High hydrostatic pressure technology in dairy processing: a review

Consumers demand high quality foods, which are fresh, tasty and nutritious; this has created considerable interest in the development of new food processing techniques. Presently, non-thermal techniques, including high hydrostatic pressure (HHP), are regarded with special interest by the food industry. Pressure ranges between 100 and 1200 MPa have been considered as effective to inactivate microorganisms including food-borne pathogens. HHP also improves rennet or acid coagulation of milk without any detrimental effect on flavour, body and texture and nutrients. Extended shelf-life and a "fresh-like" product presentation emphasize the need to take full account of food safety risks, alongside possible health benefits to consumers. These characteristics offer the dairy industry numerous practical applications to produce microbially safe and minimally processed dairy products with improved characteristics. Thus HHP is a powerful tool to develop novel dairy products of better nutritional and sensory quality, novel texture and increased shelf-life.