ABSTRACT
The potential of applying high pressure (HP) as the main physical process for food treatment and preservation has been reported at the beginning of the last century (Hite, 1899). In the 1990s, several researchers showed that HP treatment can lead to food products free from undesirable microorganisms and enzymes with minor changes in their quality and sensory attributes (Grant et al., 2000). Additionally, HP-treated products such as jams, fruit products, fruit jellies, salad dressings, sauces, etc., were introduced and launched onto the Japanese, American, and European market (Tewari et al., 1999). In 2000, more innovative products (guacamole, peeled oysters, fruit juices, and poultry) appeared in the United States (Meyer, 2000). Food preservation using high-pressure pasteurization as an alternative to thermal pasteurization leads to products with extended shelf life and improved sensory and nutritional characteristics (preservation of thermally sensitive ˜avor compounds and nutrients, color, and texture) (Fondberg-Broczek, 1998). HP treatments, in general, are effective in inactivating most vegetative pathogenic and spoilage microorganisms at pressures above 200 MPa at chilled or process temperatures less than 45°C, but the rate of inactivation is strongly in˜uenced by the peak pressure and the process time (Raoult-Wack, 1994). Sterilization, that is, inactivation of spores such as Clostridium botulinum and Bacillus could be achieved through synergies of elevated heat and pressure (Ahn et al., 2007). High pressure processing (HPP) technology, as commercially de“ned today, is unable to produce low-acid shelf stable products since bacterial spore inactivation requires high pressures of at least 800-1700 MPa at room temperature, far in excess of what is commercially available today. High-pressure high-temperature (HPHT) processing (HP sterilization),
12.1 Demand for Nonthermal Processing of Foods-The Technology of HP ............................. 443 12.1.1 High-Pressure Equipment .........................................................................................446
