Abstract
High pressure processing (HPP) is an increasingly popular food processing method that offers great
potential within the food industry. The drive to use HPP is to provide minimally processed foods which
are safe and have extended shelf-life that rival traditional methods of food processing. HPP is currently
being applied to a wide variety of food products, although to date the dairy industry has received little
attention. The present paper reviews the effects of HPP on fresh rennet- and acid-coagulated cheeses.
In additional to modifying physicochemical and sensory characteristics, HPP is reported to inactivate
certain micro-organisms typically found in cheeses. Pathogenic microorganisms such as Listeria
monocytogenes and Escherichia coli which contaminate, spoil and limit the shelf-life of cheese can be
controlled by HPP. HPP can also cause changes in milk rennet coagulation properties, produce a more
continuous or homogeneous protein matrix in cheese, improve cheese structure, texture and yield, as
well as reduce moisture content variations within fresh cheese blocks. Providing HPP can be operated
economically, the use of pressure may be an attractive new method for the processing of cheese.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 7391-7398 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Journal | African Journal of Biotechnology |
Volume | 8 |
Issue number | 25 |
Publication status | Published - 29 Dec 2009 |
Keywords
- cheese
- high pressure processing
- microbiological
- physico-chemical
- sensory
- properties
- food processing
- shelf-life