Open Access

Shockwaves are mechanical pressure pulses generated in liquids and gases. Based on the principles of acoustics, shockwavescan propagate through fluids such as water. At interfaces of materials with different acoustic impedances, mechanical energy is dissipated, and disintegration of biological tissue can be achieved. Physical properties as well as technical requirements for shockwave generation by electrohydraulic, electromagnetic or piezoelectric energy conversion have been reported in the literature. The use of electrohydraulic shockwaves for food treatment is an emerging food processing technology, where a lack of scientific and technical knowledge has limited further advancements in process and equipment design. In scientific literature, single aspects required for process description are available, e.g., in metallurgy, mining, air purification or particle accelerators, but their combination toward a combined model is required to characterize underlying mechanisms of action. In food, most of the studies have focused on shockwave technology for treatment of meat cuts with the purpose of reducing aging time, softening of tissue and improving its tenderness. Other applications of the shockwave technology could expand to biological inactivation, targeted texture modifications and improving extractive and refining processes in agriculture industries. Total processing costs are estimated in a range of a few Euros per ton of product. Despite being a promising alternative to existing processes used for these purposes, the application of shockwave in the food industry is limited to date to research on pilot-scale prototypes.

In this chapter, a brief introduction to the interventions for enhancing meat tenderness is presented. Then the use of shockwave technology as a method to tenderize meat is reviewed. The fundamentals of shockwave generation, as well as the development of shockwave equipment for meat tenderization since 1990, are described. The effects of shockwave on meat components and muscle microstructure are discussed to understand the molecular mechanisms behind the tenderization effect. The effect of shockwave on other aspects of meat quality such as functionality of meat proteins and microbial inactivation are briefly described. Finally, a cost analysis of the technology is presented and the areas where more research and development are needed are pointed out in order to address the future development of the shockwave technology for meat tenderization.