Pulsed Ultraviolet Light

Pulsed light is considered as a nonthermal emerging technology that can serve as an alternative to current microbial interventions in the food industry. This technology involves short pulses of high-energy electromagnetic radiation in the spectral range from UV to infrared region. It offers significant advantages compared to current technologies, including a dry process and short processing times while maintaining the quality of food products. Also, the mode of activation was shown to be different than the conventional UV processing. In this chapter, principles of pulsed light technology, equipment types, and critical parameters of pulsed light process are introduced. Then, studies conducted on the effects of pulsed light on the microbial loads and quality parameters of various solid and liquid foods, and water as well as food processing surfaces are summarized. Finally, remarks on the future trends and potential commercial applications of pulsed light were discussed. All these show that increased efforts should be made to transition the sufficient knowledge from the current pool of literature to implementing PUV light in commercial settings in the next decade.