ABSTRACT
The processing of foods to mend the storage stability and to conserve the food quality can be traced since human civilization. The preservation technologies have evolved from the application of salt, sugar, preservatives, and thermal inactivation to novel processing techniques such as membrane processing, high hydrostatic pressure (HHP), thermo-sonication, cold plasma, pulsed electric field, ultrasound, pulsed light technology (PLT), ozone, and active packaging, etc. Conventionally, inactivation of microbes through heating is one of the most widely used tools for preservation and microbial safety.
To address the issues in thermal processing, researchers are exploring different non-thermal technologies to preserve the foods without loss in the nutritional quality and sensory properties. PLT is such a technology, which is recognized by the FDA for the sanitization and microbial safety of foods. The PLT is grounded on the discharge of minute duration of high-frequency pulses of light on surfaces and into the food products to obtain foods safe for consumption. PLT is an eco-friendly technology that is emerging in this era owing to its wide applications from the decontaminations of foods, surfaces, environments, devices, and packages to reduce the allergen potent of some naturally occurring foods. Therefore, with growing demand in minimally processed foods and eco-friendly technologies, PLT can be an auspicious technique to conserve the quality of food products having fresh like characteristics throughout their storage period.
