Application of pulsed electric field treatment for food waste recovery operations

Food industry is generating annually huge quantities of by-products and waste, which are generally considered as problem, as their disposal is associated with environmental and health related issues. During the last decade, numerous research groups and industries have been interested in valorizing these by-products by extracting valuable compounds and incorporating them generally in food and/or cosmetic products, which enhances the profitability of the process. Conventional extraction methods (i.e., maceration, thermal extraction) are extensively used for such purposes and showed high yields in many cases. However, the need to replace toxic organic solvents, shortening the extraction time, and reducing the energy consumption has incited the researchers to develop and evaluate alternative methods (i.e., electrotechnologies, high pressure processing, ultrasound- and microwave-assisted extractions), which are more environmental friendly and cost effective. Among electrotechnologies, pulsed electric fields (PEF) technology has been widely evaluated for the extraction of high-added value compounds from waste and by-products, showing promising results, compared to conventional methods. This chapter describes the features of PEF as well as its use as sustainable and green recovery technology of valuable compounds from food by-products.