Pulsed electric fields for sustainable meat, poultry, and fish processing: Recent advances, prospects, and industry challenges

Abstract

The demand for meat, poultry, and seafood products has been growing steadily. These highly perishable food items' spoilage and waste utilization have become a key concern. Effective processing methods are required to extend their shelf-life and mitigate the risks associated with these products. Processing meat, poultry, and seafood needs a transformative shift as traditional thermal technologies, while effective, often result in undesired changes to microstructure, nutrient content, and overall product quality. In this context, the pulsed electric field (PEF) is a highly prospective non-thermal technology that uses short pulses of electric fields to treat a diverse range of food products while reducing energy consumption and minimizing environmental impact. This review is a comprehensive approach to understanding current knowledge and the most recent developments and prospects of meat, poultry, and seafood processing by PEF. It could be used as a valuable strategy for tenderization, microbial inactivation, recovery of compounds from by-products, accelerated diffusion, preservation, and food safety of these products. It also provides insight into sustainability, a comparison with alternative non-thermal technologies, and the limitations concerning the industry's present requirements. This review offers guidance for future studies in this field and other challenges that must be addressed.