Osmotic dehydration with blanching, pulsed electric fields, and ultrasound: A mini-review

Nora Salina Md Salim; Nabilah Ismail

Transactions on Science and Technology, 12(2), Article ID ToST122RA2, pp 1 - 9.

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ABSTRACT
Osmotic dehydration (OD) has emerged as a valuable food preservation technique that extends shelf life and retains nutritional value by partially removing water from food through immersion in a hypertonic solution. However, conventional OD faces challenges, including slow mass transfer rates, long processing times, and potentially degrading sensory and nutritional qualities. This mini-review explores the role of blanching, pulsed electric fields (PEF), and ultrasound as pre-treatment methods to enhance the efficiency of OD. Blanching, a traditional thermal technique, effectively prepares food for OD by inactivating enzymes and altering structural properties, although it may lead to nutrient loss. Non-thermal methods like PEF and ultrasound offer significant advantages, including increased cell permeability, faster dehydration, and improved product quality. These methods accelerate the OD process and reduce energy consumption, making food processing more cost-effective and environmentally sustainable. The review highlights the importance of selecting appropriate pre-treatment methods to optimize OD, leading to higher quality and more marketable food products. Future research should focus on optimizing these techniques and exploring combined pre-treatment methods to further enhance the effectiveness and sustainability of osmotic dehydration. The pre-treatments not only improve process efficiency but also facilitate scalability, enabling wider implementation in the food industry.

KEYWORDS: Osmotic dehydration; Pre-treatment; Blanching, Pulsed electric field; Ultrasound



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