The effect of electrical processing on mass transfer and mechanical properties of food materials

A range of potential applications of electrical fields in the food industry has been investigated over the last decades. In this work the effect of electrical fields on mass transfer rates of cellular and hydrogel based foods was studied. Moderate Electrical Fields (MEF) of a continuous alternating current (50 Hz frequency) at fields up to 1400 v/m were used. Results demonstrated that both electrical fields and thermal treatment had an enhancing effect the extraction of betanin from beetroot. Placing the sample at a position perpendicular to the electrical field was found to have an enhancing effect on the extraction. Application of MEF also appeared to enhance the rate at which rhodamine6G absorbed to hydrogels set with ions, with mass transfer increasing with an increasing electrical field. No significant mass transfer enhancement was observed for hydrogels that do not set ionically (e.g. gelatin and albumen)