Novel hydrothermodynamic food processing technology

A novel hydrothermodynamic (HTD) technology for simultaneous crushing, homogenizing and pasteurization of whole food in a turbulent flow as a single-unit operation was developed. The HTD technology is based on the phenomena of high turbulence and cavitation in viscous liquids. HTD differs from hydrodynamic (HD) cavitation because it fully utilizes heat generated in the turbulent flow for product pasteurization. Pilot-scale HTD processing of whole blueberry resulted in homogeneous suspension with 13% solids, 1.45-2.76 Pa s viscosity, stable texture and low sedimentation. HTD processing minimized effect of thermal degradation of bioactive phenolics and increased shelf-life of pasteurized blueberry food. Pasteurization at 95 °C provided <10 CFU/g microbial load, which was satisfactory for long-term storage. This research proved the potential of HTD technology for manufacturing of innovative natural whole foods with high nutritional and nutraceutical values.