The efficacy and safety of high-pressure processing of food

High-pressure processing (HPP) is a non-thermal treatment in which, for microbial inactivation, foodsare subjected to isostatic pressures (P) of 400–600 MPa with common holding times (t) from 1.5 to6 min. The main factors that influence the efficacy (log10reduction of vegetative microorganisms) ofHPP when applied to foodstuffs are intrinsic (e.g. water activity and pH), extrinsic (P and t) andmicroorganism-related (type, taxonomic unit, strain and physiological state). It was concluded thatHPP of food will not present any additional microbial or chemical food safety concerns when comparedto other routinely applied treatments (e.g. pasteurisation). Pathogen reductions in milk/colostrumcaused by the current HPP conditions applied by the industry are lower than those achieved by thelegal requirements for thermal pasteurisation. However, HPP minimum requirements (P/t combinations)could be identified to achieve specific log10reductions of relevant hazards based on performancecriteria (PC) proposed by international standard agencies (5–8 log10reductions). The most stringentHPP conditions used industrially (600 MPa, 6 min) would achieve the above-mentioned PC, except forStaphylococcus aureus. Alkaline phosphatase (ALP), the endogenous milk enzyme that is widely used to verify adequate thermal pasteurisation of cows’milk, is relatively pressure resistant and its usewould be limited to that of an overprocessing indicator. Current data are not robust enough to supportthe proposal of an appropriate indicator to verify the efficacy of HPP under the current HPP conditionsapplied by the industry. Minimum HPP requirements to reduceListeria monocytogeneslevels byspecific log10reductions could be identified when HPP is applied to ready-to-eat (RTE) cooked meatproducts, but not for other types of RTE foods. These identified minimum requirements would result inthe inactivation of other relevant pathogens (SalmonellaandEscherichia coli) in these RTE foods to asimilar or higher extent.

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