ABSTRACT
Pulses of high-voltage electrical fields (PEF) are effective in the destruction of bacteria, yeast, and molds. H. Vega-Mercado et al. achieved 90% inactivation of plasmin using a converged electric field intensity of 30–45 kV/cm at a temperature of 15°C. Treatment of raw skim milk with PEF enhanced the shelf life of the milk up to 2 weeks with no significant changes in the physical and chemical properties of the milk. A sensory panel found no differences between PEF and thermally pasteurized skim milk. The ohmic heating electro-pure process is one of the available PEF technologies to pasteurized liquid foods. This process was one of the first attempts to use electrical fields to inactivate microorganisms in milk. Vega-Mercado disclosed two patents for the design and development of static and continuous PEF chambers intended for processing of liquid foods with high-intensity PEF. Many experiments validate the concept that high-intensity PEF provides appropriate microbial inactivation for consideration as a nonthermal pasteurization process.
