ABSTRACT
Pulsed electric field (PEF) technology is a novel nonthermal food preservation method that can provide consumers with microbiologically safe, minimally processed, nutritious, and fresh-like products. The mechanism of PEF application in food products is not well known. It is believed that the process induces electroporation or electroplasmolysis of cell membranes thereby degrading cell tissue integrity at the cellular and subcellular levels. Many factors determine the effectiveness of PEF treatment. These factors can be categorized under three main groups namely process parameters, microbial characteristics and product parameters. The application of PEF treatment in food preservation for the production of nutritionally-stable food products needs reliable models that can explain different trends of various factors involved in the process. Modeling microbial inactivation by PEF is complicated since a large number of parameters are involved in the process and it is not easy to separate the effect of different parameters from each other.
