Principles of Application of Electric Fields and Electro-Technologies for Food Processing and Extraction of Bioactives from Fruits and Vegetables

Enhancing food safety and optimum shelf life can be achieved without compromising appropriate nutritional and sensory attributes of food by application of low-temperature food processing technologies. Pulsed electric fields (PEF), high hydrostatic pressure, high-intensity light, pulsed X-ray technology and microwave heating are emerging electro-technologies that effectively inactivate deleterious food microbes at ambient processing temperatures and short processing time. In this review, the principles of pulsed electric fields food processing were evaluated along with requirements for scale-up operation. Other latest developments in the field of non-thermal processing methods were examined. In one study, PEF processing significantly improved the flavor and overall acceptability of tomato juice, grape juice, meat and processed seafood. The microbial stability of PEF processed food is quite comparable to thermally processed products. PEF and other emerging innovative electro-technologies are continuously improving the sensory characteristics and shelf life of processed foods.