The appeal of PEF lies in what it avoids. Conventional pasteurization of fruit and vegetable juices relies on intense heat, which effectively eliminates pathogens and spoilage organisms but simultaneously degrades vitamins, polyphenols, flavonoids, and carotenoids, the very compounds that make juices attractive to health-conscious consumers. PEF works differently. When microbial cells are exposed to an electric field strength above roughly 10 kV/cm for micro- to millisecond durations, a phenomenon called electroporation occurs: the cell membrane, normally an insulating barrier, develops pores as the transmembrane potential exceeds a critical threshold. If the pores reseal, the cell survives, injured but alive. If they fail to reseal, the cell dies. The new study tackles both outcomes head-on, quantifying not just how many cells die but how many are left in that dangerous middle state of sub-lethal injury.

The experimental setup was deliberately designed to mimic industrial conditions. The team used a continuous-flow PEF system, the EPULSUS-BM1A-12 pulse generator, pumping juice at 6 liters per hour through a treatment chamber with parallel titanium electrodes separated by a 0.4-centimeter gap. Square-wave pulses of 4 microseconds were applied at a field strength of 20 kV/cm, with repetition frequencies ranging from 4 to 78 Hz. This produced treatment times between 0 and 112.3 microseconds and total specific energies from 0 up to 139.2 kJ/kg, with outlet temperatures held between 20 and 55.8 degrees Celsius, well below what conventional pasteurization would require. Three juices with sharply different chemistries served as the test matrices: acidic pomegranate juice at pH 3.1, moderately acidic tomato juice at pH 4.4, and nearly neutral carrot juice at pH 6.1, each with distinct conductivity and soluble solids content.

Four microbial strains were put through this gauntlet: two strains of Escherichia coli, the laboratory strain K12 and the foodborne isolate FAM 21843 originally recovered from raw milk cheese, and two strains of the spoilage yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, AD1890 isolated from fruit and 130.0014 from the food industry. The results met and in some cases exceeded the benchmark that matters most for commercialization. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration requires a 5-log reduction, meaning a 100,000-fold decrease in the most resistant foodborne pathogen, before PEF can be approved for commercial juice pasteurization. In pomegranate and carrot juices, both E. coli strains achieved greater than 5-log reductions at the highest treatment intensities. Tomato juice proved more challenging, yielding reductions above 3.85 logs, a shortfall the authors attribute to its intermediate acidity and composition.

One of the most technically important aspects of the study is its modeling approach. Traditional kinetic modeling proceeds in two stages: a primary model is fitted to each survival curve individually, and then the resulting parameters are linked to process variables through a secondary model. This stepwise procedure propagates errors and wastes information. Instead, the researchers fitted primary and secondary models simultaneously to the full dataset, combining a log-linear primary model with a second-order polynomial secondary model that describes how the maximum specific inactivation rate, k-max, depends on total specific energy. The polynomial captures three things at once: a baseline inactivation constant C1, a linear sensitivity coefficient C2, and a quadratic coefficient C3 that accounts for nonlinear acceleration or deceleration of killing as energy accumulates. Model performance was excellent, with regression coefficients ranging from 0.965 to 0.998 across all twelve strain-juice combinations.

The survival curves themselves were anything but the simple straight lines that early PEF studies reported. Those earlier log-linear observations, the authors note, likely reflected limited inactivation levels below 4 logs achieved at low field strengths or short durations. At the intensities tested here, the curves were distinctly multiphasic. In pomegranate juice, the E. coli strains showed concave downward kinetics, a slow initial decline that accelerated sharply after 47.12 microseconds of treatment. In carrot juice, the pattern inverted: a pronounced shoulder of resistance persisted up to about 44.64 microseconds, followed by a rapid collapse in viability beyond 61.92 microseconds. Tomato juice produced near log-linear behavior with slight tailing. The yeast strains followed similar matrix-dependent patterns, with S. cerevisiae showing particularly sharp sensitivity in tomato juice beyond 38.48 microseconds of treatment.

Statistical analysis of the fitted parameters revealed a satisfying hierarchy of effects. The linear coefficient C2 did not differ significantly across any strain or juice, suggesting a conserved, universal linear response of microbial populations to increasing energy input. In contrast, the baseline inactivation constant C1 and the quadratic coefficient C3 both varied significantly, clustering strains into distinct statistical groups. E. coli K12 in pomegranate juice showed one of the highest baseline inactivation rates, while S. cerevisiae 130.0014 in carrot juice showed the lowest. Notably, E. coli FAM 21843 displayed no matrix dependence in its baseline rate, meaning its initial susceptibility to PEF was unaffected by which juice it was suspended in. The predicted inactivation rates climbed steeply for all strains at total specific energies above 80 kJ/kg, with S. cerevisiae 130.0014 showing the highest rate at high energies in pomegranate and tomato juices, marking it as the most energy-sensitive organism tested.

Strain heterogeneity, the bane of predictive food microbiology, showed up in the details. The two E. coli strains behaved nearly identically across all juices, with one exception: in the most acidic matrix, pomegranate juice, FAM 21843 proved more resistant than K12, showing a 1.71-log reduction versus K12’s 2.36-log reduction at 72.32 kJ/kg. Among the yeasts, AD1890 was consistently more resistant than 130.0014 at high energy levels, a pattern that echoes earlier findings from the same laboratories under high-pressure processing and ultrasound, hinting at cross-resistance to multiple preservation stresses in the AD1890 strain. Sub-lethal injury, assessed by plating on selective versus nonselective media, was minimal in tomato and carrot juices but pronounced in pomegranate juice at medium energy levels, where the gap between counts on the two media widened, indicating a pool of membrane-damaged cells that could potentially recover during storage.

Crucially for consumers, the treatment left the juices’ nutritional chemistry untouched. Measurements of total phenolic content, total flavonoid content, total orthodiphenol content, and CUPRAC antioxidant capacity showed no statistically significant differences between untreated and PEF-treated samples for any of the three juices. This aligns with prior reports that PEF preserves anthocyanins in pomegranate juice, carotenoids in tomato juice, and antioxidant capacity in carrot juice, sometimes through twelve weeks of refrigerated storage. The combination of FDA-relevant microbial reductions and intact bioactive compounds is precisely the value proposition that has kept PEF on the industry’s wish list for decades.

The study’s authors are candid about what remains to be done. Future models should explicitly account for strain and matrix variability, other quality attributes such as color, volatile compounds, and flavor deserve investigation, and the capital cost of PEF equipment remains a significant barrier to widespread adoption. But the message of this work is clear and commercially resonant: under realistic continuous-flow conditions, total specific energy is the master variable controlling microbial inactivation by PEF, a well-fitted polynomial model can predict it across organisms and juices, and the technology can deliver pathogen-killing performance without sacrificing the antioxidants that sell fresh juice in the first place.

Subject of Research: Kinetic modeling of microbial inactivation in fruit and vegetable juices treated with pulsed electric fields

Article Title: Kinetic Modeling of Microbial Inactivation in Juices Treated With Pulsed Electric Fields (PEF): A Comparative Study on Microbial Heterogeneity and Food Matrix Effects

Article References: Lytras, F., Psakis, G., Xuereb, M., Lia, F., Gatt, R., Raso, J., & Valdramidis, V. (2026). Kinetic Modeling of Microbial Inactivation in Juices Treated With Pulsed Electric Fields ( PEF ): A Comparative Study on Microbial Heterogeneity and Food Matrix Effects. Food Science & Nutrition, 14(10), Article e72408. https://doi.org/10.1002/fsn3.72408

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1002/fsn3.72408

Keywords: pulsed electric fields, food safety, microbial inactivation, kinetic modeling, juice processing, electroporation, non-thermal processing, Escherichia coli, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, sublethal injury, antioxidants, food matrix effects

The experiment was designed around a deceptively simple question: what is the minimum radiation dose that kills pathogens without compromising meat quality? The team inoculated raw beef bottom round with five of the most notorious foodborne pathogens: Salmonella Typhimurium, Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus, and Escherichia coli. Samples were then treated with electron beam doses ranging from 1 to 9 kilograys using a linear accelerator operating at 10 megaelectronvolts, with the meat held at minus 2 degrees Celsius during treatment to mimic realistic cold-chain conditions. The results were striking: Salmonella, Listeria, Staphylococcus, and E. coli all fell below the detection limit of less than one log colony-forming unit per gram at doses of 3 kilograys or higher.

One microbe, however, proved remarkably stubborn. Bacillus cereus, a spore-forming bacterium, required doses of at least 7 kilograys before it too dropped below detectable levels. The reason lies in the extraordinary architecture of bacterial spores. These dormant structures are wrapped in multiple protective layers, including a cortex, an outer membrane, protein coats, and an exosporium. The outer coat contains pigments that absorb ultraviolet radiation, while the spore core maintains an extremely low water content and is packed with pyridine-2,6-dicarboxylic acid and small acid-soluble proteins that bind directly to DNA, shielding the genetic material from radiation-induced damage.

The physics of why radiation kills bacteria in the first place comes down to water. When high-energy electrons strike the moisture-rich interior of a microbial cell, they trigger radiolysis, splitting water molecules and generating a cascade of reactive oxygen species. These highly reactive chemicals, including hydroxyl radicals, attack cellular components indiscriminately, causing base modifications in DNA, strand breaks, and cross-linking that prevent cell division and ultimately destroy the organism. The researchers note that meats with higher moisture content may actually generate more of these lethal radicals, potentially enhancing the antimicrobial effect. Refrigerated storage at 4 degrees Celsius compounded the kill effect, with viable counts in irradiated samples continuing to decline over two weeks of storage while control samples remained unchanged.

Crucially, the radiation doses that annihilated pathogens did not gut the meat’s nutritional value. Proximate composition, measured through standardized methods for moisture, crude protein, crude fat, and ash, showed no significant differences between irradiated samples up to 3 kilograys and untreated controls. The researchers attribute this to the nature of the analytical methods themselves, which measure total mass regardless of chemical denaturation, and to the protective conditions of the experiment. Vacuum packaging limits oxygen migration and suppresses radiation-induced oxidation, while the meat’s abundant proteins can soak up free radical ions, stabilizing them before they cause substantial mass loss detectable by total-mass-based techniques.

Not every quality parameter emerged unscathed. Water-holding capacity, the meat’s ability to retain its own moisture, decreased significantly at doses of 2 and 3 kilograys. The mechanism traces back to those same reactive oxygen species: they react with amino acids and peptide bonds, driving protein oxidation that reduces surface hydrophilicity. Radiation also appears to reshape the secondary structure of myofibrillar proteins, increasing amorphous random coils and beta-turns, promoting partial unfolding and aggregation. These structural changes can alter hydrogen and disulfide bonds, reduce the activity of proteolytic enzymes such as calpains, and limit the degradation of cytoskeletal proteins, all of which shrink the spaces between muscle fibers where water is normally held.

Texture, by contrast, barely budged. Shear force, measured with a V-blade texture analyzer cutting perpendicular to the muscle fibers, declined only slightly and not significantly with increasing dose. The researchers suggest that radiation-generated radicals can abstract hydrogen atoms from proteins, forming carbon-centered radicals that initiate oxidation chain reactions. These may promote actomyosin depolymerization and degrade contractile proteins such as actin and myosin, along with structural proteins like titin and nebulin, which could explain the modest tenderizing trend. Oxidation of the myosin heavy chain is thought to reduce calcium-ATPase activity and weaken protein contractility, subtly softening the meat’s structural integrity without producing a statistically meaningful change.

Color chemistry told a more nuanced story. At week zero, samples treated with 3 kilograys displayed the lowest lightness and the highest redness, a dose-dependent shift the authors link to oxidative transformations of myoglobin, the heme protein responsible for meat’s characteristic hue. Reactive oxygen species can oxidize the heme iron from its ferrous to ferric state, or generate a highly oxidized intermediate called ferrylmyoglobin, which catalyzes further oxidation through pseudo-peroxidase activity. Radiation may also disrupt calcium homeostasis in muscle cells, impairing mitochondrial function and amplifying radical production. The Fenton reaction, in which hydrogen peroxide reacts with ferrous iron to produce hydroxyl radicals, may sustain metmyoglobin formation during storage, gradually browning the meat over time.

Two classic spoilage indicators, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances and volatile basic nitrogen, crept upward with dose and storage time, though neither showed statistically significant differences from controls at the outset. TBARS, a proxy for lipid oxidation, rose gradually during weeks one and two, with the 3-kilogray samples showing the highest levels, likely reflecting the accumulation of secondary lipid oxidation products such as aldehydes. Volatile basic nitrogen, a marker of protein breakdown, increased significantly with dose from week two onward, consistent with radiation-induced deamination, decarboxylation, and peptide bond cleavage that release ammonia and other nitrogen-containing volatiles. The delayed onset suggests these protein modifications accumulate silently before manifesting as measurable spoilage chemistry.

The study’s context is the booming raw pet food market, where uncooked meat poses real zoonotic risks to both animals and the humans handling it, particularly the immunocompromised. With Korea permitting radiation sterilization up to 10 kilograys for feed, and the United States allowing up to 50 kilograys for pet food, the finding that 3 kilograys suffices for non-spore-forming pathogens leaves a wide safety margin. The authors conclude that electron beam irradiation at 3 kilograys effectively secures microbial safety in raw beef while inducing only limited and acceptable physicochemical changes, positioning the technology as a practical non-thermal sterilization strategy. Whether consumer skepticism about irradiated food, which has long hampered adoption despite mandatory radura labeling in many countries, can be overcome by this kind of hard evidence remains the next frontier.

Subject of Research: Effects of electron beam irradiation on microbial inactivation and physicochemical quality of raw beef

Article Title: Physicochemical and microbial changes in Raw beef meat induced by radiation

Article References: Beak, U.-B., & Kim, H.-Y. (2026). Physicochemical and microbial changes in Raw beef meat induced by radiation. Food Science of Animal Resources, 46(1), Article 56. https://doi.org/10.1007/s44463-026-00060-1

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1007/s44463-026-00060-1

Keywords: electron beam irradiation, raw beef, food safety, microbial inactivation, Salmonella, Listeria monocytogenes, Bacillus cereus, reactive oxygen species, water-holding capacity, lipid oxidation, myoglobin, non-thermal sterilization

Superheated steam is not a new idea. It is produced by heating ordinary steam above its saturation point, so that instead of condensing into droplets when it touches a cooler surface, it remains a dry, high-energy gas. That distinction matters enormously in food processing. Saturated steam delivers moisture along with heat, which can leave surfaces wet and hospitable to microbes. Superheated steam, by contrast, transfers intense heat while simultaneously dehydrating the surface, and it does so in an environment nearly devoid of oxygen. For oxygen-sensitive foods, that combination is potentially ideal: rapid microbial kill, suppressed oxidation, and no added water. Until now, however, most applications have focused on drying and on decontaminating low-moisture foods such as spices, nuts, and food-processing equipment, leaving a significant gap in understanding how the technology treats delicate, high-moisture, ready-to-eat produce.

The research team, led by Jingyu Gao and colleagues including Boran Yang and Xin Wen, sourced Fuji apples from Yantai in Shandong Province and cut them into uniform pieces roughly one centimeter thick. The pieces were briefly dipped in a dilute sodium chloride solution to limit browning during preparation, then subjected to one of five steam treatments: conventional saturated steam at 100 degrees Celsius, or superheated steam at 150, 200, 250, or 300 degrees Celsius, each for exactly ten seconds. The treated samples were sealed in sterile bags and stored at 4 degrees Celsius, with detailed measurements taken on days one, three, five, seven, and nine. The parameters tracked ranged from the routine, such as microbial counts, color, and firmness, to the sophisticated, including enzyme activities, oxidative stress markers, total phenolics, and a full gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis of volatile aroma compounds.

The microbial results were unambiguous. Bacteria, molds, and yeasts all multiplied over time in every group, but the hotter the superheated steam, the slower the growth. After nine days, samples treated at 300 degrees Celsius carried the lowest total bacterial count of any group, at 4.61 log colony-forming units per gram, and the counts in the 200, 250, and 300 degree groups were reduced by roughly one log unit compared with the saturated steam control. The effect on molds and yeasts was even more dramatic: reductions of up to 2.85 log units relative to the control. The authors attribute this to the greater sensible heat carried by higher-temperature steam, which damages microbial proteins and membranes within the brief exposure window, combined with the dry, non-condensing environment that denies microbes the surface moisture they need to thrive.

Enzyme activity told a more nuanced story. Polyphenol oxidase and peroxidase are the two principal enzymes behind enzymatic browning in cut apples, and controlling them is central to preserving visual appeal. Peroxidase responded predictably: treatments at 200 degrees Celsius and above kept its activity significantly lower than the control throughout storage, with the hottest treatment producing the strongest and most sustained inhibition. Polyphenol oxidase, however, behaved in a strikingly non-linear way. At 250 degrees Celsius, its activity actually rose above that of the control, apparently because intermediate temperatures partially disrupt the plastid membranes that sequester the enzyme from its substrates, releasing it into an active state. At 300 degrees Celsius, the extreme heat denatured the released enzyme outright, restoring strong inhibition. This dual effect, the authors note, underscores the importance of carefully optimizing superheated steam conditions rather than assuming that more heat is always better.

Curiously, these enzyme shifts did not translate into visible color differences. Lightness values, total color difference, and the browning index all evolved gradually during storage, and while the steam-treated groups consistently showed numerically lower browning indices than the control, the differences never reached statistical significance. The authors point out that browning development in fresh-cut produce is not always tightly correlated with enzyme activity, and that the enzyme changes induced by a ten-second treatment may simply have been too modest to alter the overall color trajectory. Weight loss was similarly unaffected, and firmness remained stable across all groups during storage, although after nine days the steam-treated samples were slightly softer than the control, hinting that even brief high-temperature exposure can nudge cell wall structures toward degradation.

Where the study delivers its most commercially relevant surprise is in aroma chemistry. Using headspace solid-phase microextraction coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, the team identified 41 volatile compounds, dominated by esters, the chemicals responsible for the fruity, sweet character of apples. Esters, alcohols, and aldehydes together accounted for more than 99 percent of the total volatile content. After nine days, every superheated steam group retained more total volatiles than the saturated steam control, and the 150 degree treatment consistently preserved the highest levels throughout storage. The relative proportion of esters in the treated samples exceeded 49.5 percent by day nine, compared with just 40 percent in the control, whose volatile profile had shifted toward aldehydes associated with green, grassy notes. In other words, the conventional steam treatment left the apples smelling less like ripe apples and more like cut grass.

To translate chemistry into perception, the researchers calculated odor activity values, which weigh each compound’s concentration against its sensory threshold. Ten aroma-active compounds emerged, led by ethyl 2-methylbutyrate, 2-methylbutyl acetate, and hexanal. Every superheated steam group maintained higher total odor activity values than the control across storage, and the 150 degree group peaked at 1217.35 on day three, nearly double the control’s value. The 300 degree group, despite its superior antimicrobial performance, retained fewer aroma compounds than its milder counterparts, suggesting that excessive heat accelerates the thermal degradation of volatile molecules. The authors caution that these conclusions rest on instrumental analysis alone and that formal sensory panels will be needed to confirm what consumers would actually perceive.

Weighing all the evidence, the team identified the 250 degree Celsius, ten-second treatment as the best overall compromise. It delivered effective microbial control and sustained peroxidase inhibition, kept superoxide anion formation rates relatively low, and avoided the excessive aroma losses seen at 300 degrees, even though polyphenol oxidase activity remained elevated. The authors acknowledge the limitations of their single fixed exposure time and call for future work on temperature-time combinations, sensory validation, and pilot-scale trials addressing treatment uniformity, throughput, and energy consumption. Still, the study makes a compelling case that superheated steam deserves a place in the fresh-cut conversation. In an industry long reliant on antibrowning dips and modified atmosphere packaging, a chemical-free, oxygen-free, ten-second heat pulse that simultaneously tames microbes and protects the fruit’s signature fragrance is a proposition worth taking seriously.

Subject of Research: Effects of short-time superheated steam treatment on quality and aroma-active volatiles in fresh-cut Fuji apples during refrigerated storage

Article Title: Beyond microbial control: Effects of short-time superheated steam on storage quality and aroma-active volatiles in fresh-cut Fuji apples

Article References: Gao, J., Wei, S., Li, M., Ni, Y., Yang, B., & Wen, X. (2026). Beyond microbial control: Effects of short-time superheated steam on storage quality and aroma-active volatiles in fresh-cut Fuji apples. Food Chemistry: X, 39, Article 104527. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fochx.2026.104527

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1016/j.fochx.2026.104527

Keywords: superheated steam, fresh-cut apples, Fuji apples, food preservation, aroma volatiles, polyphenol oxidase, peroxidase, microbial inactivation, enzymatic browning, odor activity value, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, refrigerated storage

The motivation behind the work is a genuine public health problem. Raw meat-based diets, particularly those fed to pets, retain their natural nutritional profile and palatability but carry inherent zoonotic risks in the shared living environments of animals and their owners. Regulatory bodies including the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the American Veterinary Medical Association have warned about pathogen-contaminated raw pet food, yet conventional thermal sterilization destroys the very qualities that make raw diets appealing. High hydrostatic pressure offers an alternative: it transmits pressure uniformly through a product regardless of shape or size, works on sealed packages to prevent recontamination, has regulatory approval in major markets, and preserves heat-sensitive nutrients and flavors.

The study’s experimental design was deliberately broader than most previous work. Earlier investigations typically tested a narrow pressure range of 200 to 400 megapascals and examined either microbial safety or physicochemical quality in isolation. Here, pork samples were artificially contaminated with multiple strains of Escherichia coli, Bacillus cereus, Salmonella Typhimurium, Listeria monocytogenes, and Staphylococcus aureus, reaching initial populations of roughly 10^5 to 10^8 colony-forming units per gram. Vacuum-sealed samples were then treated in an industrial high-pressure sterilizer maintained at 21 degrees Celsius internally, creating a graduated pressure-time matrix that had never been systematically evaluated for raw pork intended for pet food.

The microbial results were striking and strongly pressure-dependent. Treatment at 500 megapascals for fifteen minutes produced the most pronounced inactivation across all organisms, and Salmonella Typhimurium and Listeria monocytogenes were reduced to below the detection limit during subsequent refrigerated storage. The mechanism is physical rather than chemical: compressive forces deform cell membranes and walls, increase membrane permeability, disrupt intracellular ion balance, dissociate ribosomes, and inactivate enzymes, ultimately collapsing cellular homeostasis. Pressures above 100 megapascals alter the phospholipid bilayer itself, impairing nutrient transport and energy metabolism.

Not every pathogen surrendered equally easily, however, and the species-specific patterns proved scientifically revealing. Although gram-positive bacteria are generally considered more pressure-resistant thanks to their thicker peptidoglycan layers, Listeria monocytogenes, despite being gram-positive, was completely eliminated under the harshest conditions, while Staphylococcus aureus showed the highest resistance of all organisms tested. Staphylococcus possesses a thick, highly cross-linked peptidoglycan layer of roughly 20 to 40 nanometers, and in the most intense treatment group its counts actually increased during storage, suggesting recovery and regrowth from sublethal injury. Bacillus cereus and E. coli also remained detectable under most conditions, with Bacillus spores protected by a multilayered structure that distributes pressure and maintains a dehydrated core stabilized by calcium-dipicolinic acid complexes.

The physicochemical consequences of pressure treatment were equally systematic. As pressure and holding time increased, water-holding capacity, shear force, and pH all rose above control values, while moisture and protein contents increased and fat and ash decreased. The researchers attribute these shifts to pressure-induced denaturation and reorganization of myofibrillar proteins. The non-covalent bonds that maintain protein structure, including ionic bonds, hydrogen bonds, and hydrophobic interactions, are voluminous and unstable under pressure, so when secondary and tertiary structures collapse, myosin partially unravels and exposes polar and charged groups that bind water. The resulting compact protein network traps moisture in a gel-like matrix but also cross-links myosin aggregates, making crack propagation difficult and increasing mechanical strength, which explains the higher shear force.

Color changes followed a nuanced pattern tied to the pigment myoglobin and to light-scattering physics. Lightness increased with pressure and time, redness peaked in the 300 megapascal groups before falling again at 500 megapascals, and yellowness was highest in the 500 megapascal, five-minute group. Previous research has shown that dramatic pressure-induced color changes in meat generally appear only above roughly 400 to 600 megapascals, leaving color largely preserved at lower intensities. The observed paleness here is attributed more to protein denaturation and microstructural changes that enhance light scattering than to straightforward myoglobin oxidation, a combined effect rather than a single pigment transformation.

Oxidation and spoilage chemistry told a two-sided story. Thiobarbituric acid reactive substances, a marker of lipid oxidation, rose with pressure and time, reaching their highest values in the 500 megapascal, fifteen-minute group and climbing further during storage. Pressures between 300 and 700 megapascals disrupt phospholipid membranes and expose lipids to oxygen and pro-oxidants, while structural changes in heme proteins can release iron ions that catalyze oxidative chain reactions. In contrast, volatile basic nitrogen, an indicator of protein decomposition and spoilage, was suppressed by treatment, with the 500 megapascal, five-minute group showing the lowest increase rate during storage at just 13.24 percent compared with 111.72 percent in the mildest group. Microbial inactivation and pressure-induced enzyme inactivation both limit the production of ammonia and volatile amines.

Correlation analysis tied the whole picture together. Pressure and holding time correlated negatively with all tested microorganisms, redness, and volatile basic nitrogen, while water-holding capacity, shear force, pH, lightness, yellowness, and lipid oxidation correlated positively, all consistent with cumulative pressure-induced effects on membranes, myofibrils, myoglobin, and enzymes. The authors conclude that while high hydrostatic pressure effectively inactivated Salmonella and Listeria, enhanced water retention, and suppressed spoilage markers, it also produced a paler appearance, increased lipid oxidation, and failed to achieve complete microbial elimination, with pressure-tolerant organisms surviving or recovering.

The practical takeaway is that pressure treatment should not be deployed as a stand-alone solution. The researchers recommend integrated hurdle strategies, combining pressure with salt addition, antimicrobial agents, optimized packaging, and strict refrigerated storage management, to push microbial safety further while preserving quality. For a food industry increasingly interested in minimally processed products, the study provides something rare: a complete pressure-time map showing exactly where pathogen reduction ends and quality degradation begins, at least for raw pork. As demand for raw pet food and clean-label meats grows, that map may prove one of the most useful tools yet for producers navigating the delicate balance between safety and freshness.

Subject of Research: Effects of high hydrostatic pressure processing on microbial inactivation and physicochemical quality of raw pork

Article Title: Application of high hydrostatic pressure on the microbial and physicochemical characteristics of pork

Article References: Baek, U.-B., & Kim, H.-Y. (2026). Application of high hydrostatic pressure on the microbial and physicochemical characteristics of pork. Food Science of Animal Resources, 46(1), Article 73. https://doi.org/10.1007/s44463-026-00091-8

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1007/s44463-026-00091-8

Keywords: high hydrostatic pressure, food safety, pork, microbial inactivation, non-thermal processing, Salmonella, Listeria monocytogenes, lipid oxidation, myofibrillar protein, water-holding capacity, raw pet food, food science

The research team set out to answer a question that has practical consequences for the pet food industry: how much pressure is enough to kill dangerous microbes, and how much is too much before the meat itself begins to suffer? They treated raw beef loin, a primary ingredient in raw pet food formulations, at pressures of 0.1, 100, 300, and 500 megapascals for holding times of 5 to 15 minutes, then tracked both microbial survival and a battery of physicochemical properties over two weeks of refrigerated storage. Five pathogens were inoculated onto the meat: Salmonella Typhimurium, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Listeria monocytogenes, and Bacillus cereus. The samples were vacuum-packed and processed within two hours of inoculation to minimize any changes in microbial populations before treatment.

The microbial results followed a clear pressure-time hierarchy. At 100 megapascals, the inactivation effect was limited, consistent with reversible cellular responses rather than irreversible damage; membranes may become permeabilized without sufficient disruption of intracellular structures, allowing microorganisms to recover. As pressure increased, structural disruption of cell membranes and protein denaturation progressed, leading to irreversible cellular damage. The most striking result came at 500 megapascals for 15 minutes, where Salmonella Typhimurium was reduced to below the detection limit of one log colony-forming unit per gram and was never re-detected during the entire two-week storage period. The other pathogens were not completely eliminated, but they showed substantial reductions with limited regrowth.

The differential survival of the pathogens tells a fascinating story about cell architecture. Gram-positive bacteria such as Listeria monocytogenes and Staphylococcus aureus possess thicker peptidoglycan layers than their gram-negative counterparts, conferring greater pressure resistance. Among all the organisms tested, Staphylococcus aureus proved the toughest, and the authors attribute this to a suite of defensive features: the antioxidant pigment staphyloxanthin, a high content of branched-chain fatty acids in the cell membrane, extensive secondary cross-linking of peptidoglycan, and teichoic acids that stabilize the cell wall against deformation. Immediately after the 500-megapascal, 15-minute treatment, E. coli, Listeria, Staphylococcus, and Bacillus were reduced by 77.47, 77.58, 48.77, and 71.83 percent respectively compared with the control, and over the storage period the reductions reached 59.46, 68.35, 53.39, and 92.08 percent.

Bacillus cereus added another layer of complexity because of its spore-forming ability. Rather than being killed directly, pressures above 50 megapascals stimulate germinant receptors and SpoVA channels within the spores, triggering the release of calcium and calcium-dipicolinic acid and raising the water content of the spore core. Once germinated, the spores convert into vegetative cells, losing their pressure resistance and becoming more susceptible to oxidative stress and DNA damage. This supports what the authors describe as a germination-inactivation sequence rather than direct spore lethality, a nuance that matters greatly for shelf-stable product design.

On the quality side, the picture was more mixed. Proximate composition, meaning moisture, protein, fat, and ash content, remained unchanged across all treatments, largely because vacuum packaging prevented drip loss, the main route by which pressure treatment can alter bulk nutritional composition. pH was similarly stable throughout processing and storage, which the researchers link to the suppression of microbial metabolism and endogenous enzymatic activity, the two main drivers of postmortem biochemical change. However, higher pressures and longer holding times increased lightness, yellowness, shear force, water-holding capacity, and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances, a marker of lipid oxidation, while redness declined. The 500-megapascal, 15-minute treatment raised lightness by 36.95 percent compared with the control, producing a visibly paler product.

One of the most intriguing findings is a paradox in texture. The highest pressure-time combination produced both the greatest water-holding capacity and the highest shear force, meaning the meat held more water yet became tougher. The authors explain this through pressure-induced protein aggregation: dissociated myofibrillar proteins interact through exposed sulfhydryl groups and hydrophobic residues, forming gel-like networks that immobilize water within a mechanically rigid matrix. Water retention, in other words, does not equal tenderness under high pressure. Meanwhile, color changes were governed by non-linear interactions between structural light scattering and myoglobin redox chemistry; at an intermediate 300 megapascals, metmyoglobin-reducing enzymes remain active enough to partially preserve redness, whereas 500 megapascals inactivates those enzymatic defenses.

Oxidation and spoilage chemistry also responded to pressure in opposing directions. Lipid oxidation, measured as TBARS, increased with both pressure intensity and storage time, driven by the release of non-heme iron when myoglobin’s porphyrin structure is destroyed; that iron reacts with hydrogen peroxide to generate hydroxyl radicals that attack lipids. Volatile basic nitrogen, an indicator of protein deterioration, moved the opposite way, falling significantly at 500 megapascals because high pressure suppresses both the microbes and the proteolytic enzymes, including calpains and cathepsins, that would otherwise degrade muscle proteins. Yet even here, storage mattered: VBN values climbed in all groups by week two, suggesting residual enzymatic activity persists after treatment.

The study’s practical conclusion is that processing intensity must be optimized rather than maximized. The 500-megapascal, 15-minute condition delivered the strongest antimicrobial effect but also the worst quality outcomes, including tougher texture, more lipid oxidation, and color deterioration. Moderate conditions around 300 megapascals for 15 minutes achieved substantial microbial reduction while better preserving the attributes that determine palatability, which matters because companion animals are sensitive to texture and appearance as well as to microbial hazards. The authors acknowledge limitations, notably the absence of sensory evaluation, and propose that future work employ electronic nose and tongue instruments and gas chromatography-based volatile analysis, along with digestibility trials, to establish biologically relevant processing windows. For an industry racing to make raw diets safe without making them sterile and unappetizing, this study provides exactly the kind of pressure-time framework needed to find that balance.

Subject of Research: Effects of high-pressure processing on microbial safety and physicochemical quality of raw beef loin for pet food

Article Title: Analyses of the microbial safety and physicochemical characteristics of beef loin treated with high-pressure

Article References: Baek, U.-B., & Kim, H.-Y. (2026). Analyses of the microbial safety and physicochemical characteristics of beef loin treated with high-pressure. Food Science of Animal Resources, 46(1), Article 74. https://doi.org/10.1007/s44463-026-00081-w

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1007/s44463-026-00081-w

Keywords: high-pressure processing, raw pet food, beef loin, foodborne pathogens, Salmonella, Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, microbial inactivation, lipid oxidation, meat quality, non-thermal sterilization, food safety

The research, led by Jiraporn Sripinyowanich Jongyingcharoen of King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang in Thailand together with Pattawee Wutthigarn, Suluh Pambudi, and Ekkapong Cheevitsopon, is the first to apply superheated steam fluidized bed drying to coconut press cake. The team compared this approach head-to-head with conventional hot air fluidized bed drying at three temperatures: 130, 145, and 160 degrees Celsius. The choice of technology matters because coconut press cake is a challenging material. Its small particle size and fibrous, lipid-rich structure make it prone to shrinkage, discoloration, and oil entrapment during drying, while its high moisture content demands aggressive moisture removal to reach a shelf-stable state. The researchers targeted a final moisture content of 0.03 grams of water per gram of dry matter, the level at which water activity drops to roughly 0.75, suitable for long-term storage.

Fluidized bed drying works by blowing a gas upward through a bed of particles fast enough that the particles become suspended and behave like a fluid. This ensures intimate contact between the drying medium and every particle, producing uniform, rapid moisture removal. The critical parameter is the minimum fluidization velocity, the gas speed at which the upward drag on the particles exactly balances their weight. In a clever twist, the team found that superheated steam actually made the cake easier to fluidize than hot air. At 130 degrees Celsius, the minimum fluidization velocity in steam was 3.70 meters per second, well below the 4.65 meters per second needed for hot air, because steam at that temperature is less dense and less viscous than air. As temperature rose, the viscosity of steam increased and its fluidization advantage narrowed, an effect the authors attribute to the competing influences of declining density and rising viscosity on the drag force.

The drying performance results were striking. Superheated steam fluidized bed drying consistently outpaced hot air, and the advantage was most dramatic at the lowest temperature tested. At 130 degrees Celsius, steam drying reached the target moisture in just 9 minutes, half the 18 minutes required with hot air, with a significantly higher average drying rate. Even at 160 degrees Celsius, the fastest condition overall, steam still edged out hot air, finishing in 5.5 minutes versus 6 minutes. The authors explain that superheated steam transfers heat more efficiently and creates an oxygen-limited environment that prevents the surface hardening and crust formation that can trap moisture inside particles. By comparison, conventional hot air oven drying of coconut press cake at 50 to 80 degrees Celsius has previously been reported to take anywhere from 70 to 565 minutes, highlighting the enormous throughput gains that high-temperature fluidization delivers.

Energy consumption told a similarly compelling story. The researchers measured the specific energy consumption, the electrical energy required per kilogram of moisture removed, using a power meter connected to the entire drying system during active drying. For both methods, energy consumption fell as temperature increased, because shorter drying times meant less cumulative energy input. But superheated steam was the clear winner at every temperature. The largest saving appeared at 130 degrees Celsius, where steam drying consumed 4.67 megajoules per kilogram of water removed compared with 8.25 megajoules per kilogram for hot air, a reduction of more than 40 percent. This advantage stems partly from the condensation of steam onto the cooler wet particles at the start of drying, which releases latent heat directly into the material and accelerates moisture transfer, and partly from the superior heat transfer coefficients of steam relative to air.

Quality attributes revealed a genuine trade-off between the two methods. Under the microscope, hot air dried samples showed a compact, dense, shrunken fibrous structure, driven by capillary forces that pull the cellulose-rich matrix together as water leaves. Steam dried samples, in contrast, retained a more open, expanded, porous morphology, apparently because rapid internal vapor generation partially counteracts structural collapse. This difference translated into color: steam dried cake was consistently and significantly whiter than hot air dried cake at every temperature, with the highest whiteness achieved at 160 degrees Celsius, where drying time was shortest. The oxygen-poor steam atmosphere limits oxidative discoloration, and reduced thermal exposure curbs non-enzymatic browning reactions such as the Maillard reaction and caramelization. Notably, steam dried samples also yielded significantly higher extractable oil content, peaking at 34.89 percent at 160 degrees Celsius, likely because their open structure allows better solvent penetration during analysis, whereas the dense hot-air-dried matrix physically traps oil inside.

Interestingly, hot air drying claimed one quality victory of its own. Cake dried with hot air at 160 degrees Celsius exhibited the highest swelling capacity, at 12.37 milliliters per gram of dry matter, and the highest water holding capacity, at 9.74 grams of water per gram of dry matter. The authors suggest that intense thermal exposure under hot air may modify the protein matrix surrounding starch granules and disrupt cell walls, enhancing the material’s ability to absorb and retain water. Water retention capacity, however, showed no significant differences across any treatment, indicating that neither the drying medium nor temperature substantially altered the capillary retention mechanisms within the fibrous matrix. Overall, the hydration properties of the dried press cake matched or exceeded those of commercial dietary fiber sources such as apple, oat, wheat, and pea bran in several respects, underscoring its potential as a functional fiber ingredient.

The microbiological findings may be the most consequential for food safety. Fresh coconut press cake carried an aerobic plate count of 123,000 colony-forming units per gram, along with measurable coliforms, E. coli, and yeasts and molds. Both drying methods dramatically reduced microbial loads, but steam was consistently more lethal at equivalent temperatures. At 160 degrees Celsius, steam drying brought the aerobic plate count down to 2,950 CFU per gram, compared with 10,500 for hot air, and reduced yeast and mold counts to below the detection limit of 25 CFU per gram. Critically, only steam fluidized bed drying at 160 degrees Celsius satisfied every microbiological criterion of the Philippine National Standard for coconut flour, the benchmark the team selected because it explicitly covers coconut residue. E. coli and Salmonella were not detected in any dried sample, though the authors caution that without inoculated challenge tests these results cannot be read as validated pathogen elimination. Prior research lends mechanistic support: microbial death rates in superheated steam can be dramatically faster than in hot air, with documented D-values for E. coli of under 0.10 minutes in steam at 300 degrees Celsius versus 1.12 minutes in air.

To tie the whole dataset together, the researchers ran an exploratory principal component analysis across fourteen process, quality, and safety variables. The analysis revealed that longer drying times and higher energy consumption clustered with higher residual microbial counts, while the steam treatments grouped toward lower microbial loads, greater whiteness, and higher extractable oil content. Hot air drying at 160 degrees Celsius stood apart, aligned with the superior hydration properties. The authors are careful to acknowledge limitations, including the absence of sensors to measure oxygen and steam concentrations in the drying chamber and the lack of direct lipid oxidation measurements, and they frame the multivariate results as descriptive rather than causal. Still, the practical conclusion is clear. For producers seeking maximum water binding in the dried cake, hot air at 160 degrees Celsius remains a defensible choice. But for a combination of speed, energy efficiency, whiteness, oil availability, and regulatory-grade microbial safety, superheated steam fluidized bed drying at 160 degrees Celsius emerged as the standout process, offering tropical coconut industries a credible route to transform a perishable waste stream into a safe, high-value functional food ingredient within minutes rather than hours.

Subject of Research: Comparative evaluation of superheated steam versus hot air fluidized bed drying of coconut press cake for energy efficiency, quality, and microbial safety

Article Title: Integrated evaluation of superheated steam and hot air fluidized bed drying of coconut press cake: Impacts on energy efficiency, product quality, and microbial safety

Article References: Jongyingcharoen, J. S., Wutthigarn, P., Pambudi, S., & Cheevitsopon, E. (2026). Integrated evaluation of superheated steam and hot air fluidized bed drying of coconut press cake: Impacts on energy efficiency, product quality, and microbial safety. Journal of Agriculture and Food Research, 31, Article 103307. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jafr.2026.103307

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1016/j.jafr.2026.103307

Keywords: coconut press cake, superheated steam drying, fluidized bed drying, food safety, energy efficiency, functional foods, dietary fiber, microbial inactivation, food processing, agro-industrial waste, drying technology, sustainable food

The review, authored by Rina Yu, Sin-Young Park, Prabhathma Yasasvi Rathnayake, and colleagues at Chungnam National University, Kongju National University, and the Korea Institute of Materials Science, systematically compares how different ultrasound systems and thermal conditions inactivate microbes in milk and milk-derived drinks. The authors frame their analysis around a simple but consequential observation: the antimicrobial power of ultrasound varies enormously depending on the equipment configuration, the processing parameters, and, crucially, how much heat is generated or deliberately added during treatment. By sorting the literature into three processing modes, cavitation-driven non-thermal ultrasound, ultrasound with natural temperature rise, and thermally assisted ultrasonic treatment, the review provides one of the clearest pictures yet of where sound-based pasteurization stands on the path from laboratory bench to dairy plant floor.

The physics behind ultrasonic pasteurization is striking. A transducer converts electrical energy into acoustic energy, sending longitudinal pressure waves through the liquid. These waves create alternating regions of compression and rarefaction, and in the rarefaction phase the liquid is literally torn apart, forming microscopic bubbles. At sufficiently high acoustic amplitudes, these bubbles undergo inertial cavitation: they expand rapidly and then collapse violently. The collapse generates localized hotspots with temperatures estimated to reach up to 5,500 degrees Celsius and pressures up to 50,000 kilopascals, conditions that exist for only fractions of a microsecond but are enough to wreak havoc on nearby microorganisms. The asymmetric collapse of bubbles produces shockwaves, microjets, and microstreaming currents that physically batter bacterial cell walls and membranes, tearing open structures that would otherwise protect the cell.

But the physical assault is only half the story. The extreme conditions inside collapsing bubbles also split water vapor into hydrogen and hydroxyl radicals, reactive oxygen species that penetrate bacterial cells through membrane pores and attack intracellular biomolecules. Hydroxyl radicals can cleave the DNA double helix, induce base modifications, and trigger lipid peroxidation in the phospholipid bilayer by reacting with polyunsaturated fatty acids. The result is oxidative degradation of proteins, lipids, polysaccharides, and nucleic acids, culminating in cell death. A related phenomenon, sonoluminescence, in which collapsing bubbles emit light across a broad spectrum, can further amplify microbial inactivation when a photocatalytic sonosensitizer is present, because the emitted light excites the sensitizer and generates additional reactive species. Together, these mechanical and chemical mechanisms make cavitation a genuinely multi-pronged antimicrobial weapon rather than a single-mode killer.

The review emphasizes that not all ultrasound equipment delivers this weapon equally well. Probe-type systems, in which a sonotrode is immersed directly in the sample, concentrate energy intensely at the tip and deliver the highest power intensity. Bath-type systems, which use sandwich transducers mounted on tank walls and rely on water as a coupling medium, suffer from attenuation of the ultrasound in the water, resulting in power intensity roughly one hundred times lower than probe systems. Both configurations irradiate from a single direction, producing non-uniform energy distribution within the treated volume. Continuous-flow systems, a newer development, address this weakness by circulating the product through a treatment zone, and some cylindrical designs generate ultrasonic energy in a 360-degree pattern, giving circulating milk stronger and more uniform exposure. These systems also allow operators to tune flow rate and number of treatment cycles alongside the usual power, amplitude, and frequency settings, a flexibility that matters greatly for industrial scale-up.

The experimental record assembled in the review shows how strongly outcomes depend on thermal conditions. Under controlled room-temperature conditions, where cooling systems or ice baths suppress heating, ultrasound alone achieves moderate inactivation. Mudgil and colleagues found that treating camel milk with probe-type ultrasound at 160 watts and 20 kilohertz for ten minutes reduced total aerobic bacteria by approximately 4.16 log CFU per milliliter, Staphylococcus species by 3.40 log, and lactic acid bacteria by 1.50 log. Chouliara’s group reported roughly 2 log reductions in total viable and psychrotrophic counts in milk after sixteen minutes at 200 watts and 24 kilohertz without added heat. In a Kinnow whey beverage, fifteen minutes of 400-watt, 20-kilohertz treatment cut total aerobic bacteria by about 1 log and molds and yeasts by 1.61 log. These are meaningful reductions, but they fall short of what regulators demand.

When the natural temperature rise of ultrasound is allowed to accumulate rather than suppressed, the numbers improve dramatically. Treating raw milk with probe-type ultrasound at 19 kilohertz and 475 watts for 158 seconds raised the temperature to 54 degrees Celsius and reduced mesophilic bacteria by about 2.6 log and lactic acid bacteria by 2.1 log. More strikingly, Shamila-Syuhada and colleagues showed that raw milk treated at 200 watts and 24 kilohertz for fifteen minutes reached 60 degrees Celsius at the higher amplitude tested, and at that point reductions of approximately 8 log CFU per milliliter were recorded for Staphylococcus aureus, Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella Typhimurium, E. coli, Pseudomonas fluorescens, and two Lactobacillus species. Scudino’s team demonstrated the same principle through energy density: 1 kilojoule per milliliter raised raw milk to only 34 degrees Celsius with no detectable bacterial reduction, 3 kilojoules per milliliter reached 55 degrees Celsius and achieved a 1.8 log reduction, and 5 kilojoules per milliliter pushed the temperature to 76 degrees Celsius, delivering a 4 log reduction in just over four minutes. In chocolate milk, an energy density of 3 kilojoules per cubic centimeter at 400 watts and 19 kilohertz produced a 3.56 log reduction with a final temperature of only 42 degrees Celsius.

Thermally assisted ultrasound, combining acoustic cavitation with deliberately applied mild heat, offers perhaps the most pragmatic route to regulatory compliance. Van Hekken and colleagues applied continuous-flow ultrasound at dual frequencies of 16 and 20 kilohertz and 1,200 watts to raw milk held at 54 degrees Celsius for fourteen minutes, achieving reductions of 3.36 log in total mesophilic bacteria and 4.88 log in psychrotrophic bacteria, whereas the same treatment at 42 degrees Celsius showed no bactericidal effect at all. In human milk, bath-type ultrasound at 60 degrees Celsius reduced Staphylococcus aureus by approximately 4.58 log, while treatment at 20 degrees Celsius had no effect. The synergy arises because mild heat weakens the protective function of the bacterial cell envelope and increases cavitation efficiency, making cells simultaneously easier to rupture mechanically and more vulnerable to radical attack.

Yet the review is candid about the obstacles standing between these promising numbers and commercial reality. Under the Codex Alimentarius, any validated milk pasteurization technology must achieve at least a 5 log CFU per milliliter reduction of non-spore-forming pathogenic bacteria, and only a handful of ultrasound studies have crossed that threshold using ultrasound alone. Pushing intensity high enough to meet the standard risks damaging the product: ultrasound-generated radicals promote lipid oxidation and create volatile compounds responsible for metallic, burnt, and rubbery off-flavors in treated milk. There are also safety concerns specific to the equipment itself, since probe erosion can release metallic particles into the product and ultrasound accelerates electrochemical corrosion of stainless steel in the presence of chlorides. The authors argue that the future lies in continuous-flow systems suitable for large-scale processing, hurdle combinations of ultrasound with mild heat, pulsed electric fields, ultraviolet treatment, or natural antimicrobials, and real-time digital process control that can hold both microbial safety and sensory quality within tight tolerances.

What emerges from the review is not a verdict but a roadmap. Ultrasound is safe, non-toxic, relatively inexpensive to build, and well suited to liquid foods, and its antimicrobial mechanisms are now well characterized at the cellular level. The decisive variable is heat: whether it is suppressed, harvested, or deliberately supplied determines whether ultrasound is a gentle quality-preserving treatment or a genuine pasteurization technology. As consumer demand grows for fresh-flavored, minimally processed dairy, and as outbreaks linked to pasteurization failures continue to surface, the pressure to validate sound-based alternatives will only intensify. The next few years of equipment engineering and regulatory data generation will determine whether the dairy industry’s next pasteurizer hums rather than hisses.

Subject of Research: Ultrasonic pasteurization of milk and milk-based beverages using different ultrasound systems and thermal conditions

Article Title: A review of ultrasonic pasteurization in milk and milk-based beverages using different ultrasound systems and thermal conditions: from mechanistic insights to regulatory challenges

Article References: A review of ultrasonic pasteurization in milk and milk-based beverages using different ultrasound systems and thermal conditions: from mechanistic insights to regulatory challenges. (n.d.). https://doi.org/10.1007/s44463-026-00105-5

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1007/s44463-026-00105-5

Keywords: ultrasound, pasteurization, milk, dairy, acoustic cavitation, food safety, microbial inactivation, non-thermal processing, reactive oxygen species, continuous-flow ultrasound, foodborne pathogens, dairy processing