High pressure processing plus technologies: Enhancing the inactivation of vegetative microorganisms.

Area of Science:

• Food Science and Technology
• Microbiology
• Food Safety Engineering

Background:

• High pressure processing (HPP) is a non-thermal method for microbial inactivation in food.
• Challenges include pressure-resistant cells, sub-lethally injured (SLI) cells, and viable but non-culturable (VBNC) cells.
• These factors limit HPP's effectiveness and require further development.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review microbial inactivation strategies using combined HPP methods.
• To explore the efficacy of "HPP plus" technologies against microbial challenges.
• To elucidate the inactivation mechanisms of these combined approaches.

Main Methods:

• Review of scientific literature on "HPP plus" technologies.
• Analysis of combinations including moderate temperatures, low pH, natural antimicrobials, and other non-thermal processes.
• Examination of microbial inactivation mechanisms.

Main Results:

• "HPP plus" technologies effectively inactivate pressure-resistant, SLI, and VBNC cells.
• Combinations significantly enhance microbial reduction compared to HPP alone.
• These methods inhibit the revival and resuscitation of surviving microbial populations.

Conclusions:

• "HPP plus" technologies offer a promising approach to improve microbial safety in food processing.
• Combining HPP with other methods addresses key limitations of HPP alone.
• Further research into inactivation mechanisms will optimize these advanced food preservation techniques.