Applications of ultrasound for food preservation and disinfection: A critical review

Abstract

Ultrasound has excellent potential in reducing microbial contamination and has also shown remarkable results in the wastewater treatment and pollutant removal. The different mechanisms of ultrasound in reducing the microbial contamination in food industry are rather exploratory. The present review focuses on the role of ultrasound in improved disinfection, sanitization, and preservation applications in food processing. This paper discusses the physical and chemical effects of ultrasonic cavitation on microbial inactivation. A comprehensive literature is provided to investigate and analyze the broad area application of ultrasound in preventing the microbial contamination in fruits and vegetables, meat, dairy, and during alcohol fermentation. The applied combination of ultrasound with different novel and conventional methods to intensify the ultrasound-based effect has also been discussed. Overall, this work clearly establishes the background on the prospects of ultrasound disinfection and cleaning in the food industry as a green, effective, sustainable approach to prevent foodborne diseases. Novelty impact statement The present study establishes a groundwork for the application prospects of ultrasound-based novel, green, and sustainable methods for disinfection and cleaning in the food industry and provides a new insight into the ultrasound mechanisms while analyzing the combined approaches for varied microbial inactivation practices.