Ultrasound-Assisted Cold Pasteurization in Liquid or SC-CO2

Anna Abramova,Igor Fedulov,Vladimir Abramov,Giancarlo Cravotto,Roman Nikonov,Vadim Bayazitov,Livio Stevanato

doi:10.3390/pr9081457

Abstract

Various types of chemical and physical protocols are used, thermal treatment in particular, to increase the quality of bulk food products (for example, dates or some sort of nuts) and extend shelf life, and combinations of methods are frequently used to achieve the best results. However, the use of these processing methods is not always the best option to preserve the initial taste and appearance of food products. For instance, a product may lose its initial natural appearance and acquire different flavors due to chemical transformations that occur at certain temperatures or when the products are treated with chemicals. Non-thermal treatment methods are called “cold” pasteurization. This is a set of advanced techniques that are based on physical and chemical effects that do not result in the structural food-product transformations caused by heating. We have developed and tested a new technique for efficient food-product processing and cold pasteurization in an ultrasonic field under pressure in an atmosphere of supercritical or subcritical carbon dioxide. A laboratory-scale unit that was designed and built for this purpose has experimentally proven the feasibility of this process and demonstrated high efficiency in suppressing pathogenic flora.

Highlights

The issues of pasteurization and sterilization are of great importance for the food, pharmaceutical and other public health-related industries, and extended shelf-life for food products is highly requested
Based on the above data, it can be concluded that the ultrasonic field significantly increased the microorganism mortality rate on the surface of a processed product
This technique has a number of advantages, including its safety, as even high pressure cannot lead to serious consequences; the working medium is food-grade carbon dioxide, most of which is recycled, and the remaining part can be collected using affordable methods

Summary

Introduction

The issues of pasteurization and sterilization are of great importance for the food, pharmaceutical and other public health-related industries, and extended shelf-life for food products is highly requested. Many food products are exported not just to other countries, but to other continents, meaning that it is crucial that the microorganisms on the surface of such products are destroyed. It should be noted that there has recently been a boom in the consumption of fresh food products with the highest possible content of vitamins and minerals. Fresh food products pose a threat to human health when not processed properly. Listeriosis, an infectious disease, is caused by listeria, a bacterium that can be found on poorly processed meat, milk products, vegetables and fruit. Among other issues that it causes, this bacterium often survives on products even after proper pasteurization

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