Effect of Pulsed Electric Field (PEF) on Bacterial Viability and Whey Protein in the Processing of Raw Milk

Abstract

There is growing concern regarding the nutritional value of processed food products. Although thermal pasteurization, used in food processing, is a safe method and is widely applied in the food industry, food products lack quality and nutritional value because of the high temperatures used during pasteurization. In this study, the effect of pulsed electric field (PEF) processing on whey protein content and bacterial viability in raw milk was evaluated by changing the PEF strength and number of pulses. For comparison, traditional pasteurization techniques, such as low-temperature long-time (LTLT), ultra-high temperature (UHT), and microfiltration (MF), were also tested for total whey protein content, bacterial activity, and coliforms. We found that, after treatment with PEF, a significant decrease in total bacterial viability of 2.43 log and coliforms of 0.9 log was achieved, although undenatured whey protein content was not affected at 4.98 mg/mL. While traditional pasteurization techniques showed total bacterial inactivation, they were detrimental for whey protein content: β-lactoglobulin was not detected using HPLC in samples treated with UHT. LTLT treatment led to a significant decrease of 75% in β-lactoglobulin concentration; β-lactoglobulin content in milk samples treated with MF was the lowest compared to LTLT and UHT pasteurization, and ~10% and 27% reduction was observed.

Comparative Analysis of Pulsed Electric Fields (PEF) and Traditional Pasteurization Techniques: Comparative Effects on Nutritional Attributes and Bacterial Viability in Milk and Whey Products

“…However, we were unable to replicate the ultrahigh-temperature (UHT; 140 • C for 4 s) pasteurization technique, employed for extended shelf-life milk storage, in our laboratory setting. The effects of UHT on milk samples were described in our previous article [27].…”

Pulsed electric field processing in the dairy sector: A review of applications, quality impact and implementation challenges

“…Among them, pulsed electric field (PEF) has risen as a potential technique that can provide an environmentally friendly safety treatment to food products with enhancement in their quality attributes (Gabrić et al ., 2018; Koubaa et al ., 2018; Arshad et al ., 2021; Ranjha et al ., 2021). This technology can inactivate pathogenic microorganisms and unwanted enzymes in dairy products (Mosqueda‐Melgar et al ., 2008; Sharma et al ., 2018; Ahmad et al ., 2019; Shabbir et al ., 2020; Šalaševičius et al ., 2021). Moreover, the electroporation phenomena of this processing technology have been explored for other applications in the dairy sector.…”

Reversible Electroporation and Post-Electroporation Resting of Thai Basil Leaves Prior to Convective and Vacuum Drying

“…A pulsed electric field (PEF) has been used as pretreatment to increase the rate of mass transfer during drying of foodstuffs such as vegetables, meat, fruit, and herbs [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11]. However, the majority of these PEF applications were designed to cause irreversible electroporation of cells, which would greatly increase mass transfer but result in numerous changes in food quality, including aroma, color, and texture [4].…”