ABSTRACT
Doevenspeck’s patent, dating to the 1960s, describes a variety of pulsed electrical field (PEF) equipment and methods ranging from PEF processing of sausage to specific electronic embodiments. PEF development diverged into two different, though related, areas of endeavor: reversible electroporation, or PEF performed under conditions promoting electroporation and cell survival; and PEF for microorganism inactivation and food preservation. Reversible electroporation was promoted by U. Zimmerman in Germany, who induced “pearl chains” of cells, that were then fused through PEF induced cell membrane effects. The microbiological data is plotted as the log reduction obtained for a particular PEF treatment vs. the energy input resulting from that particular PEF treatment. In some respects a PEF chamber can be considered analogous to a heat exchanger; significant energy is exchanged into the product in the relatively short distance and time during transit through a PEF treatment chamber.
