Non-thermal technologies: pulsed electric field, high hydrostatic pressure and high pressure homogenization. Application on virus inactivation

Abstract

Bacteriophage attacks to starters in the dairy industry causes enormous economic losses. Phage inactivation have always been a matter of study; however, even combining different control strategies complete removal of phages is not possible and the real aim consist in maintaining their concentration under a critical threshold. This chapter deals with three novel technologies such as pulsed electric field, high hydrostatic pressure and high pressure homogenization. These non-thermal methods are considered the most promising in food processing due to their better preservation of flavor, essential nutrients and vitamins with respect to heat treatments. Aspects such as the principles of the technologies, applications, treatment parameters and factors that influence the inactivation extent, as well as microbial inactivation, are developed below for each technology. For this last aspect and due to the scarce available information regarding phage inactivation, not only the effect of these novel technologies on dairy bacteriophages is referred to, but also on other phages, viruses and even on others microorganisms.