Hurdle technology: A novel approach for enhanced food quality and safety - A review

Obscure hazards and insufficient knowledge regarding foodborne threats make food safety an important issue. Foodborne threats can disrupt markets and can lead to substantial economic losses for everyone from farm input traders to customers. The food industry is increasing its efforts to enhance food safety throughout the world. Researchers have redirected their focus toward food science to conform to the issues and find feasible solutions. A variety of conventional and novel techniques have been assessed to solve food safety-related problems. However, certain of these techniques adversely affect the quality of the food, the nutrients it contains and its organoleptic properties. This review highlights the effectiveness of decontamination techniques and discusses several successful combinations of thermal and non thermal technologies. This review also examines the effects of food processing technologies on nutrients and organoleptic properties. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.