HIGH-PRESSURE TREATMENT - A NEW FOOD-TECH NOLOGY

Development of the use of high pressure on food has led to a new techn ology for the careful handling of food products, on the one hand to st erilize them and on the other hand to achieve similar effects to those achieved when cooking food at high temperatures. The process denature s protein, inactivates enzymes and gelatinizes starch; it also destroy s micro-organisms. Large molecules are affected by high pressure treat ment whereas smaller ones, such as amino acids, vitamins or flavour su bstances, remain intact. As it is a non-thermal process high pressure treatment of meat does not produce toxic components nor does it cause off-flavours to develop. The sample, packed in flexible film, is conde nsed more or less sharply under pressure; gas-filled cavities disappea r and the original form of the product is regained when the pressure i s released. Water is used as a carrier of pressure and when treating m eat a pressure between 5000 and 7000 bar is applied. At present 16 res earch institutes are working on pressure sterilization. Between 1988 a nd 1993 130 high pressure plants were supplied to Japanese buyers. In Japan the following profitable applications for high hydrostatic press ure are envisaged: 1. Sterilization of foods, pharmaceuticals and cosm etics 2. Processing of foods in order to denature protein in meat and meat products (ham) and to gelatinize starch.