1. Introduction
HPP is a food processing method representing great potential in the food industry.HPP inactivates microorganisms and extends the shelf life of processed food products, while maintaining their quality with minimal adverse effects on flavour and nutritional value. In this alternative technology of food preservation food items are subjected to elevated pressures (up to about 600 MPa) to achieve microbial inactivation or to modify some food attributes in order to obtain consumer-desired qualities, such as sweetness retention of root tubers or tenderisation of meat. When foodstuffs are subjected to extremely high pressures proteins are denatured and starches are gelatinised, whereas enzymes and microorganisms are deactivated in the same way as when heat is applied. HPP does not disrupt covalent bonds of the molecules of the food structure, so the nutrient components of the food along with their flavour compounds are largely left intact. HPP can be conducted at ambient or refrigerated temperatures, thereby eliminating thermally induced cooked off-flavours