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 Indian Food Industry Mag
Vol 34 No 6, Nov-Dec 2015

TECHNICAL ARTICLES
Microbial decontamination by novel technologies – Potential for food
preservation
Rohit Panwar1, Chand Ram Grover2 and Narendra Kumar1
1
Ph.D Scholar, Dairy Microbiology Division, ICAR-National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal-
132001 (Haryana), India
2
Principal Scientist, I/c Synbiotic Functional Foods Research Laboratory, Dairy Microbiology
Division, ICAR-National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal- 132001 (Haryana), India
E-mail: dmcaft2011@gmail.com

Summary preservation methods are in use worldwide. Many of these

Food preservation is a continuous fight against
microorganisms spoiling the food and making it unsafe
for human consumption. Within the disposable arsenal
of preservation techniques, the food industry investigates
more and more on replacement of traditional food
preservation techniques (intense heat treatments, salting,
acidification, drying and chemical preservation) with novel
techniques. The increased consumer demand for
minimally processed foods with eco-friendliness, have
resulted development of various novel technologies for
food processing and preservation. Non-thermal methods
allow the processing of foods below temperatures used
during thermal pasteurization, to minimize changes in
flavours, essential nutrients, and vitamins. The most
investigated new preservation technologies consist of non-
thermal inactivation (high pressure, use of antimicrobials,
ultrasound) and electrical methods (pulsed electric fields,
light pulses) as well as oscillating magnetic fields are also
applied for the preservation of food products with high
bactericidal effect on targeted microorganisms. Non
thermal processing of food has received increased attention
during the last decade. This article focuses on some non
thermal processing techniques for foods, a process which
is also used to create food and food ingredients with new
sensory and functional properties alongwith
microbiological safety. The novel non thermal
technologies would be a boon to food industry to
minimize adverse effects of thermal processes on sensory
and nutritional attributes of food as well as to improve
food safety and shelf life.
Keywords: Microorganisms, Ultrasound,
Decontamination, Preservation, Non-thermal Processing,
Food preservation, Food safety.
TARs
methods for foods are pasteurization or sterilization, rely
on the inactivation of microorganisms, wherein microbial
safety is usually only made possible by increasing the
process intensity, which adversely affect nutritional and
sensory properties of the products. To overcome these
unwanted side effects, different novel inactivation
technologies are under way from laboratory to a pilot or
industrial scale level. One of the major recent
technological innovations in this regard is the application
of high pressure processing. Apart from this, other
promising technologies like pulsed electric fields (PEF),
ultra high pressure homogenization (UHPH), pulsed light
or ultrasound are at different stages of development and
some of them will be available soon for food preservation.
Though, these technologies are scaled up, however, most
of these are quite equipment or product specific and thus,
case by case studies are needed to establish such a process
at an industrial scale. The aim of this article is to update
underlying inactivation mechanisms of microorganisms in
foods treated with novel decontamination technologies.
This comprehensive overview about these mechanisms as
well as innovative analytic approaches to assess the
physiological state of the microorganisms or the interaction
of the respective technology with the treated food, might
enable a systematic approach to optimize these
technologies for successful implementation and validation
in the food industry in near future.
Ultra high pressure homogenization
Ultra high pressure homogenization (UHPH) is an
emerging technology with ultimate aim to obtain food
products with better quality than conventional heat
treatments. This is based upon the same principle as
conventional homogenization, but it works at significantly

higher pressures (up to 400 MPa). Cavitation, turbulence

Introduction
Consumers nowadays increasingly expect high
quality, minimally processed safe foods, free from additive
with high nutritional value and to meet this goal, various
24
and shear forces are physical phenomena that take place
during UHPH treatment (Floury et al., 2004). These
mechanical forces acting on the liquid food product, results
in formation of fine and stable emulsion as well as

microbial and enzymatic inactivation, since all colloidal
particles, from macromolecules to microorganisms, may
be mechanically destroyed during passage through high
pressure valve (Hayes et al., 2005). Ultra high pressure
homogenisation treatment has also been applied to obtain
fine and stable soymilk emulsions. Changes of isoflavones,
protein digestibility and lysine availability during 4
months of storage study at 20±2oC in soymilk treated by
UHPH (300 MPa and 75oC of inlet temperature) were
compared with UHT-sterilized soymilk (142oC, 6s). The
UHPH treatment, allows obtaining soymilk emulsions
with the same percentage of digestibility, available lysine
and isoflavone profile as that of UHT treatment (Toro-
Funes et al., 2015). Cheese produced from ultra high-
pressure homogenized goat milk (200 MPa at 30 oC)
resulted similar levels of lipolysis, lipid oxidation and
flavour and aroma to those made from homogenized
(18±2 MPa, 72oC for 15s) and pasteurized (72oC, 15s)
milk (Juan et al., 2015). Therefore, UHPH treatment can
be employed to minimize destruction of both hydro- and
liposoluble milk vitamins, thus obtaining a product with
better nutritional profile compared to the heat-treated milk
(Amador-Espejo et al., 2015).
In food safety point of view, UHPH treatments of
300 MPa can reduce at least 5 Log counts of major
pathogenic bacteria (E. coli O157:H7, S. enteritidis, L.
monocytogenes,  S. aureus) as required by the U.S. Food
and Drug Administration in fruits, vegetables and their
juices ( Brinez et al., 2007; Velazquez-Estrada et al.,
2008). One of the main advantages of this technology is
to minimum its adverse effects on nutritive and functional
properties of fruit juices, such as antioxidant capacity,
polyphenol composition, vitamin C and pro-vitamin A
content, as compared to commonly used thermal
treatments, as described by Suarez-Jacobo et al.,
(2011) and Velazquez-Estrada et al., (2013) in apple and
orange juices, respectively. Another important aspect of
this technology is its continuous and highly efficient
process for industrial application. In addition, consumers
demand high quality nutritious and safe food products,
mean manufacturing industry has to provide wholesome
food product with good nutritional quality, long shelf life
and high colloidal stability.
Mechanism of microbial inactivation
The effects of UHPH on bacterial cells are not
well known yet, probably microorganisms get disrupted
by sudden pressure drop by torsion and shear stresses, and
most probably by cavitation shock waves resulting from
imploding gas bubbles. Research publications on UHPH
have shown changes in cell morphology, as well as splits
in the cytoplasmic membrane. The sudden increases in
permeability or ruptures of the cell membrane as may
occur under pressure, cause cell death (Vachon et al.,
2002). Study conducted by Wuytack et al., (2002) on
spiking of S. aureus in phosphate buffer saline solution
(PBS) showed that an increase to 45 and 50°C of inlet
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Indian Food Industry Mag
Vol 34 No 6, Nov-Dec 2015
temperature in the UHPH machine result reductions of 2
and 3 log CFU/ml, respectively. Brinez et al., (2007) found
4.0 log CFU/ml reduction of S. aureus ATCC 13565 and
S. carnosus CECT 4491 when inoculated into whole milk
at the rate of 7.0 log CFU/ml by using dual valve UHPH
treatment with 300MPa and 30 MPa at the primary and
secondary valve, respectively.
Similarly, UHPH treatment of vegetable and
almond milk resulted in a considerable reduction of initial
microbial counts and spores reaching total microbial
inhibition at 200 MPa at 75ºC and 300 MPa at 65 and
75ºC, respectively. The single-stage UHPH at 200 and 300
MPa enhanced a rennet coagulation property that is
favorable to cheese industry (Zamora et al., 2007).
Advantages
· The benefits of UHPH include shelf life extension
through inactivation of microorganism and
improvement in functionality due to increased
emulsion capacity and stability, with minimal
effect on nutritional value and sensory
characteristic of foods.
· The thermal effects of UHPH on food components
are minimal because the treated food reaches its
maximum temperature with in <1second.
· Heat resistant endospores can be inactivated in
foods.
Applications in foods
It is continuous process suitable for liquid
products, to minimize microbial contamination (preserving
effect), reduce the size of diffusion particles (solids, fat
globules, proteins), improve physical stability and even in
some cases improve the product performance and texture.
The milk treated with UHPH, when used for yogurt
preparation increased water holding capacity thereby
minimize or absence of sensory defect and improve
textural characteristics without addition of milk powder
as required in industrial production to prevent these
defects. These processes also enhance water retention
capacity leading to good texture and increased shelf life
of fresh cheese. Almost similar pasteurization effects were
observed in milk and vegetable drinks, with high physical
stability. The possibility to achieve sterilization effects are
under investigation. This technology is also being studied
for the production of nanoencapsulation with the aim of
enriching foods with functional components.
Pulsed electric field
Pulsed electric field (PEF) treatment is a potent
non-thermal food decontamination technique, which
TARs
would be able to replace or partially substitute thermal
processes. Microorganisms in foods can be inactivated with
pulsed electric fields at ambient or refrigerated
temperatures for a short treatment time of less than a
 Indian Food Industry Mag
Vol 34 No 6, Nov-Dec 2015

second and freshness of food can be preserved. The extraction from grape wastes (Vorobiev et al., 2012). 
destruction of microorganisms is realized by the
application of high voltage pulses to foods when placed Pulsed electric field unit design
between two electrodes. This process causes disruption A typical PEF system consists of the following components:
of microbial cell membranes. The PEF may be applied in high-voltage pulse generator, energy storage capacitors,
the form of exponentially decaying, square wave, bipolar, treatment chamber (either static or continuous) that houses
or oscillatory pulses at ambient, sub-ambient, or slightly the electrodes, pump to pass the liquid food through the
above-ambient temperature for less than one second. The treatment chamber (if the system is continuous), cooling
PEF-treated food retains its “freshness” physical, chemical and heating baths, measurement devices (voltage, current
and nutritional characteristics (Castro et al., 1993). Studies and temperature), and central process unit to control
about the effect of PEF on dairy products have been operations. The treatment chambers are separated from each
conducted on skim milk, whole milk and yoghurt (Alvarez other by insulators, which may be ceramic or polymer. Each
et al., 2003). The first attempts to treat milk with
electroimpulses were reported at end of 1920s in USA.
Bansal et al., (2015) studied the effects of pulsed
electric field (PEF) applying 26 kV cm ”1  with 1 ìs
monopolar pulses (for 500 ìs) on inactivation
of Zygosaccharomyces bailii and the stability for the key
quality characteristics (vitamin C, phenolic content,
antioxidant capacity, nonenzymatic index, 5-
hydroxymethyl-2-furfural (HMF), and pH) in Emblica
officinalis juice. These results were compared to those of
heat treatment (90°C for 60 s) up to 40 days on storing
at 4°C. The PEF treatment reduced 5.1 log cycles of Z.
bailii with decrease in HMF concentration and browning
index relative to heat treated juice. Simultaneously, PEF
treated juice retained 63% of vitamin C and 88.9% of
antioxidant capacity. However, heat treated juice lowered
4.9 log cycles of Z. bailii and exhibited significant chamber has two electrodes through which the liquid flows
degradation of vitamin C and antioxidant capacity. Wiktor and is exposed to field intensity.
et al., (2015) observed reduction in freezing time during Mechanism of microbial inactivation
PEF treatment of apple. Moreover, the total thawing time
of PEF pretreated material was shorter in comparison with Two mechanisms have been proposed for the mode
untreated samples. of PEF action on microbial membrane: electroporation and
electrical breakdown. However, both mechanisms are in
Ignat et al., (2015) investigated the effect of fact refer to a phenomenon starting by electroporation
pulsed electric fields (PEF) on potatoes intended for deep- resulting in electrical breakdown by which the cell wall
fat frying. Potato cubes were exposed to 18.9 kJ/kg PEF is perforated and cytoplasm contents leak out resulting in
treatments by applying 9000 pulses at 0.75 kV/cm electric cell death. Generally, Gram-positive, vegetative cells are
field or 810 pulses at 2.50 kV/cm electric field. The PEF more resistant to PEF than Gram-negative bacteria, while
treatments increased moisture content, softened potato yeasts show higher sensitivity than bacteria.
cubes without any modification on their fresh-like
appearance and lower oil uptake upon frying than blanched Various factors affect microbial inactivation in PEF
and water-dipped controls. process, which include (electric field intensity, pulse
width, treatment time and temperature as well as pulse
The combination of densification and PEF wave shapes), microbial entity (type, concentration and
treatment was applied on grape pomace with low relative stage of growth of micro-organism) and media (pH,
humidity and without any addition of conductive liquid. antimicrobials and ionic compounds, conductivity and
PEF treatment of fermented grape pomace facilitates medium ionic strength).
selective extraction of total anthocyanins. Thus, PEF can
replace conventional pre-treatments of raw material (e.g. Advantages
dehydration and grinding), which have impacts on product
· Shorter treatment time.
quality and are more energy consuming, with both
TARs

combined objectives of cost reduction and selectivity of · Low treatment temperature.

extraction (Brianceau et al., 2015). In addition, PEF has
· Substitute for conventional heat pasteurization or
shown good results for the enhancement of polyphenols
it can operate at room temperature to retain
quality and heat sensitive vitamins.

26
 Indian Food Industry Mag
Vol 34 No 6, Nov-Dec 2015

the colourant powder obtained from rice bran extracted

· Minimally processed foods have higher nutritional
value.
· PEF inactivates vegetative microorganism including
yeast, spoilage and pathogenic microorganism.
· It can be used to pasteurize fluids such as juices,
milk and soups without using additives.
· Used for pretreatment applications for
improvement of metabolite extraction.
Applications of PEF technology
The PEF is used in processing of fruit juices (orange
juice, apple juice) processing of milk, liquid whole eggs,
baking applications and processing of green pea soup. This
can be used for extraction and drying processes of fruit
and vegetables as a non-thermal pretreatment. The PEF
treatment of sugar beets could increase mass transfer rates
and allow reduction in extraction temperatures to obtain
better quality of sugar (El-Belghiti et al., 2004).
Ohmic heating
Ohmic heating is also referred as Joule heating,
electrical resistance heating or electroconductive heating.
Ohmic heating refers to use of electrical energy to heat
foods as a method of preservation in food
industry, which in turn can be used for
microbial inactivation or several other
processes such as pasteurization, extraction,
dehydration, blanching or thawing. Studies
have been conducted on the usefulness of this
environmentally friendly processing technique.
Ohmic heaters are very efficient wherein over
95% of the applied electrical power get
converted to heat. They have been shown to
improve the color and vitamin retention as
well as provide longer shelf life of food
by ohmic heating. Black glutinous rice bran is a potential
source of the dark purple anthocyanin pigments. During
processing, different levels of electric field of 50, 100,
150, and 200 V cm– 1 were applied. The results showed
ohmic heating is a promising method for solvent
extraction offering both high yield and concentration of
bioactive compounds.
Current industrial methods of tomato peeling are
lye and steam peeling, both of which suffer from various
disadvantages; caustic, high pH of waste with the
former, and excessive water use with the latter. In this
study, tomatoes were ohmically heated in NaCl solution
under various conditions. Results indicated that in terms
of quality of peeling, the best conditions of ohmic
peeling were: 0.01 g/100 ml NaCl with 8060 and
9680 V/m, and 0.03 g/100 ml NaCl with 6450 and
8060 V/m. These conditions showed potential for
processing because they required short time of 1 min
approximately (Wongsa-Ngasri et al., 2015). 
Ohmic heating for pasteurization proved to be a
very good alternative to protect epoxy-xanthophylls, which
were strongly degraded during conventional heating (Achir
et al., 2015). 
Ohmic heater design
The experimental design usually consists of
electrodes that come in contact with food, whereby
electricity is passed through the substance using a variety
of voltage and current combinations. The substance is
heated by dissipation of electrical energy. As compared
to conventional heating, where heat is conducted from
outside using a hot surface, ohmic heating conducts heat
throughout the entire mass of the food uniformly. The
success of ohmic heating depends on the rate of heat
generation in the system, electrical conductivity of the
food, and the method by which the food flows through
the system (Leizerson et al., 2005).
Mechanism of microbial inactivation
TARs

products (Anderson et al., 2008).

LoypimaI et al., (2015) investigated
quality aspects and bioactive compounds of

27
 Indian Food Industry Mag
Vol 34 No 6, Nov-Dec 2015
Microbial inactivation in relation to ohmic
heating is primarily thermal in nature, much like
conventional heating. Cho et al., (1996) demonstrated
that electrical pretreatment by ohmic heating can reduce
the intensity of additional thermal applications for
subsequent microbial inactivation. At low frequencies (50-
60 Hz) and high field strengths (>100V/cm) most
commonly associated with ohmic heating, the naturally
porous cell walls can allow the cell membrane to build
up charges, forming disruptive pores. The pores formed
can vary in size depending on the strength of the electric
field, and causes cell death due to the leakage of
intracellular components through the pores.
Advantages
· The process heats food materials by internal heat
generation without limitation of conventional heat
transfer and non-uniformity commonly associated
with microwave heating due to limited dielectric
penetration. Heating takes place volumetrically
and the product does not experience a large
temperature gradient within itself as it heats.
· Higher temperature in particulates than liquid can
be achieved, which is impossible in conventional
heating.
· Reduced risks of fouling on heat transfer surface
and burning of food product, resulting in minimal
mechanical damage and better nutrients and
vitamin retention.
· Optimize of capital investment and product safety
as a result of high solids loading capacity.
· Ambient-temperature storage and distribution
when combined with an aseptic filling system.
· A quiet environment friendly system.
Applications of ohmic heating
Ohmic heating showed various applications in
food industries including: blanching, thawing, and online
detection of starch gelatinization, fermentation, peeling,
evaporation, dehydration, fermentation and extraction
(Lima et al. 1999). Lakkakula et al. (2004) reported that
ohmic heating was an alternative method for stabilisation
of rice bran because it increased the oil yield of rice bran
to a maximum of 92%, whilst only 53% of oil was
extracted from the control samples. Various juices can also
be treated to inactivate enzymes without affecting the
flavor.
Pulsed light
Pulsed light (PL), also known as pulsed ultraviolet
light, high intensity broad-spectrum pulsed light, pulsed
TARs
light and pulsed white light is an emerging non-thermal
technique, that involves discharge of high voltage electric
pulses into the food product placed between two
electrodes for few seconds (Heinz et al., 2000). The
spectrum of the light pulses is broad, ranging from
28
ultraviolet (UV, 100 nm) to near infrared (1100 nm), with
a considerable amount of light in the short-wave UV
domain. Although the light spectrum generated by the PL
technology has similar composition to sunlight, the
disinfection effects arise because of the intensity involved
is roughly 20,000 to 90,000 times higher than that of
sunlight at earth’s surface.
The pulsed light processing can be described as a
sterilization or decontamination technique used mainly to
inactivate surface micro-organisms on foods, packaging
material and equipments. This technology has been
reported to have the potential for inactivating both spoilage
and pathogenic microorganism (Gomez-Lopez et al., 2007).
According to Wekhof, (2000), the first works on
disinfection with flash lamps were performed in late 1970s
in Japan, and the first patent dates from 1984 (Hiramoto,
1984). Bank et al., (1990) were the first to publish work
scientific literature on the application of PL to inactivate
microorganisms. The PL treatment of foods has been
approved by the FDA (1996) under the code 21CFR179.41.
Setlow et al., (2013) reported shorter effect on lag phases
of the survivors of heat treatment than those surviving PL
and e-beam irradiation. These differences could be
attributed to different type of cell damage caused by the
treatment. Heat inactivation is associated with damage to
enzymes and structural proteins, while inactivation by PL
and irradiation cause damages to nucleic acids. The heat-
induced damage can be repaired in a shorter time, however,
DNA injury is more difficult to repair, thereby extend its
lag phase.
Huang et al., (2015) investigated the inactivation
of Escherichia coli O157:H7, Salmonella and Murine
norovirus (MNV-1), a human norovirus surrogate, on
strawberries and raspberries using water-assisted pulsed
light (WPL) treatment. Strawberries and raspberries were
inoculated with E. coli O157:H7 and treated by WPL for
5–60 s. E. coli O157:H7 counts on both strawberries and
raspberries were significantly reduced in a time-dependent
manner with 2.4 and 4.5 log CFU/g, respectively with 60-
s WPL treatments. Similarly, Salmonella on strawberries
and raspberries was inactivated by 2.8- and 4.9-log units
after 60-s WPL treatments. The decontamination of MNV-
1, by WPL treatment (60s) reduced viral titers on
strawberries and raspberries by 1.8 and 3.6 log units,
respectively.
Mechanism of microbial inactivation
The mechanism of action of PL processing is very
complex including short term, thin-layer temperature
effects – photodermic effects, photochemical effects
(formation of free radicals) and DNA damage to micro-
organisms (Brennan et al., 2006). The PL process resulted
reduction in spoilage of treated products by inactivation
of, yeasts, moulds, viruses and bacteria (Salmonella
typhimurium, Listeria, Pseudomonas, Campylobacter, E.
coli, etc.). The germicidal effect of UV light on bacteria

is primarily due to the formation of pyrimidine dimers,
mainly thymine dimers (Giese et al., 2000).
Advantages
In comparison with continuous UV light disinfection
systems, PL technology exhibits considerable advantages:
· Has higher penetration depth and emission power.
· It is more effective and rapid in inactivation of
microorganism.
· Produces lower heating (due to short pulse
duration and cooling period between pulses).
Applications of pulsed light
The PL technology have been used for
decontamination of variety of food products viz., eggs,
cooked meat, fruit juice, milk and milk products. This
process is quite effective for inactivation of emerging food
born pathogen like L. monocytogenes in ready to eat
cooked meat products. The PL technology also involve in
decontamination of packaging material as well as food
processing equipment.
Ultrasound
Ultrasound has attracted considerable interest in
food science and technology due to its promising effects
in food processing and preservation. As one of the
advanced food technologies it can be applied to develop
gentle but targeted processes to improve the quality and
safety of processed foods. Ultrasound is a form of energy
generated by sound (really pressure) waves of frequencies
that are too high to be detected by human ear i.e. above
16 kHz (Jayasooriya et al., 2004). The advantages of
ultrasound over heat treatment include; minimum flavor
loss, greater homogeneity and significant energy savings
(Earnshaw et al., 1995). It is used in food industry for
many purposes including analysis methods and food
processing such as freezing, cutting, drying, tempering,
homogenization, degassing, antifoaming, filtration and
extraction. Ultrasound can be used as a promoter or
alternative to food processing. There may be numerous
advantages of using ultrasound for food processing such
as effective mixing, increased mass transfer, reduced
energy, reduced temperature and increased production rate.
Due to the elimination of microorganisms and enzymes
without destroying nutrients of foods, ultrasound can be
used as an alternative method to thermal treatments in the
food preservation. The principle aim of this technology is
to reduce the processing time, save energy and improve
the shelf life and quality of food products (Chemat et al.,
2011).
Anese et al., (2013) investigated the effect of
increasing ultrasound energies on the tomato pulp
microstructure and in-vitro lycopene bio-accessibility.
Given treatments, causing loss of tomato cell integrity,
29
Indian Food Industry Mag
Vol 34 No 6, Nov-Dec 2015
induced reorganization of partially depolymerised pectins
to form a stronger network, where lycopene would be
entrapped, thus being less accessible for digestion. Hu et
al., (2015) studied the effect of ultrasound pre-treatment
on formation of transglutaminase-catalysed soy protein
hydrogel as a riboflavin vehicle for functional foods. They
found that ultrasound pretreatment increased hydrophobic
nature of transglutaminase gels. These changed 3D-network
structure of transglutaminase induced soy protein isolate
gels containing riboflavin. Furthermore, 40 min ultrasound
treatment increased gel yield, riboflavin encapsulation
efficiency and gel strength of TSGR.
Ultrasound generation
Ultrasonic waves producing system comprised
generator, transducer and the application system. Generator
produces electrical or mechanical energy and transducer
converts this energy into sound energy at ultrasonic
frequencies. Three main types of transducers are reported
as fluid-driven, magnetostrictive and piezoelectric
transducers (Mulet et al., 2003).
Mechanism of microbial inactivation
The bactericidal effect of ultrasound is attributed
to intracellular cavitation, i.e., micro mechanical shocks
that disrupt cellular structural and functional components
up to the point of cell lysis. Critical processing factors
are: nature of ultrasonic waves, exposure time with
microorganisms, type of micro-organism, volume of food
to be processed, composition of the food and temperature.
The effects, however, are not severe enough for sufficient
reduction of micro-organisms so this is used in
combinations with other preservation methods such as
pressure, heat or extremes of pH. Thermosonic (heat plus
sonication), manosonic (pressure plus sonication), and
manothermosonic (heat plus pressure plus sonication)
treatments are likely to be the best methods to inactivate
microbes, as they are more energy efficient and effective
TARs
in killing microorganisms.
Advantages
The advantages of ultrasound over heat
 Indian Food Industry Mag
Vol 34 No 6, Nov-Dec 2015
pasteurization include: minimum flavor loss, greater
homogeneity and significant energy savings (Piyasena et
al., 2003).
Applications of ultrasound
The industrial applications of ultrasound include
texture, viscosity and concentration measurements of many
solid or fluid foods; composition determination of eggs,
meats, fruits and vegetables, dairy and other products;
thickness, flow level and temperature measurements for
monitoring and control of several processes; and
nondestructive inspection of egg shells and food packages.
Floros et al., (1994) also listed direct process
improvements such as cleaning surfaces, enhancement of
dewatering, drying and filtration, inactivation of
microorganisms and enzymes, disruption of cells,
degassing of liquids, acceleration of heat transfer and
extraction processes and enhancement of any process
dependent upon diffusion. It is evident that ultrasound
technology has a wide range of current and future
applications in the food industry.
Oscillating magnetic fields
Oscillating magnetic field (OMF) has been
explored for their potential as microbial inactivation
methods. The OMF is applied in the form of constant
amplitude or decaying amplitude sinusoidal waves. The
magnetic field may be homogeneous or heterogeneous.
In a homogeneous magnetic field, the field intensity is
uniform in the area enclosed by the magnetic field coil,
while in a heterogeneous field; the field intensity is non-
uniform, with the intensities decreasing as distances from
the center of the coil increases. The OMF applied in the
form of pulses reverses the charge for each pulse, and the
intensity of each pulse decreases with time to about 10%
of the initial intensity (Pothakamury et al., 1993).
Preservation of foods with OMF involves sealing
food in a plastic bag and subjecting it to 1 to 100 pulses
in an OMF with a frequency between 5 to 500 kHz at
temperatures in the range of 0 to 50oC for a total exposure
time ranging from 25 to 100 ms. Magnetic field
treatments are carried out at atmospheric pressure and at
moderate temperatures. The temperature of the food
increases 2-5oC. According to Hoffman, (1985) exposure
to magnetic fields causes inhibition in the growth and
reproduction of microorganisms. In which intensity of 5
to 50 telsa (T) and frequency of 5 to 500 kHz was applied,
resulted reduction in number of microorganisms by at least
2-log cycles. James et al., (2015) investigated the effect
of freezing under OMF conditions on the degree of
supercooling and characteristics of freezing curve of
individual cloves within whole garlic bulbs. Garlic
TARs
(Allium sativum L.) was chosen as the test material and
results clearly indicated significant super-cooling effect in
garlic bulbs during freezing in comparison without OMF.
The super-cooling is more likely to occur in garlic bulbs
30
frozen from an initial ambient (21±1°C) state than those
frozen from an initial chilled (4±0.5°C) state.
Mechanisms of microbial inactivation
Pothakamury et al., (1993) proposed two theories
for inactivation of microorganism under oscillating
magnetic fields. The first theory stated that a “weak” OMF
could loosen the bonds between ions and proteins. Many
proteins vital to the cell metabolism contain ions thus
inactivate microorganism. A second theory considers the
effect of OMF on calcium ions bound in calcium-binding
proteins in the cells.
Advantages
· Low thermal damage effects on food.
· Less additives use in foods.
· Provide freshness to the products
Applications of oscillating magnetic fields
This technique is generally used for
decontamination of foods. The inactivation of
microorganisms by OMF has been achieved in milk,
yogurt, orange juice, and bread roll dough. Tsuchiya et al.,
(1996) reported, only 1 pulse of OMF was adequate to
reduce the bacterial population between 102 and 103CFU/
g. The intensity of the magnetic field required to achieve
these effects varied between 2-25 T and a frequency range
from 5-500 Hz.
Conclusions
The main problem with the thermal processing of
food is loss of volatile compounds, nutrients, and flavor.
These problems could be overcome by use of non thermal
methods in food industries to increase production rate and
profit. The non thermal processing has been used for all
foods for its better quality, acceptance, and extended shelf
life. The new processing techniques have been mostly
employed to the liquid packed foods as compared to solid
foods. Since, majority of non thermal technologies have
been explained at laboratory or pilot scale, however, their
commercial exploration need further investigations to
enhance food safety and shelf life.
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