Res. Agr. Eng., 2022, 68(2):80-92 | DOI: 10.17221/78/2021-RAE

Pulsed electric field treatment for the stimulation of microorganisms: Applications in food productionReview

Sally El Kantar, Mohamed Koubaa*
Integrated Transformations of Renewable Matter (TIMR), École Supérieure de Chimie Organique et Minérale (ESCOM), Centre de Recherche Royallieu, Universite de Technologie de Compiègne, Compiègne Cedex, France

The pulsed electric field (PEF) technology is a non-thermal processing technique usually used for microbial inactivation in food industries. The application of this technology at sub-lethal levels prior to or during the fermentation processes enhances the mass transfer and cell permeability. It could also cause changes in the genetic, metabolic, and physiological responses of microbial strains leading to an improvement in the fermentation process. Several studies reported the benefits of PEF on microorganisms including growth stimulation, an increase in the fermentation rates and product yields, and improvement in the metabolite extraction. All of these modifications could improve the organoleptic and nutritional properties of fermented food products. The purpose of this review is to summarise and discuss the main findings reported in the literature to date about the effect of PEFs applied at sub-lethal levels on microorganisms in the context of food processing.

Keywords: cell membrane; electroporation; fermentation; food products; microbial growth; sub-lethal level

Published: February 15, 2022  Show citation

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El Kantar S, Koubaa M. Pulsed electric field treatment for the stimulation of microorganisms: Applications in food production. Res. Agr. Eng. 2022;68(2):80-92. doi: 10.17221/78/2021-RAE.
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