The preservation method Pulsed Electric Field (PEF) is officially approved by de U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Research indicates that inactivation of relevant pathogens is possible, which is an important requirement of the FDA. PurePulse, the new generation of PEF, is hereby recognized as a base technology that meets the rigorous standards in the USA.

A new method also brings up questions such as: will harmful pathogens be killed sufficiently and does it meet the requirements of the legislation? Because PurePulse is such a young technology it was necessary for us to built a broad experience with FDA legislation and to carry out numerous risk analyses on different kind of fruit and vegetables juices. With success, because the outcome is positive.

The legislation on food safety in America and Europe is basically the same. In both cases it is necessary to provide a risk analysis of the raw materials. In addition, the FDA requires for juice preserving methods that they are able to prove a 5-log reduction of pathogens. That means that 99,999% of the pathogens are inactivated. In case of juices and smoothies, E.coli is often the target pathogen. To prove this, studies were carried out on Pulsed Electric Field with relevant surrogate pathogens, and the results are very positive. PurePulse therefore fully meets the standard requirements of the FDA. This underlines that the method is not a ‘novel food’ technology, which means that there are no obstacles in the EU to apply PurePulse in food production.

At Cool Wave Processing in Wageningen, we have a pilot line available for producers that want to do a risk analysis of their raw materials with surrogate pathogens. This line is also available for sensory testing and more extensive test programs.