Overview of Pulsed Electric Fields Processing for Food

Increasing consumer demand for food with a high nutritional value and a “fresh-like” taste has led to the development of new, mild processes to enhance or substitute for conventional techniques, such as heat treatment, for food preservation. Several non-thermal pasteurization methods, including the application of high hydrostatic pressure (HHP) or pulsed electric fields (PEF), have been developed to achieve sufficient microbial reduction while maintaining food quality. Some of the possible applications of PEF as a non-thermal cell membrane permeabilization technique are highlighted in this overview. The low energy consumption (1–2 kJ/kg for stress induction and 1–10 kJ/kg for plant cell permeabilization) and the continuous operability of this short time, waste-free membrane permeabilization technique are key advantages and allow the development of innovative, cost-effective, and sustainable processing concepts in the food and drink, biotechnology, and pharmaceutical industries. The application of PEF to food preservation has shown tremendous potential for preserving high quality products, such as freshly squeezed juices at lower temperatures and short residence times compared to traditional thermal pasteurization while retaining the fresh-like characteristics and nutritional value of the products. In the potato industry, the technique results in cut quality improvement, enhanced raw material usability, and energy savings. Future work should focus on understanding the underlying mechanisms and kinetics of recovery after treatment for bacterial endospores. Future applications of PEF may include algal downstream processing or wastewater treatment, showing the tremendous potential of this emerging technique beyond the few examples presented in this overview.