Less salt, more taste with PEF

Dutch people take in unhealthy amounts of salt in their daily food. A large part of this salt comes from products consumers by in the shop. Companies are already working on salt reduction, but another sniff less would do no harm.

Pulsed Electric Field (PEF) is a technology that uses an electric field which can break down / perforate biological cells. At a low electric field large cells, either vegetal or animal, can be opened; at a higher electric field also bacteria can be perforated, causing inactivation (mild preservation).

This technology is currently mostly used for mild preservation of fluids. The continuous process is mainly applied to increase the shelf life of fruit juices whilst preserving taste and nutrients. But perhaps PEF-technology can be used to decrease the added salt in your product. Less salt, more taste. Sounds attractive, doesn’t it?

The underlying principle is that during a PEF-treatment cells are broken open. This releases components that normally stay trapped inside the (plant) cell. These components can contain minerals and flavorings which increase the taste of the product.

TOP has a lot of experience in treating a variety of products with PEF. Examples are fruit juices, vegetable juices and milk, but also soups, sauces and dressings are interesting products to treat with PEF. Especially in the last three categories the effect of a heightened taste after PEF-treatment is detectable. In fact, the original product has become TOO salty after treatment. The solution is simple: decrease the amount of added salt in the basic recipe.

Other applications for the use of PEF next to increasing shelf life, are increasing press yield, increasing extraction yield and shortening freezing time and drying time in solids.

For more information about the possibilities of PEF (PurePulse), you can contact .