High pressure processing of foods: Present status and future strategies Unni Lakshmi E, Chauhan OP*, Raju PS, Bawa AS Defence Food Research Laboratory, Siddarthanagar, Mysore, India * E-mail of corresponding author : opchauhan@gmail.com
Present Address: Visiting Scientist, German Inst. of Food Tech. Germany.
Online published on 23 January, 2012. Abstract High pressure processing is a novel non-thermal preservation technique to reduce the microbial load and to improve the shelf-life of foods in the pressure range of 100–1000 MPa. The treatment can be carried out either at ambient or low temperatures to retain most of the quality attributes like colour, flavour, texture and nutritional values of the food to a greater extent. This unique characteristic is due to its limited effect on non-covalent bonds which has boosted the commercial value of pressure-processed products. The paper aims to review the engineering and general aspects associated with this technique such as regulatory aspects, safety, etc. It also deals with the effect of pressure on microbial inactivation, enzymatic activities and various nutritional and sensory characteristics. Further, the commercially available pressure-processed food products such as fruit and vegetable juices, meat and marine products, milk products, etc. have been discussed. Various aspects of packaging and regulatory measures as well as future needs have also been reviewed. Top Keywords High pressure, Processing, Food. Top |