Food has been processed for nearly as long as it has been used. In early times, humans used to dry or smoke meat or other foodstuff in order to preserve it for longer periods of time. Salt preservation was also very common in the diet of sailors and soldiers during those times. Food processing essentially remained unchanged until the 19th century with the invention of canning by Nicholas Appert and pasteurization by Louis Pasteur. Both of these innovations changed the way that food was processed into a longer lasting food product that was canned or bottled.
During wartime, the food and beverage industry shifted, as food is often a precious commodity. Prices were determined by availability and regulation. Most countries involved in World War II rationed food and regulated prices in order to stabilize the economy. This increased innovation in the food processing segment with the inventions of food coloring, juice concentrates, artificial sweeteners, and more advanced preservatives, such as sodium benzoate. These innovations led to the current food processing market in place today with convenience foods, such as frozen TV dinners and instant meals, prepared snacks, and other instantly available foods.
The food distribution segment of this industry is fairly new. Prior to the industrial revolution, consumers typically ate what foods were available to them in their regional market. Foods were processed from these markets and used for journeys out of them. With the increased transportation of the industrial revolution, such as railroads and barges, as well as the concurrent rise in technology such as canning, it became feasible to transport food from one regional market for sale in another. Today, the industry segment has evolved even further due to increased transportation technology such as airplanes.