High Pressure Processing

Consumers have growing preference for convenient,

fresh-like, healthy, minimal-processed food products with
natural flavour & taste & extended shelf-live. To match
these demands without compromising safety, in last
decade alternative not-thermal preservation technologies
as high pressure processing (HPP), irradiation, light
pulses, natural bio-preservatives together with active
packaging have been proposed & further investigated
High pressure processing is promising “non-thermal” technique for
food preservation that efficiently inactivates vegetative
microorganisms, most commonly related to foodborne diseases. High
pressure processing is carried out with intense pressure in range of
100-1000 MPa, with or without heat, allowing most foods to be
preserved with minimal effect on taste, texture or nutritional
characteristics. Main advantage of high pressure processing compared
to thermal sterilization & pasteurization is maintenance of sensory &
nutritional characteristic of treated food products
Pressure treatment can be used to process both liquid &
high-moisture-content solid foods. Pressure processing is
lethal to microorganisms but at relatively low temperatures
(0-400C) covalent bonds are almost unaffected. Limited
effect of HPP (at moderate temperature) on covalent bonds
represents unique characteristic of this technology because
HPP has minimal effect on food chemistry. HPP provides
means for retaining food quality while avoiding need for
excessive thermal treatments or chemical preservation.
 Microbial Inactivation

Microbial inactivation is one of main goals for application of high

pressure technology. Inactivation effect of high pressure processing
results in extending shelf life & improving microbial safety of food
products.
According to some researches high pressure treatment could be
accepted as food safety intervention for
 eliminating Listeria monocytogenes in processed meat products &
cheese.
 inactivating other hazardous microorganisms such as E. coli,
Salmonella, & Vibrio, as well as many yeasts, molds, & bacteria
responsible for food spoilage.
Microbiological shelf-life & food quality can be substantially
extended by use of HPP
Bacterial spores represent challenge for high pressure
technology & more studies about their resistance is
required.
Microbial spores suspended in foods or laboratory model
system could be inactivated by high pressure treatment but
compared to vegetative cells treatment conditions must be
extreme: higher pressure & long exposure time at elevated
temperature.
Pressure treatment can also be used to alter functional &
sensory properties of various food components, especially
proteins. Tertiary & quaternary structures of molecules
which are maintained mainly by hydrophobic & ionic
interactions are beneficially altered by high pressure above
200 MPa. Hydrophobic & electrostatic interactions are most
affected but not hydrogen bonds which stabilize α-helical &
ß-pleated sheets.
Meat, fish, egg & dairy proteins can be denatured with HPP
even in absence of elevated temperatures. Increased
viscosity & opacity are obtained with little change in fresh
flavour.
High pressure has very little effect on low-molecular-weight
compounds such as flavour, vitamins, & pigments compared
to thermal processes.
Quality of HPP pasteurized food is very similar to that of
fresh food products. Quality throughout shelf-life is
influenced more by subsequent distribution & storage
temperatures & barrier properties of packaging rather than
by high pressure treatments
 HPP Principles

High-Pressure technology has been cited as one of best innovations

in food processing from last 50 years. Some physical & chemical
changes result from application of pressure. Physical compression
during pressure treatment results in volume reduction & an increase
in temperature & energy.

Basic principles that determine behavior of foods under pressure are:

- Le Chatelier’s principle: any reaction, conformational change,
phase transition, accompanied by decrease in volume is enhanced by
pressure
- principle of microscopic ordering: at constant temperature, an
increase in pressure increases degrees of ordering of molecules of
given substance. Therefore pressure & temperature exert
antagonistic forces on molecular structure & chemical reactions
 Isostatic principle

Food products are compressed by

uniform pressure from every direction
& then returned to their original shape
when pressure is released. Products are
compressed independently of product
size & geometry because transmission
of pressure to core is not mass/time
dependant thus process is minimized.

If food product contains sufficient moisture, pressure will

not damage product at macroscopic levels as long as
pressure is applied uniformly in all directions
High-pressure system consists of
 high-pressure vessel & its closure
 pressure-generation system,
 temperature control device &
 material-handling system.
Pressure vessel is most important component of HPP
equipment. Several aspects must be taken into account in
vessel design. It is necessary to design high-pressure vessel
to be dimensionally stable in safe fail way. If it fails it
should fail with leak before fracture. Pressure-transmitting
fluids are used in vessel to transmit pressure uniformly &
instantaneously to product sample.
Most widely used fluids are water, glycol solutions, silicone
oil, sodium benzoate solutions, ethanol solutions, inert
gases & castor oil.
Food products should be packaged in flexible packaging.
Packages are loaded into high pressure chamber. Vessel is
sealed & vessel filled with pressure transmitting agent.
High pressure is usually carried out with water as hydraulic
fluid to facilitate operation & compatibility with food
materials.
Basis for applying high pressure to foods is to compress
water surrounding food.
At room temperature, volume of water decreases with an
increase in pressure. Because liquid compression results in
small volume change, high-pressure vessels using water do
not present same operating hazards as vessels using
compressed gases.

Ones desired pressure is reached pump or piston is stopped,

valves are closed & pressure can be maintained without
further energy input. After holding product for desired time
at target pressure, vessel is decompressed by releasing
pressure-transmitting fluid.
For most applications, products are held for 3-5 min at 600
MPa. Approximately 5-6 cycles per hour are possible,
allowing time for compression, holding, de-compression,
loading & unloading.

After pressure treatment, processed product is removed from

vessel & stored in conventional way.

High pressures can be generated by direct or indirect

compression or by heating pressure fluid.
Direct Compression

It is generated by
pressurizing fluid by
piston, driven at its
larger diameter end
by low pressure
pump This method
allows very fast
compression,

Limitations of high-pressure dynamic seal between piston & vessel’s

internal surface restrict use of this method to small-diameter
laboratory or pilot plant systems
Indirect Compression
This technique uses high-pressure intensifier to pump
pressure medium from reservoir into closed high-pressure
vessel until desired pressure is reached

Heating of pressure medium

It utilizes expansion of pressure fluid with increasing
temperature to generate high pressure. This method is
therefore used when high pressure is applied in
combination with high temperature & requires very
accurate temperature control within entire internal volume
of pressure vessel
 Pressure-Temperature Effect

To understand & foresee effect of HPP on foods it is necessary to

take in attention net combined pressure temperature effect on treated
foods.
During compression
phase (t1-t2) of pressure
treatment food products
undergo decrease in
volume as function of
pressure. Product is held
under pressure for certain
time (t2-t3) before
decompression (t3-t4).
Upon decompression,
product will usually
expand back to its initial
volume. Compression &
decompression can result
in transient temperature
change in product during
treatment.
Temperature of food (T1-T2) increases as result of physical
compression (P1-P2).
Product temperature (T2-T3) at process pressure (P2-P3) is
independent of compression rate as long as heat exchange between
product & surroundings is negligible.
In perfectly insulated (adiabatic) system, product will return to its
initial temperature upon decompression (P3-P4). In practice, however,
product will return to temperature (T4) slightly lower than its initial
temperature (T1) as result of heat losses during compression phase.

Rapid heating & cooling resulting from HPP treatment offer unique
way to increase temperature of product only during treatment & to
cool it rapidly thereafter.
 Temperature of water increases about 30C for every 100 MPa of
increased pressure at room temperature.
 Fats & oils have heat of compression value of 8-9 0C /100 MPa, &
 Proteins & carbohydrates have intermediate heat of compression
values
High Pressure Processing & Microbial inactivation

Microbial inactivation is one of main goals for application

of high pressure technology. Extent of microbial
inactivation that is achieved by suitable high pressure
treatment depends on number of interacting factors,
including
 type & number of microorganisms,
 magnitude & duration of high pressure treatments,
 temperature & composition of suspension media or food
Pressure sensitivity of microorganisms may vary between
species & probably among strains of same species.
Microorganisms can be divided into those that are relatively
pressure sensitive & those that are pressure resistant.
 Gram-positive bacteria are more resistant to pressure
than Gram-negative bacteria, moulds & yeasts.
 Most resistant to high hydrostatic pressure are bacterial
spores.
Sensitivity of microbial cells depends on stage of growth
cycle at which organisms are subjected to high hydrostatic
pressure treatment.
Bacterial growth in batch culture can
be modeled with 4 different phases:

 lag phase (A),

 log phase or exponential phase (B),
 stationary phase (C), &
 death phase (D)

During lag phase, bacteria adapt themselves to growth conditions. It

is period where individual bacteria are maturing & not yet able to
divide. During lag phase of bacterial growth cycle, synthesis of
RNA, enzymes & other molecules occurs.
Log phase (sometimes called the logarithmic phase or exponential
phase) is period characterized by cell doubling. Number of new
bacteria appearing per unit time is proportional to present population.
If growth is not limited, doubling will continue at constant rate so both
number of cells & rate of population increase doubles with each
consecutive time period.
Stationary phase is often due to growth-limiting factor such as
depletion of an essential nutrient, &/or formation of an inhibitory
product such as an organic acid. Stationary phase results from
situation in which growth rate & death rate are equal. Number of new
cells created is limited by growth factor & as result rate of cell growth
matches rate of cell death.
At death phase, bacteria run out of nutrients & die.
In general, cells in exponential phase are more sensitive to pressure
treatments than cells in log or stationary phases of growth. Greater
resistance to pressure when cell metabolism is slowed down may be
due to accumulation of cell components that reduce effect of high
pressure.

Rich nutrient media such as meat reinforce resistance of

microorganisms to HPP. Carbohydrates, proteins & lipids also have
protective effect. Low water activity protects microorganisms against
pressure & tends to inhibit pressure inactivation with noticeable
retardation as water activity falls below 0.95
Inactivation of key enzymes, including those involved in DNA
replication & transcription is also mentioned as possible inactivating
mechanism.

Bacterial spores have demonstrated pressure resistance & mechanisms

through which they are inactivated are different from these for
vegetative cells. It has been suggested that spore proteins are
protected against solvation & ionization.

Microbial spores could be inactivated by chosen suitable conditions

for high pressure treatment: higher pressure & long exposure time at
elevated temperature
Usually for pasteurization purpose considered treatment is generally
in range of 300-600 MPa for short period of time, from seconds to
minutes, inactivating vegetative pathogenic & spoilage
microorganisms.
For sterilization range is over 600 MPa & combination with high
temperature is needed because some spores are resistant even to
pressure over than 1000 MPa when temperature is not higher than 45-
75 0C
Most yeast are inactivated by exposure to 300-400 MPa at 25 0C
within few minutes, however, yeast ascospores may require treatment
at higher pressure.
Pressure inactivation of moulds follows model similar to yeast
Hurdle combinations can be used vs. spore inactivation
for shelf stability of low-acid foods

 Refrigerated storage
 Elevated treatment temperatures
 pH adjustment
 Preservatives
 Other non thermal processes
HPP proposes a great potential to develop new “minimally” treated
foods with high nutritional & sensory quality, novel texture & with an
increased shelf-life.
Novelty of HPP technology & high equipment costs are barriers to its
commercialization but increased consumer’s demand for fresher-
tasting foods containing fewer preservatives drives an increase in this
segment.
HPP can preserve food products without heat treatment or chemical
preservatives, & its ability to ensure safety & significantly extended
refrigerated shelf life has opened new market opportunities
particularly in area of “natural” preservative free food products.
HPP sterilization & pasteurization are relatively expensive
compared with traditional heat transfer method, & to
achieve required pressures processing must be done in
sealed, pressured vessel. Semi-continuous processing can
only be achieved with several vessels in production line.
Use of novel processing technologies in food production is
closely monitored & further research, on effects of HPP &
consumer perception, is necessary for proper control
(legislation) with respect to food safety (microorganisms),
food composition & its interaction with packaging.
Effect on Protein using
High Pressure Processing
Protein Denaturation under Pressure

 Complex phenomenon depending on:

 Protein structure and flexibility
 Pressure range
 Temperature
 pH
 Solvent composition
 Sometimes reversible after long time
Proteins are flexible & compress when exposed to high pressure
 Tendency to move toward center of mass
 Overall reduction in protein volume, not centered in certain areas
of molecule
 Pressure affects non-covalent bonds, especially hydrophobic &
electrostatic interactions
 Protein will not undergo significant chemical transformation
 Mechanism of Denaturation

There are number of “mechanism” theories:

 Pressurization causes compression with localized expansion
 Expanded cavities become filled with water, leading to hydration
of interior & denaturation
 Compression of foods may shift pH of food as function of
imposed pressure
 When H-bond is compressed, electron density is shifted from
C=O bond to O···H bond
 Volume change under pressure favors disassociation of ionic
interactions, tertiary structure is weakened
 Pressure-induced phase change of water
 At ambient pressure & temperature, density of water is 0.997
g/cm3. At pressures above 400 MPa, water density increases to
1.28 g/cm3
 Gelation of food proteins

 Gelation: Glossy, transparent, more adhesive gels are formed

Weaker than heat-induced gels
 Egg protein: Retention of natural flavour, colour & vitamins
 No sulfur flavour or lysoalanine production
 Increased bioavailability of amino acids

Applications & Advantages

 Increased digestibility of meat & egg proteins
 Blanching without thermal damage, leaching of nutrients, excess
waste water
 Selective proteolysis
 Development of functional foods from proteins by controlled
folding