Potential of Ultrasound in Food Processing: An Overview

Ultrasound is well known for its versatile processing in food industry. Ultrasound can be used in various unit operations such as filtration, freezing, thawing, brining, sterilization/pasteurization, and cutting, in different food divisions including meat, fruits and vegetables, cereals, and dairy. It serves as a sustainable and low-cost alternative to traditional heat-based technologies. Ultrasound technology has revolutionized the food processing industry by offering rapid processes, enhanced efficiency, improved shelf life. Application of ultrasound in food will serve the benefits in several manners like conserve the nutrients for ultimate customer, improve physico-chemical characters of food along with sensory characteristics and responsible for preservation of food through different mechanisms. In this review the major applications of ultrasonic technique during processing or as a pre-treatment show tremendous potential as a non-thermal technique are discussed briefly.