CPC technology class · A23

A23B - Preservation Of Foods

Preservation of foods, foodstuffs or non-alcoholic beverages; chemical ripening of fruit or vegetables. 2,807 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year grant trajectory.

Compiled by PlainPatent · May 15, 2026

2,807
US patents granted: #4/11
in A23: 7.6%
A23 class share: +21%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

According to USPTO PatentsView, Preservation Of Foods ranks #328 of 670 CPC technology areas - 2,807 US patents granted since 2015, with recorded grant volume up 21% over five years.

#328
of 670 CPC technology areas: 2,807
US patents granted, 2015–2025: Ecolab Usa
leading assignee (48): +21%
grant velocity, last 5 yrs

How A23B's grant cadence moved

Between 2020–2024, A23B recorded 1,354 grants versus 1,115 in 2015–2019 (+21% equal-window velocity). Across complete years, output peaked in 2024 at 295 grants and bottomed in 2015 at 193 (+53% peak-over-trough). Lead assignee Safe Foods Corporation holds 1.2% of the class ; the top three share 3.2%.

Leaderboard read

A23B concentration, lead at 1.2%

Safe Foods Corporation leads this historical grant record at 1.2% of A23B - us corporation assignees hold 60% of class grants (811 of 1,363). Figures describe granted US utility patents in this CPC subclass, not current investment or legal strength.

Leader's share: 1.2%
Top three share: 3.2%
Lead over #2: 4

Where A23B sits inside A23

Among 11 subclasses in A23 (Foods OR FOODSTUFFS; Treatment Thereof, NOT Covered BY Other Classes), A23B ranks #4 and holds 7.6% of the parent class's 36,876 recorded grants. Sibling chips below are the other subclasses in the same parent class, not the nationwide volume/lead-share peers further down.

A23L 12,738 A23V 9,116 A23K 3,247 A23G 1,990 A23P 1,818 A23C 1,603 A23D 1,053 A23F 971

Rising assignees active in A23B

Company-wide grant multiples (2022–2024 vs 2019–2021) among assignees with ≥5 patents in this subclass. Growth is company-wide; class patent counts are subclass-specific.

#1 Qingdao Haier Refrigerator Co., Ltd. 32x 2 → 63 company-wide · 5 in A23B
#2 Haier Smart Home Co., Ltd. 14x 14 → 199 company-wide · 15 in A23B
#3 Dansons US, LLC 12x 0 → 12 company-wide · 6 in A23B
#4 Cambridge Crops, Inc. 6.00x 0 → 6 company-wide · 6 in A23B
#5 Shanghai Ocean University 5.67x 3 → 17 company-wide · 6 in A23B

A23B grants by year, peak 2024 (295)

US utility-patent grants per year in A23B, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 21% versus 2015–2019.

Safe Foods

33
Apeel Technology

29
Immunolight

28
Agrofresh

24
Lyco Manufacturing

21
Nestec

19
Jiangnan University

18
Sensor Technology

17
General Mills

16
Purac Biochem Bv

16
Cj Cheiljedang

15
Haier Smart Home

15

What this shows Ecolab Usa is the most active filer in A23B, holding 48 of the 2,807 patents in this class. Concentration at the top signals how contestable this technology area is for new entrants.

View data table

Top patent holders in CPC subclass A23B
Rank	Company	Patents in A23B
#1	Safe Foods Corporation	33
#2	Apeel Technology, Inc.	29
#3	Immunolight, LLC	28
#4	Agrofresh Inc.	24
#5	Lyco Manufacturing, Inc.	21
#6	Nestec S.A.	19
#7	Jiangnan University	18
#8	Sensor Electronic Technology, Inc.	17
#9	General Mills, Inc.	16
#10	Purac Biochem BV	16
#11	CJ Cheiljedang Corporation	15
#12	Haier Smart Home Co., Ltd.	15
#13	Kraft Foods Group Brands LLC	15
#14	Tetra Laval Holdings & Finance S.A.	13
#15	John Bean Technologies Corporation	13
#16	Symrise AG	12
#17	915 Labs, Inc.	12
#18	EnWave Corporation	12
#19	Microwave Materials Technologies, Inc.	12
#20	Chr. Hansen A/S	11

Footprint here vs. claim strategy

Each dot is a leading A23B assignee, placed by how many patents it holds in this class (horizontal) against its company-wide average claims per patent (vertical) - a read on whether the class is led by broad-but-shallow filers or focused deep-claim players.

Top 14 A23B assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in A23B. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Classes near A23B's 2,807-grant footprint

Nationwide nearest neighbors for A23B (#328 of 670 by volume ; lead share 1.7%) - not the A23 parent-class siblings above.

Nearest by grant volume

A45F 2,798 B42D 2,774 G07G 2,768 A63H 2,847

Nearest by lead-assignee share

E04C 1.7% F16M 1.7% B09C 1.7% B05B 1.7%

Questions about A23B

Which company holds the most patents in A23B?

Ecolab USA Inc. leads A23B with 48 patents (1.2% of the subclass). By PatentsView assignee type, us corporations account for 60% of class grants.

Which A23B assignees grew fastest recently?

Among assignees with ≥5 grants in A23B, Qingdao Haier Refrigerator Co., Ltd. shows the highest company-wide grant multiple (32x: 2 grants in 2019–2021 → 63 in 2022–2024) while holding 5 patents in this subclass. Growth is company-wide, not class-only.

How does A23B compare inside parent class A23?

Inside A23 (Foods OR FOODSTUFFS; Treatment Thereof, NOT Covered BY Other Classes), A23B ranks #4 of 11 subclasses by grant volume and holds 7.6% of the parent class total. The largest sibling is A23L (12,738 grants).

What to do with this data

A23B in context - here's where to go next.

Safe Foods Corporation leads A23B with 33 grants in this class. See full portfolio
A23B ranks #328 of 670 by grant volume among all tracked CPC technology areas. See the ranking
Inside parent class A23, the largest sibling subclass is A23L with 12,738 grants. Explore A23L

Figures reflect USPTO PatentsView grant data through 2026-05-15; pending applications not yet granted are not counted.

Methodology - A23B figures are USPTO PatentsView granted-utility totals for this subclass (2,807 grants in the tracked window).

Every figure on PlainPatent is rendered directly from USPTO source data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on USPTO source data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.