VATIS UPDATE Article

Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB, Germany, has developed pressure change technology (PCT) to preserve fruit juices as gently as possible and to extract valuable ingredients. Apart from the food preservation applications, the experts also use the technology to obtain extracts and active ingredients from plant, microalgae and microbial cells. A research facility for the purpose of testing the technology under strict hygienic conditions is now in operation. PCT is a physical process for the product-friendly preservation of liquid foodstuffs.

In recent years, the Fraunhofer IGB has investigated the process, which is also called “cold pasteurizing”, and has further developed it through to application maturity. In the EU-funded project “PreserveWine”, for example, the addition of sulfur dioxide to the wine was considerably reduced by using PCT. “We have shown that the color of PCT-treated wine is preserved, even over longer periods of time, and that flavor is not affected,” said Dr. Ana Lucía Vásquez-Caicedo about the research findings.

The PCT research facility can treat up to four liters of liquid per minute continuously. The process is suitable for all beverages that are normally pasteurized, i.e. fruit and vegetable juices or concentrates, and also alcoholic beverages, milk products, plant extracts and suspensions containing active substances, e.g. cosmetic and pharmaceutical preparations. Additionally, for basic testing – for example, at a customer’s location – a flexibly configurable and mobile PCT lab plant is currently being constructed. Contact: Dr. Ana Lucía Vásquez-Caicedo, Nobelstr. 12, 70569 Stuttgart, Germany. Tel: +49-711-970-3669; Fax: +49-711-970-4200.