The Newest Technology in Food

Processing: Pulsed Electric Field

Pulsed electric field (PEF) is a non-thermal food preservation technique that uses high voltage
fields to generate pores in cell structures. It is widely used in the snack industry to soften
vegetable tissues that increases sustainability and improves shelf life.

There are many considerations and benefits of this innovative solution used during food
processing which can help reduce harmful pathogens.

The principles of pulsed electric field

The basic principle of the PEF technology is the application of short pulses of high
electric fields with duration of microseconds micro- to milliseconds and intensity in
the order of 10-80 kV/cm. The processing time is calculated by multiplying the
number of pulses times with effective pulse duration. The process is based on pulsed
electrical currents delivered to a product placed between a set of electrodes; the
distance between electrodes is termed as the treatment gap of the PEF chamber. The
applied high voltage results in an electric field that causes microbial inactivation. The
electric field may be applied in the form of exponentially decaying, square wave,
bipolar, or oscillatory pulses and at ambient, sub-ambient, or slightly above-ambient
temperature. After the treatment, the food is packaged aseptically and stored under
refrigeration. applied to a food product held between two electrodes inside a chamber,
usually at room temperature. Food is capable of transferring electricity because of the
presence of several ions, giving the product in question a certain degree of electrical
conductivity. So, when an electrical field is applied, electrical current flows into the
liquid food and is transferred to each point in the liquid because of the charged
molecules present.

Several nonthermal processing technologies were proposed on the basis of the same
basic principle of keeping food below temperatures normally used in thermal
processing. This would retain the nutritional quality of food including vitamins,
minerals, and essential flavors while consuming less energy than thermal processing.
High hydrostatic pressure, oscillating magnetic fields, intense light pulses, irradiation,
the use of chemicals and biochemicals, high intensity pulse electric fields, and the
hurdle concept were all recognized as emerging nonthermal technologies in recent
years .

As a result of this permanent membrane damage, microorganisms are inactivated.

Some applications of PEF technology are in biotechnology and genetic engineering
for electroporation in cell hybridization .

The basis for this prediction is because of PEF ability to inactivate microorganisms in
the food, reduce enzymatic activity, and extend shelf-life with negligible changes in
the quality of the final product as compared to the original one. According to the
intensity of the field strength, electroporation can be either reversible (cell membrane
discharge) or irreversible (cell membrane breakdown or lysis), but this effect can be
controlled depending on the application.

PEF technology is based on a pulsing power delivered to the product placed between a
set of electrodes confining the treatment gap of the PEF chamber. The equipment
consists of a high voltage pulse generator and a treatment chamber with a suitable
fluid handling system and necessary monitoring and controlling devices (Fig. 1.).
Food product is placed in the treatment chamber, either in a static or continuous
design, where two electrodes are connected together with a nonconductive material to
avoid electrical flow from one to the other. Generated high voltage electrical pulses
are applied to the electrodes, which then conduct the high intensity electrical pulse to
the product placed between the two electrodes. The food product experiences a force
per unit charge, the so-called electric field, which is responsible for the irreversible
cell membrane breakdown in microorganisms.

This leads to dielectric breakdown of the microbial cell membranes and to interaction
with the charged molecules of food. Hence, PEF technology has been suggested for
the pasteurization of foods such as juices, milk, yogurt, soups, and liquid eggs .

Figure 1.

Flow chart of a PEF food processing system with basic component.

System components
A pulsed Electric Field processing system consists of a high-voltage power source, an
energy storage capacitor bank, a charging current limiting resistor, a switch to
discharge energy from the capacitor across the food and a treatment chamber. An
oscilloscope is used to observe the pulse waveform. The power source, a high voltage
DC generator, converts voltage from an utility line (110 V) into high voltage AC, then
rectifies to a high voltage DC. Energy from the power source is stored in the capacitor
and is discharged through the treatment chamber to generate an electric field in the
food material. The maximum voltage across the capacitor is equal to the voltage
across the generator. The bank of capacitors is charged by a direct current power
source obtained from amplified and rectified regular alternative current main source.
An electrical switch is used to discharge energy (instantaneously in millionth of a
second) stored in the capacitor storage bank across the food held in the treatment
chamber. Apart from those major components, some adjunct parts are also necessary.
In case of continuous systems, a pump is used to convey the food through the
treatment chamber. A chamber cooling system may be used to diminish the ohmic
heating effect and control food temperature during treatment. High-voltage and high-
current probes are used to measure the voltage and current delivered to the
chamber. Fig. 2 shows a basic PEF treatment unit (Ortega-Rivas et al. 1998)

Figure 2.

Schematic diagram of a pulsed electric fields operation

A PEF system for food processing in general consists of three basic components
(Fig.3): a high voltage pulse generator, a treatment chamber and a control system for
monitoring the process parameters.
Many successful steps have been taken in the design of system components and
inactivation mechanism for different species, however, there are still many points that
have not been fully explained. Inactivation kinetics and the effect of PEF on spores
are some of the most discussed issues in recent studies. Methods applied to thermal
processing technologies by plotting logs of the numbers of survivors against log or
treatment time, or number of pulses, have been used to explain inactivation kinetics
neglecting the deviations from linearity for these plots.

Figure 3.

Scheme of a pulsed electric field system for food processing.

The high intensity pulsed electric field processing system is a simple electrical system
consisting of
high voltage source,
capacitor bank,
switch, and
treatment chamber.
Generation of pulsed electric fields requires a fast discharge of electrical energy
within a short period of time. This is accomplished by the pulse-forming network
(PFN), an electrical circuit consisting of one or more power supplies with the ability
to charge voltages (up to 60 kV), switches (ignitron, thyratron, tetrode, spark gap,
semiconductors), capacitors (0.1-10 µF), resistors (2Ω-1O MΩ), and treatment
chambers
Conclusion

The objective of food preservation technologies used by the food industry is to control
microorganisms once they are contaminating foods. Food preservation technologies
are based on the prevention of microbial growth or on the microbial inactivation.

Pulsed electric field (PEF) is a potential non-thermal food preservation technique to

replace conventional thermal processing. When exposed to high electrical field pulses,
cell membranes develop pores either by enlargement of existing pores or by creation
of new ones. These pores may be permanent or temporary, depending on the condition
of treatment. The pulsed electric processing system is composed basically of a high
power pulse generator, a treatment cell, voltage and current measuring devices. A
traditional treatment cell consists of two electrodes held in parallel by insulating
material that form an enclosure containing the food to be treated. The application of
high intensity pulsed electric fields consists of the generation of short time pulses of
electric fields between two parallel plate electrodes enclosing a dielectric material.
Pulsed electric fields technology is the application of very short pulses (micro – to
milliseconds), at electric field intensities ranging from 10-80 kV/cm, applied to a food
product held between two electrodes inside a chamber, usually at room temperature.

About the Author:

Dr. Danny Bayliss has over nine years’ experience in R&D with deep knowledge
across a range of new and emerging processing technologies including high-pressure
processing, ultraviolet light, pulsed light, cold plasma, continuous microwave
processing, low water active pasteurisation and ultrasound. He leads the New
Technologies Research Team at Campden BRI which supports the food and drink
industry with exploratory research and implementation of new and emerging processes
and preservation technologies with food safety and product quality focus.
Reference :

https://globalfoodsafetyresource.com/newest-technology-food-processing-pulsed-electric-field/