Reduction of microbial growth in milk by pulsed electric fields

A study was conducted to assess the effectiveness of pulsed electric field (PEF) inactivation of a heterogeneous community of microbes in milk over electric field strength of 10 – 40 kV/cm and 10 to 120 pulses per millilitre. High electric field strength and pulse number decreased microbial growth but inoculum-size affected PEF effectiveness when only a few pulses were applied. The composition of the microbial community plays an important role in the effectiveness of PEF inactivation of microbes in milk, but the process looks promising, as it was potent against microbes that were recalcitrant to commercial pasteurization with a 1.5 log-reduction.