Ultraviolet Light

In the last two decades, new preservation technologies have drawn the attention of food producers, who wish to satisfy the consumers' increasing demand for fresh‐like food products free or with low amounts of chemical additives and processed without the need for severe heating. Among these procedures, short‐wavelength ultraviolet light (UV‐C, 254 nm) is a low‐cost technology, which does not leave any residue and effectively inactivates microorganisms with low or negligible damage to food quality. However, used alone, its use is limited to the treatment of surfaces or clear liquid foods in which UV‐C photons can easily reach microbial cells. Its effectiveness can be significantly affected by the optical and physical characteristics of the treated media, thus hindering the disinfection process. Hence, the use of UV‐C light under a hurdle approach, which considers its combination with other stressors, could be an interesting alternative to maximize its benefits in terms of microbial reduction and food quality. In this chapter, an attempt to streamline the information available on key aspects of current UV‐based strategies in various foods and beverages is presented. On balance, significant progress has been made in this regard, which opens an ever‐widening range of possibilities for the future industrial adoption of some of these strategies for food preservation purposes. The uses, drawbacks, effects, mechanism, and short‐term goals of the UV‐C‐based technologies are discussed in this chapter.