ABSTRACT
High-pressure (HP) treatment is an emerging alternative to the more traditional thermal processing of foods. HP can kill spoilage and pathogenic bacteria and can also be used for improving functionality of food ingredients and nished foods. The technique consists in placing a prepackaged food in a exible container/bag into a uid containing vessel and raising the pressure in the vessel by injecting more uid using a hydraulic/HP pump. The pressure is created instantaneously and acts uniformly through the vessel without pressure gradients; this property offers a direct advantage over heat processing, where there is always a temperature gradient and a cold spot in the geometry of the packaged food to be processed.
