An analysis of consumer preferences on the food market in Poland indicates that freshness, sensory properties and healthiness play a key role among criteria influencing the choice of food products. Although the satisfaction of Polish consumers is still limited by economic restrictions, the quality and safety of food, particularly that of animal origin, represent factors of great importance. On the one hand, safety aspects have become especially significant by a growing demand for natural, non-changed, minimal processed food, e.g. food chilled only, or, on the other hand, by a demand for convenience food products demonstrating desirable quality and durability. In relation to preservation of animal food like: meat, poultry, fish, milk or eggs etc., main interests are focused on the use of new physical methods, including high hydrostatic pressure, ultrasounds, pulsed electric fields with high voltage, electromagnetic radiation – especially ultraviolet light, pulsed light, ionizing radiation or even radio waves. New combined methods for food preservation based on the so-called hurdle technology are already proposed for practical use. This manuscript is a brief presentation of innovative preservation methods of animal food mentioned above in respect of its safety issues. The authors emphasize a variety of new available food preservation techniques, illustrating their effectiveness with results of several studies, including results of own experiments.