High-pressure CO2 processing is one of the emerging preservation technologies designed to produce safe food, while maintaining its nutritional and sensory qualities. The effects of dense nitrous oxide processing parameters, including pressure (60-200 bar) and treating times (1-25 min) on yeast survival in apple juice were investigated. Experiments performed in multi-batch equipment at 36°C, confirm the effectiveness of the high pressure technology. N2O led to a complete yeast inactivation in 5 minutes, achieved at 100 bar and 36°C.As the inactivation hypotheses are concerning, some issues regarding N2O chemical nature, its interaction with lipids and cell membrane modification were discussed.Dense phase CO2/N2O processing can be an effective non-thermal alternative process for the pasteurization of apple juice.
©2011 Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co. KG, Berlin/Boston
