ABSTRACT
Nowadays consumer demand for food products do not only refer to the microbiological and toxicological safety, but also require the guarantee for other key characteristics such as preserved nutritional and sensorial quality, extended shelf-life and the convenience of use. In addition, food manufacturers have to integrate actual considerations linked to the environmental requirements, reduction of energy consumption and regulation evolution. Besides, as a consequence of market globalization, the food industry and especially small and medium-sized enterprises (SME’s) have to demonstrate innovative dynamics in launching products with high added-value and developing technological ‘niches’ as new market opportunities. Thermal processing which has a long tradition in food preservation is unfortunately often accompanied by degradation of some food sensorial and nutritional properties. Even if heat treatments can be optimized, such as short-time-high-temperature treatments able to inactivate pathogens and spores while limiting vitamin loss, some deteriorative side-effects 86cannot be completely avoided with regard to fresh-like color and flavor, and product functionality. The development of novel technologies including high hydrostatic pressure (HHP) for food processing and preservation complies with these requirements. Minimal processing is designed to limit processing impacts on nutritional and sensory quality while preserving food products and limiting the use of ‘chemical’ additives. HHP is a physical non-thermal process able to reduce/inactivate spoilage and pathogenic microorganisms at cold or mild temperatures while preserving food quality attributes and saving energy with a low impact on the environment. HP treatments at 4–20°C and 400–600 MPa are nowadays implemented at an industrial scale (Tonello 2008). Such treatments lead to food product pasteurization. More recently, combined high pressure-high temperature treatments (or pressure-assisted sterilization) that take advantage of adiabatic heating during pressure build up to achieve 105–120°C for few seconds or minutes (starting from product temperatures of 60–90°C) are investigated at the laboratory scale to assess spores inactivation (Meyer et al., 2000; Matser et al., 2004; Ahn, 2007).
