Recent Developments in the Preservation of Raw Fresh Food by Pulsed Electric Field

ABSTRACT

Raw fresh foods such as fruits, vegetables, meats, and aquatic products are highly perishable owing to microbial spoilage, chemical, and biochemical reactions after harvest. Pulse electric field (PEF) assisted preservation is a non-thermal technology that exhibits considerable potential to extend the shelf-life of food and provide safe and higher quality products because of its low temperature and short treatment time. This review presents the recent progresses in PEF technology for preserving raw fresh food. The change of cell microstructure, biochemical, and physicochemical properties in raw fresh food induced by PEF is discussed. The application of PEF on raw fresh food regarding inactivating microorganisms, drying, extracting bioactive compounds, and maintaining high quality is summarized. These findings indicate that PEF can be used in food preservation as an alternative or complement to conventional methods. However, the current studies on the effect of PEF on meat and aquatic products were limited. Therefore, more researches about the effect of PEF on protein-based food are needed to facilitate industrial applications.

KEYWORDS:

• Pulse electric field
• raw fresh food
• preservation
• quality

Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support provided by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2017YFC1601704), and Projects 31522044, 31671909, and 31772034 of the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Program of the Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Advanced Food Manufacturing Equipment & Technology (FMZ201904), the National First-Class Discipline Program of Food Science and Technology (JUFSTR20180205).

Disclosure statement

There are no conflicts of interest to declare.

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2017YFC1601704), and Projects 31522044, 31671909, and 31772034 of the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Program of the Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Advanced Food Manufacturing Equipment & Technology [FMZ201904]; the National First-Class Discipline Program of Food Science and Technology [JUFSTR20180205].