Developments in High-Pressure Food Processing (Food Science and Technology)

This book examines the developments made in the processing of foods using high pressure. Consumers generally expect the food to be of a high quality, minimally processed, natural, additive-free, high in nutritional value as well as safe to eat. High Pressure processing is an alternative to thermal processing which can destroy harmful micro-organisms rendering the food safe to eat. As a way of minimally processing food, it has the potential to preserve the quality of foods in many cases and even be responsible for producing new textures and properties. The effect of high pressure on the molecular structure of food proteins is to change their functional properties in surprising and often useful ways. This book discusses how using high pressure instead of heat is to preserve and even improve food quality in terms of taste, flavour, texture and colour.