Let's understand Pulsed Electric Field
If you are new to PEF, this page will give you a quick overview. You do not need any previous experience or background to grasp this. And then, simply go on to see all PEF benefits
All PEF Benefits
If you are new to PEF, this page will give you a quick overview. You do not need any previous experience or background to grasp this. And then, simply go on to see all PEF benefits
All PEF Benefits
In essence, in PEF treatment, food is passed through a treatment area with 2 electrodes at the sides, opposite to each other. There is no conducting path between the electrodes when pulses of high voltage are applied. This creates a ‘pulsed electric field’ between the electrodes.
This kills pathogens in the food and opens up cells. There are many other applications of PEF, but we will come to that later. Let us first take a look at our favorite snack - potato chips.
Unlike Tomatoes, there is no benefit from PEF to peeling of Potatoes.
More flexible and soft products:
Due to electroporation, water is leaked out of the cell pores whereas other solids like starch does not leak. As a result, the product become very soft and flexible. So the cutting force is very less which results in less energy consumption as well as better knife age.
Reduced water consumption:
In PEF treated vegetables, lesser starch and other solids are washed out as compared with untreated vegetables. So, water consumption is less. In potato chips, there are less breakages during washing, frying and flavoring and so you have 15% more whole chips to sell. Now, that's a mouthful!
In PEF treated products, the yield increases by 1.5% and doubles are reduced by average of at least 8%.
Besides, the frying is faster & the oil consumption is less. As the English proverb goes - money saved is money earned!
Flavoring just sticks better to the PEF treated product. And the products will be brighter in color and crispier.
Your customers are going to love it.
Finally, not just potatoes, but any PEF treated product dries out quickly. They have significantly increased shelf life without the need of any preservatives. You just packed higher nutritional value, freshness & taste. Awesome.
When any food is treated through conventional means, a lot of the minerals and nutritious content is lost.
With PEF, on the other hand, the good part is retained.
Not only that, but conventional processes require more energy and water for processing the produce.
The benefits of PEF carry over to not just plant-based foods like potatoes but also all varieties of meats, dairy products, fish, fruits, vegetables & even wines!
By permeabilizing cell membranes, PEF enables tissue softening resulting in improved extraction of sucrose from sugar beets. Therefore, the treatment achieves higher product quality and purity.
By doing cell disintegration and structure modification through PEF treatment, extraction process and refining efficiency is improved at a greater scale. By achieving microbial inactivation through PEF treatment, shelf life is increased.
Moisture transport & removal, are improved by the electroporation of fish tissue, resulting in enhanced drying, brining, and marinating of fish. PEF treatments can be applied to Fresh fish fillets, fresh fish, dried fish, salted fish and marinated fish. Due to Microbial inactivation (inactivation of parasites such as nematodes, trematodes, cestodes), shelf life is increased.
A very mild PEF treatment can induce formation of phytochemicals (secondary metabolites) in biological tissues. As a result, the concentration of phytochemicals in plant materials such as soy and cocoa beans is increased. For example, PEF can be applied on soybeans soaked in water. The treatment also enhances extraction processes, such as the extraction of soybeans and cocoa nibs.
Due to cell integration and stress induction, the vegetable tissues become soft Also, the extraction efficiency and drying enhancements, peeling improvements are achieved through PEF. Due to Microbial inactivation, the shelf life is increased for the vegetable products
PEF treatment of microalgae enable extracting ingredients and oil which are used mainly in energy applications. By microbial inactivation, contaminants such as protozoa is controlled in microalgae cultures.
Due to cell disintegration and microbial inactivation, drying, brining and marination process is improved.
The ability of PEF to inactivate microorganisms and disrupt cellular material at certain temperatures is beneficial when processing heat sensitive bioactive compounds and ingredients in biological tissue of plants, herbs, roots, grasses and leaves.
The extraction process of certain pigments from plants is simplified and faster by permeabilizing cell membranes & tissue softening.
for example, lycopene from tomato, betacyanins (red) and betaxanthins (yellow) from Beetroots, etc.
Milk
Juices
Fruit and vegetable puree
Coconut water
Coolant
Waste water
Pesticides
Vegetable Oils
Soups, sauces, dressings and marinades
Baby food
Cosmetic Products Like Rose Oil & Essential Oils
Yogurt
Paint
Beer & wine
Let's look at a potato. It is made up of cells as all foods are, and each cell is surrounded by a membrane. Inside the cell are components which give specific foods their nutritional value.
With the presence of electrically charged ions inside and outside the cell, and the membrane acting as a semi-permeable barrier, each cell has a natural potential – referred to as the trans-membrane potential.
Now, if the cell is exposed to an electric field through PEF treatment, sharp pulses of high electrical energy are applied to a food product, which induces the movement of ions along the electrical field.
As the membrane is only partially permeable from the ions, the latter accumulate at the membrane level only. This leads to an increase in their natural potential and induces an electrical compression. At a specific value, the membrane cannot withstand this pressure or compression and a pore is formed.
