An overview of ohmic heating utilization in the processing of food

Abstract

Ohmic heating is a variation of conventional heating which generates heat by passing an electric current through a material. It is known as Joule heating and involves passing electricity flowing through a material that can withstand the passage in electrical to produce heat. Numerous scientific studies contend that ohmic heating is an evolution of traditional heating in the food industry owing to its capacity to warm products swiftly and uniformly. Other benefits of ohmic heating include its capacity to inactivate microorganisms, low maintenance costs, high energy efficiency, and the ability to preserve food’s nutritional value. Due to these benefits, ohmic heating is commonly employed in food processing. There is considerable research on the use of ohmic heating in various food processing techniques, such as sterilization, pasteurization, blanching, fermentation, and microbial inactivation. This paper provides a summary of several research on the utilization regarding ohmic heating methods in food processing.