Pulsed UV as a potential surface sanitizer in food production processes to ensure consumer safety

The incidence of foodborne illness is increasing globally in an age where antibiotic resistance has become the mainstay for many pathogenic species with potentially fatal consequences for the consumer. Fresh food, including industrial-fabricated ready-to-eat produce, is frequently reported as a leading source of foodborne outbreaks. There is a pressing need to develop alternative or complementary non-thermal technologies for food-surface disinfection given that existing approaches are frequently ineffective post-harvest. There has been a growing interest in the development and testing of non-thermal pulsed light (PL) technology for food treatment applications. Consequently, this review discusses critical factors influencing the timely development of PL for food decontamination and compares effectiveness of PL to other known sanitizers including the need to meet new innovations for smart packaging.