Visualizing the knowledge domain of pulsed light technology in the food field: A scientometrics review

Pulsed Light (PL) is now recognized as a promising non-thermal food processing technology with a wide range of applications in disinfection, extending shelf life, and inhibiting allergic reactions from the consumption of certain foods. In recent years, the research in PL has developed rapidly, and the knowledge domain associated with this area has made significant progress. Interested scholars in this and allied areas need to keep up with the new tendency and critical developments. In this study, a progressively integrated network is derived from 475 archived articles on PL technology obtained from the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC) database in “Food Science Technology” between 2011 and 2020. These scientific documents were analyzed through HistCite and CiteSpace. The hot-spots and landmark references of PL technology were obtained by scientometric analysis. This review will guide scholars to track new trends and identify critical new applications of PL technology in the food industry. [Display omitted] •Scientometrics is first applied to the literature research on Pulsed Light in food.•Scientometrics analysis builds the intellectual network of PL domain.•The Hotspots and landmark references of PL technology are obtained.•CiteSpace predicts emerging trends of PL technology.•Review manuscript provides a timely, quantitative literature analysis method.