Abstract: The sterilization operation in food production is a key process to ensure the safety of food products, and most existing technologies for food sterilization utilizes thermal and/or non-thermal effects. Conventional heat sterilization requires a heat transfer medium, which is completed in a certain period of time at a certain temperature. Electric field processing, a non-conventional food processing technology which utilizes both thermal and non-thermal effects, can reduce the effective temperature threshold and time of conventional heat sterilization, thereby better retaining the nutritional value of foods with less impact on the sensory quality, flavor and color. This paper reviews the principles of ohmic heating sterilization, high-voltage pulsed electric field sterilization and induced electric field sterilization as well as the frontiers and progress in these sterilization technologies in the food industry, discusses the characteristics and differences between the current electric field technologies, and presents an outlook on their future development.

Key words: sterilization; electric field; thermal effect; non-thermal effect; electroporation; electrical breakdown