title: Pulsed Light Treatment of Different Food Types with a Special Focus on Meat: A Critical Review.
abstract: Today, the increasing demand for minimally processed foods that are at the same moment nutritious, organoleptically satisfactory, and free from microbial hazards challenges the research and development to establish alternative methods to reduce the level of bacterial contamination. As one of the recent emerging nonthermal methods, pulsed light (PL) constitutes a technology for the fast, mild, and residue-free surface decontamination of food and food contact materials in the processing environment. Via high frequency, high intensity pulses of broad-spectrum light rich in the UV fraction, viable cells as well as spores are inactivated in a nonselective multi-target process that rapidly overwhelms cell functions and subsequently leads to cell death. This review provides specific information on the technology of pulsed light and its suitability for unpackaged and packaged meat and meat products as well as food contact materials like production surfaces, cutting tools, and packaging materials. The advantages, limitations, risks, and essential process criteria to work efficiently are illustrated and discussed with relation to implementation on industrial level and future aspects. Other issues addressed by this paper are the need to take care of the associated parameters such as alteration of the product and utilized packaging material to satisfy consumers and other stakeholders.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Food Sciences and Technology , Institute of Food Science, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences , Vienna , Austria.|b OFI-Austrian Research Institute for Chemistry and Technology , Vienna , Austria.
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Heinrich
authors.affiliation: a Department of Food Sciences and Technology , Institute of Food Science, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences , Vienna , Austria.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zunabovic
authors.affiliation: c Department of Food Technology , School of Agricultural Technology, Higher Technological Educational Institute of Kalamata , Hellas , Greece.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Varzakas
authors.affiliation: b OFI-Austrian Research Institute for Chemistry and Technology , Vienna , Austria.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bergmair
authors.affiliation: a Department of Food Sciences and Technology , Institute of Food Science, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences , Vienna , Austria.
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Kneifel
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001419:Bacteria / Q000528:radiation effects; D016785:Cryptosporidium parvum / Q000528:radiation effects; D005516:Food Microbiology / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008027:Light; D008460:Meat / Q000382:microbiology / Q000528:radiation effects / Q000592:standards*; D008461:Meat Products / Q000382:microbiology / Q000528:radiation effects / Q000592:standards*; D014466:Ultraviolet Rays; D014780:Viruses / Q000528:radiation effects
keywords: Listeria monocytogenes; UV; meat; minimal processing; packaging; pulsed light treatment; ready-to-eat