7 - UV-C Light for Processing Beverages: Principles, Applications, and Future Trends

Abstract

Food preservation technologies face the challenge of extending product shelf life by applying different factors to inhibit/inactivate microorganisms while maintaining or even enhancing its quality. Short-wave ultraviolet (UV-C) light is an emerging technology that has been successfully utilized to inactivate microorganisms contaminating water and surfaces of various materials. When this technology has been applied to foods, it promoted microbial inactivation, obtaining safe products with minimal changes in their sensory attributes and nutritional values; recent advances have demonstrated that UV-C light holds considerable promise as an alternative to traditional thermal pasteurization for liquid foods, including fresh juices, soft drinks, and other fruit-based beverages. This chapter provides information regarding the use of UV-C light in the beverage industry; including a review of conventional and novel methods for the preservation of liquid products, including thermal and nonthermal technologies. Basic principles of UV-C light and associated technologies, required UV-C doses, foodborne microbial inactivation kinetics, and UV-C equipment design are also presented, while the efficacy of UV-C light in combination with other thermal and nonthermal technologies is discussed. Finally, present status and future trends in processing of beverages (fruit juices, nectars, soft-drinks, beers, and wines) with UV-C light is also included.