Overall growth will also be driven through ongoing efforts in the sector to prolong the shelf life of food through new technologies based on industrial gases, according to the report by the Freedonia Group.
Such packaging developments include the use of modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) and controlled atmosphere packaging (CAP). Gases used in MAP include oxygen, carbon dioxide and nitrogen.
The firm estimates overall demand for industrial gases in the food and beverage processing sector will expand 2.3 per cent per year through 2010 to over 200 billion cubic feet.
At that time, companies will collectively spend will reach about $600 million in the sector, estimates Freedonia analyst Bridget McMurtrie.
"Market maturity is the key limiting factor for the food and beverage industry and that primarily impacts carbon dioxide used in carbonated soft drinks," she told FoodProductionDaily.com.
The carbonated soft drink market is highly mature in the US and struggling with competition from non-carbonated beverages like bottled water, she said.
"In most applications for gases in the food and beverage industry there is little competition from non-gas technologies at this point and it's more an issue of competition between the two main gases, nitrogen and carbon dioxide," she said.
With the exception of soft drink carbonation, where carbon dioxide is used exclusively, the two gases compete against each other in nearly all major food-related manufacturing uses.
The choice of gas based on cost, availability and customer familiarity, the report stated.
"In some cases, nitrogen is more cost-effective than carbon dioxide, especially in situations where the use of noncryogenically produced nitrogen is feasible," the report stated.
Nitrogen and carbon dioxide are also used for in-transit refrigeration, for packaging, processin, and to quickly freeze foods before shipment.
Carbon dioxide is also used to extract flavors and chemicals such as caffeine without the use of solvents.
Nitrogen can also be used in beverages in combination with carbon dioxide as a sparging gas to extend shelf life. Nitrogen is also used in noncarbonated beverages to pressurize aluminum cans.
The food and beverage processing sectors accounts for about six per cent of overall gas demand in the US.
