Dielectric Heating: A Review of Liquid Foods Processing Applications

Abstract

Dielectric heating is one of the most promising alternatives to conventional thermal treatment of fluid foods. Higher thermal efficiency and better heating uniformity of radio frequency and microwave processes have been proven successful in providing a similar or better bacterial and enzymatic inactivation in liquid and semi-solid foods while improving the sensory and nutritional qualities of the fresh product when compared to conventional pasteurization. However, further investigations are necessary to advance scaling up of applications at different frequencies and to better understand heat distribution and energy consumption of industrial dielectric heating operations.