Hydrostatic pressure processing of foods

New food processing technologies meeting consumer expectations for increased food safety, extending shelf life and improving product quality are needed today. Consumers are demanding fresh foods and products minimally affected by processing so as to preserve desirable compositional and sensory properties. For example, in the United States raw milk may be purchased directly from farms in 28 states, and in four states it may be purchased in retail stores [1]. This consumer interest in untreated milk is troublesome information for agencies monitoring food safety since its potential content of microbial pathogens poses a serious health risk to consumers. An analysis of the incidence of pathogenic bacteria in raw milk from 70 farms showed that 4.9 and 3.4% were positive for Listeria monocytogenes and L. innocua, respectively [2,3].