Open Access

Stefan Töpfl, Jimmy Kinsella, Oleksii Parniakov

• Pulsed electric fields (PEF) application enables cell disintegration and microbial decontamination of food products. Recent developments of pulsed power systems have supported successful technology transfer, from lab scale to industrial application, of PEF processing for fruit juice and vegetable processing. Ongoing equipment design research will result in increased treatment capacities and development of additional applications of PEF to foods. Future PEF processing applications for shelf life extension of protein-based drinks, dressings, soups, dairy products, and beer are likely, as are applications for extraction improvements in wine, micro- and macro-algae production. Therefore this chapter is introducing the history of industrial application of PEF technology. Moreover, it is giving an overview of current applications. Finally, the current status of patents and a discussion of advantages and challenges of this emerging technique will be presented.