Update on nonthermal food processing technologies:: Pulsed electric field, high hydrostatic pressure, irradiation and ultrasound

Traditionally, foods have been preserved by using heat (commercial sterilisation, pasteurisation and blanching), preservatives (antimicrobials), or by changing conditions in the environment for microorganisms such as pH (fermentation), water availability (dehydration, concentration), or temperature (cooling and freezing). Heat is by far the most widely technology utilised to inactivate microbes in foods. This review describes four new non-thermal technologies (pulsed electric field, high pressure, irradiation and ultrasound), explains their mechanisms of action on microbial inactivation, and illustrates their interaction with food systems.