Until recently, the factor that has played a predominant role in food processing was not “pressure” but “heat”, although both factors are independently responsible for transforming the state of a substance. In food processing, high-pressure treatment produces no aberrant matter that puts the safety of food at risk because the food processing can be achieved without any cleavage of covalent bond contained in the ingredients of food. Moreover, high-pressure treatment is considered to be very promising for food processing of the future. This is because decomposition of nutrients and production of stench can be minimized more effectively and energy consumption can be reduced more efficiently when compared with heat treatment. Further, when a food product in a container is subjected to high-pressure treatment, uniform processing throughout the food can be guaranteed. It has been confirmed that pressure treatment exhibits the following effects, which are useful to improve the quality of food to create new added value. 1) Removal of air bubbles 2) Impregnation of a sold substance. 3) Control of enzyme reaction and destruction of cell wall and cell membrane. 4) Denaturation of starch. 5) Bactericidal effect of high pressure treatment.
