Pulsed electric fields as an alternative to thermal processing for preservation of nutritive and physicochemical properties of beverages: A review

Fruit juices and other beverages constitute an important source of bioactive compounds, but thermal processing may reduce their contents thus decreasing natural nutritive value of foods. This has been recently led to the use of non-thermal technologies, especially pulsed electric fields (PEF) as an interesting alternative to thermal pasteurization of beverages. Reported results show that PEF is a useful for pasteurization of fruit juices that can minimize changes in physicochemical and nutritional properties with retention of higher amounts of health-related phytochemicals. This study presents an overview of the effect of PEF on the physicochemical (e.g., Brix, pH, viscosity, acidity, color…