Electromagnetic wave-based technology for ready-to-eat foods preservation: a review of applications, challenges and prospects

Author: Yuxin Zhang1, Zhiming Ma1, Jiaxin Chen1, Zhongshuai Yang2, Yue Ren1, Jing Tian2, Yuanlv Zhang1, Mei Guo1, Jiajun Guo1, Yating Song1, Yuqin Feng1, Guishan Liu1
Affiliation:
1 School of Food Science and Engineering, Ningxia University, Yinchuan, China.
2 School of Electronics and Electrical Engineering, Ningxia University, Yinchuan, China.
Conference/Journal: Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr
Date published: 2024 Sep 13
Other: Pages: 1-26 , Special Notes: doi: 10.1080/10408398.2024.2399294. , Word Count: 203


In recent years, the ready-to-eat foods market has grown significantly due to its high nutritional value and convenience. However, these foods are also at risk of microbial contamination, which poses food safety hazards. Additionally, traditional high-temperature sterilization methods can cause food safety and nutritional health problems such as protein denaturation and lipid oxidation. Therefore, exploring and developing effective sterilization technologies is imperative to ensure food safety and nutritional properties, and protect consumers from potential foodborne diseases. This paper focuses on electromagnetic wave-based pasteurization technologies, including thermal processing technologies such as microwave, radio frequency, and infrared, as well as non-thermal processing technologies like ultraviolet, irradiation, pulsed light, and photodynamic inactivation. Furthermore, it also reviews the antibacterial mechanisms, advantages, disadvantages, and recent applications of these technologies in ready-to-eat foods, and summarizes their limitations and prospects. By comparing the limitations of traditional high-temperature sterilization methods, this paper highlights the significant advantages of these pasteurization techniques in effectively inhibiting microbial growth, slowing lipid oxidation, and preserving food nutrition and flavor. This review may contribute to the industrial application and process optimization of these pasteurization technologies, providing an optimal choice for preserving various types of ready-to-eat foods.

Keywords: Ready-to-eat foods; electromagnetic wave technology; food safety; microorganisms.

PMID: 39275803 DOI: 10.1080/10408398.2024.2399294

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