processing and active packaging materials — both still shape how later filings are drafted and examined.
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Purac Biochem | 0 | — |
| PAPER PAK IND | 0 | — |
| Yissum Research Development Company of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem | 0 | — |
| Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. | 0 | — |
| Bianca Ltd. | 0 | — |
| Chisso Corporation | 0 | — |
| MILLBO SRL | 0 | — |
| Tyson Foods, Inc. | 0 | — |
Where to take this
The filing plateau and thin co-filing pattern point to specific next steps depending on whether you are scoping freedom-to-operate or looking for open claim space.
Check freedom-to-operate against the cited core
The high-pressure processing and antimicrobial film lineages carry the field's heaviest citation weight. Any new filing touching pressure-processing parameters or nano-antimicrobial films should be checked against these specifically, not just the recent-year set.
Run a freedom-to-operate check in EurekaProbe the under-claimed packaging-materials crossover
B65D, B65B, and C08L classes are present but thin relative to A23L and A23B. Combined claims spanning polymer packaging and active preservation chemistry look less contested than the core process space.
Explore white space in EurekaWatch for renewed filing activity
With every tracked assignee showing zero filings in the latest year, a single new entrant or a re-activated incumbent would be a visible signal worth monitoring given how flat the baseline is.
Set up monitoring in EurekaCommon questions
The core classes are A23L (foods and non-alcoholic beverages) and A23B (food preservation specifically), which together account for the large majority of records in this field. Packaging-related innovation falls under B65D and B65B, while polymer-based antimicrobial films sit under C08L. A01N appears when preservation claims cross into biocide or agrochemical territory, and C12J covers vinegar-based approaches specifically. Searching across all of these together, rather than just A23B, is necessary to see the full picture since many preservation claims are drafted as food-composition claims rather than pure preservation-process claims.
No — filing activity in this dataset peaked in 2018 at 13 families and has since declined to a midpoint of 4 in 2022 and 2 in the still-partial 2026 year. That is a flat-to-declining trend, not a growth curve, though the most recent one to two years are always undercounted because publication typically lags filing by around 18 months. Treat the apparent 2025-2026 dip with that lag in mind rather than reading it as a sudden drop.
The ranking includes a mix of chemical companies, food producers, packaging manufacturers, and university-affiliated entities, but none of the tracked assignees show any filings in the latest recorded year. This suggests the field's IP position is currently held by established players rather than being actively contested by new entrants. Co-filing is also rare, with only four identified co-assignee pairs, so most of these positions were built through single-assignee filing rather than joint development.
EP3037003B1, held by Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. and granted in January 2017, claims a method combining cryogenic freezing of a food product with modified atmosphere packaging, where the two steps can be performed in either order. That step-order flexibility is the key claim feature — it covers both freeze-then-package and package-then-freeze sequences under gas atmosphere. Anyone developing a combined freezing and modified-atmosphere-packaging process for frozen foods should review this claim scope directly rather than assuming a different step order avoids it.
Based on the IPC composition, the packaging-materials side is comparatively thin relative to the food-science core: B65D, B65B, and C08L combined are a fraction of the A23L and A23B volume. Specific under-claimed areas include polymer-matrix antimicrobial film compositions, dairy-specific water activity control, and combined cryogenic-freezing-with-gas-flush sequencing that varies from the established step order. These are narrower branches rather than open fields, so a first claim there would need to be specific about the material system or process sequence to clear the existing citation-heavy prior art.
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Disclaimer. This page is generated from Patsnap Eureka data drawn from a limited snapshot of global patent and scientific-literature records, and is provided for general information and reference only.
Patent data carries inherent limitations: recent filings (typically the most recent 18–24 months) are under-counted due to standard publication lag; counts may be reported at either a patent-family or a patent-record basis and are not always directly comparable; classification, applicant-name, and citation data may contain errors, duplicates, or omissions; and the underlying search query defines and constrains the scope shown. As a result, the analysis may be incomplete or inaccurate and may not reflect the full technology landscape.
Nothing on this page constitutes an exhaustive prior-art, novelty, freedom-to-operate, or validity search, nor does it constitute legal, financial, investment, or professional advice, and it should not be relied upon as such. Any patent, commercial, or strategic decision should be verified independently and reviewed with qualified patent, legal, and domain professionals. Patsnap makes no warranties, express or implied, as to the accuracy, completeness, or fitness for any particular purpose of the information presented.
Machine translation. Assignee and organisation names originally recorded in Chinese, Japanese or Korean have been rendered into English by an AI translation step so that the tables stay readable. These renderings are best-effort and may not match a company’s registered English name; the original name is what the underlying patent record carries, and it is what any Eureka query launched from this page uses.