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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania » Eastern Regional Research Center » Microbial and Chemical Food Safety » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #315736
Title: Impact of high-pressure processing on the microbial ecology of foods

Author
item Mukhopadhyay, Sudarsan
item Ukuku, Dike
item Juneja, Vijay
item RAMASWAMY, RAGHUPATHY - Hj Heinz Company

Submitted to: Quantitative Microbiology
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/1/2015
Publication Date: 12/15/2016
Citation: Mukhopadhyay, S., Ukuku, D.O., Juneja, V.K., Ramaswamy, R. 2016. Impact of high-pressure processing on the microbial ecology of foods. In: de Souza Sant'Ana, A. (Ed). Quantitative Microbiology in Food Processing: Modeling the Microbial Ecology, First Edition. Chichester, West Sussex, UK. Wiley-Blackwell Publisher. p.194-216.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: A new report released by the USDA’s Economic Research Service estimates the cost of foodborne illnesses in the U.S. tops $15.6 billion (USDA, 2014). Food can be contaminated by human pathogens anywhere in the farm to table continuum. Thermal processing is the most common intervention technology practiced in the food industry. Although thermal processing can ensure microbial inactivation; it can frequently result in negative impact on the nutritional and organoleptic properties of food. Consumers’ demand for high-quality foods that are microbiologically safe and stable has awakened a growing interest in non-thermal preservation techniques. Food processors and researchers are responding to consumers’ demand for fresh food that are safe by proposing and developing non-thermal intervention treatments that can keep food safe and fresh or near freshness without altering the sensorial characteristic. High Pressure Processing is among the most preferred non-thermal processing intervention technologies developed for this purpose. In this chapter, the efficacy of High Pressure Processing leading to microbial inactivation has been evaluated. The information presented in this chapter will expand the knowledge base regarding the important processing variables of this technology that would give the optimum efficacy for bacterial inactivation in food while maintaining the quality attributes especially for heat sensitive foods.