APPLICATION OF PULSED ELECTRIC FIELD TECHNOLOGY IN THE PROCESSING OF BEVERAGE PRODUCTS WITH HIGH PROTEIN/FIBRE

Abstract

Conventional thermal processing methods cause changes in characteristics such as taste,aroma, texture and decrease the nutritional value. Pulsed electric field technology is aninnovative technology in several areas of the food industry and bioprocess engineering andcan be used as a food processing technology with the advantage of preserving sensory andnutritional characteristics. Thus, this research project aims to study the pulsed electric field(PEF) technology for the processing of smoothie type beverage. The optimized drink withhigh content of proteins and fibers will be processed with the objective to extend the shelf lifekeeping the high nutritional value and sensorial quality. Analyses of colour, physicochemical,phytochemical, microbiological, enzymatic properties and shelf life will be performed. Thedevelopment of the project will be supervised by Prof. Brijesh K. Tiwari, expert in the field ofnew processing technologies and food preservation and will rely on the infrastructure of theresearch centre of Teagasc (the Agriculture and Food Development Authority) at UniversityCollege Dublin, Ireland. In the future, on returning to Brazil, processing using PEFtechnology will be compared to a conventional thermal process to be carried out in apasteurisation unit at the Food Research Centre- FoRC located at the Escola Politécnica ofUSP.