Does Electroporation Occur During the Ohmic Heating of Food?
Résumé
The effect of temperature on electroporation of plant tissues during the pulsed electric field (PEF) or alternative current (AC) treatment was studied. The characteristic damage time t, which determines effectiveness of the electroporation mechanism in plant tissue damage, was estimated for potatoes tissues in the range of electric field strengths E= 40 to 500 V/cm and at temperatures T= 22°C and T= 49 °C in PEF treatment experiments. Experimental results of the AC ohmic heating of potato and apple tissues are evidence of the importance of the electroporation mechanism of tissue damage at moderate electric fields (MEF), when the electric field strength E is under 100 V/cm, and show that effectiveness of this mechanism increases with temperature increase.