Asian Journal of Food Research and Nutrition

Principles of Application of Electric Fields and Electro-Technologies for Food Processing and Extraction of Bioactives from Fruits and Vegetables

Shehu Isah *

Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, Caleb University, Lago, Nigeria.

*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

---

Abstract

Enhancing food safety and optimum shelf life can be achieved without compromising appropriate nutritional and sensory attributes of food by application of low-temperature food processing technologies. Pulsed electric fields (PEF), high hydrostatic pressure, high-intensity light, pulsed X-ray technology and microwave heating are emerging electro-technologies that effectively inactivate deleterious food microbes at ambient processing temperatures and short processing time. In this review, the principles of pulsed electric fields food processing were evaluated along with requirements for scale-up operation. Other latest developments in the field of non-thermal processing methods were examined. In one study, PEF processing significantly improved the flavor and overall acceptability of tomato juice, grape juice, meat and processed seafood. The microbial stability of PEF processed food is quite comparable to thermally processed products. PEF and other emerging innovative electro-technologies are continuously improving the sensory characteristics and shelf life of processed foods.

Keywords: Pulsed electric fields (PEF), extraction, bioactives, food safety, human health, Industrial application

---

---

---

References

Mohamed M, Eissa A. “Pulsed Electric Fields for Food Processing Technology,” Struct. Funct. Food Eng. 2012;32.

Evrendilek GA, Baysal T, Icier F, Yildiz H, Demirdoven A, Bozkurt H. “Processing of Fruits and Fruit Juices by Novel Electrotechnologies,” Food Eng. Rev; 2012.

Min S, Evrendilek GA, Zhang HQ. “Pulsed electric fields: Processing system, microbial and enzyme inhibition, and shelf life extension of foods,” IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science, 2007; 35(1):59–73.

Vega-Mercado H. et al., “Non-thermal food preservation: Pulsed electric fields,” Trends Food Sci. Technol. 1997;8(5):151–157.

Zimmermann U. “Electric field-mediated fusion and related electrical phenomena,” BBA - Reviews on Biomembranes. 1982; 694(3):227–277.

Sastry S. “Ohmic heating and moderate electric field processing,” Food Sci. Technol. Int. 2008;14(5):419–422.

Ho SY, Mittal GS, Cross JD, “Effects of high field electric pulses on the activity of selected enzymes. J. Food Eng. 1997; 31:69–84.

Li YQ, Chen Q, Liu XH, Chen ZX. “Inactivation of soybean lipoxygenase in soymilk by pulsed electric fields,” Food Chem. 2008;109(2):408–414.

Baines D, Seal R. Natural Food Additives, Ingredients and Flavourings. 2012.

V. M. Balasubramaniam and D. Farkas, “High-pressure food processing. Food Sci. Technol. Int. 2008;14(5):413– 418.

Thakur BR, Nelson PE. “High-pressure processing and preservation of food,” Food Rev. Int. 1998;14(4):427–447.

Rudra SG, Nishad J, Jakhar N, Kaur C. Food industry waste: mine of nutraceuticals. Int. J. Sci. Environ. Technol. 2015;4(1):205-29.

EA M, Amer Eiss AH. “Pulsed Electric Fields for Food Processing Technology,” Structure and Function of Food Engineering; 2012.

Rastogi NK. “Application of high-intensity pulsed electrical fields in food processing,” Food Rev. Int. 2003; 19(3):229–251.

Chandrasekaran S, Ramanathan S, Basak T. “Microwave food processing-A review,” Food Research International. 2013;52(1): 243–261.

Min S, Jin ZT, Zhang QH. “Commercial scale pulsed electric field processing of tomato juice.,” J Agric Food Chem. 2003;51(11):3338–3344.

Toepfl S, “Pulsed Electric Field food treatment - scale up from lab to industrial scale,” Procedia Food Sci. 2011;(1):776–779.

Siemer C, Toepfl S, Heinz V. “Inactivation of Bacillus subtilis spores by pulsed electric fields (PEF) in combination with thermal energy II. Modeling thermal inactivation of B. subtilis spores during PEF processing in combination with thermal energy,” Food Control. 2014; 39(1):244–250.

Tanino T, Yoshida T, Sakai K, Bing S, Ohshima T. “Inactivation of Escherichia coli phages by PEF treatment and analysis of inactivation mechanism,” J. Electrostat. 2015;73:151–155.

Sagar NA, Pareek S, Sharma S, Yahia EM, Lobo MG. Fruit and vegetable waste: Bioactive compounds, their extraction, and possible utilization. Comprehensive reviews in food science and food safety. 2018;17(3):512-31.

Donsì F, Ferrari G, Pataro G. “Applications of pulsed electric field treatments for the enhancement of mass transfer from vegetable tissue. Food Eng. Rev. 2010;2(2):109–130.

Kosseva MR. Functional food and nutraceuticals derived from food industry wastes. InFood Industry Wastes 2013 Jan 1 (pp. 103-120). Academic Press.