1. Slowing down of microbiological processes

As far back as 100,000 BC, mankind observed that cold could preserve food for longer. Natural ice has long been stored and used to complement traditional practices such as salting, smoking and so on. At the end of the 19th century, 20 million tons of ice were sold in the United States, and England imported 1/2 million tons from Norway.

It was with the industrial revolution and the manufacture of relatively reliable refrigeration machines that the cold chain was able to take off at the beginning of the 20th century, enabling the consumption of perishable products to develop in places further away from production. The first liquefiable steam compression machine was patented in London in 1835 by Jacob PERKINS, but was not put into operation until 25 years later. In 1844,...