Effect of high hydrostatic pressure on background microflora and furan formation in fruit purée based baby foods

The baby foods industry is currently seeking technologies to pasteurize products without formation of processing contaminants such as furan. This work demonstrates the applicability of high hydrostatic pressure (HHP) as a non-thermal decontamination intervention for fruit purée based baby foods. HHP processing was evaluated at 200, 300, and 400 MPa pressures, for 5, 10 and 15 min of treatment times at 25, 35 and 45 °C. HHP application at 400 MPa, 45 °C for 15 min ensured complete inactivation (about 6 log₁₀) of total mesophilic aerophiles, as well as yeasts and molds. No furan was detected in HHP processed products. Thus, the key advantage of HHP over thermal processing is the ability to achieve commercially acceptable microbiological inactivation while avoiding the formation of processing contaminants such as furan.