Opportunities and challenges in pulsed electric field processing of dairy products

Consumer demand and current market conditions warrant investigation of dairy processing technologies that can deliver improved product quality and stability and reduced energy use during processing, without compromising product and process safety. One candidate technology for the extension of shelf-life in dairy products is pulsed electric field (PEF) processing. PEF is considered to be an effective, non-thermal intervention that appears to hold some promise. Research on the application of PEF to control spoilage and pathogenic microorganisms and enzyme systems in dairy products spans a wide array of processing equipment and reaction conditions. PEF has been reported to effectively reduce the numbers of both pathogens and spoilage organisms in milk; however, there is a high degree of variability between studies. The application of PEF in combination with lower temperature thermal processing can deliver comparable reductions in microbial load without significant detrimental effects to the sensory and physico-chemical properties of food products.