Need of Non Thermal Processing

Nowadays, most of the liquid foods are processed commercially by Ultra High Temperature (UHT) or High Temperature Short Time (HTST) processes.Though heating liquid foods at high temperature  inactivates enzymes and microorganisms, the organoleptic as well as nutritional properties of the food affect due to denaturation of protein with the loss of vitamins. Hence there is a demand for a non-thermal method processing which is economical, compact, energy efficient, safe, socially and environmentally acceptable and which does not adversely affect nutrition, texture and flavour of the treated food. Consumers are also eagerly claiming high quality, minimally processed foods.

The term ‘non-thermal processing’ is more important for novel non-thermal technologies such as high-pressure processing (HPP), pulsed electric field (PEF), high-intensity ultrasound, ultraviolet light, pulsed light, ionizing radiation and oscillating magnetic fields, intended for microbial inactivation.