ABSTRACT
This chapter explores use of high-pressure processing (HPP) to pasteurize or sterilize foods. However, HPP can be utilized to create unique textural properties in foods, such as in meat tenderization or in the coagulation and gelation of protein foods. Regarding HPP as a food-processing technology, the greater the pressure level and time of application, the greater the changes to the sensory quality of the food. The various effects of high hydrostatic pressure are commonly organized into cell envelope-related effects, pressure-induced cellular changes, biochemical aspects, and effects on genetic mechanisms. Several papers on use of HPP to inactivate spores have made similar suggestions for a two-exposure treatment with HPP to enhance the inactivation of spores; the first exposure to germinate or activate the spores, and the second exposure at a higher pressure to inactivate the germinated spores. Spores present the greatest challenge for inactivation by HPP. Many different antimicrobial compounds have been used in combination with HPP in a hurdle approach.
