Ultrasound Processing Alone or in Combination with Other Chemical or Physical Treatments as a Safety and Quality Preservation Strategy of Fresh and Processed Fruits and Vegetables: A Review

Ultrasound (US) processing has emerged as a novel food preservation technology. This strategy has proved antimicrobial effects due to cavitation, which is the formation, growth, and collapse of bubbles that generate a localized mechanical and chemical energy. This technology can be applied by water so introducing it in the washing step to obtain safe fresh or fresh-cut products could be promising. The current review provides an overview of the current knowledge and recent findings on the use of US, alone or in combination with other mild physical technologies or chemical agents, to reduce microbial loads, and to better retain their quality attributes including color and texture, as well as the content of bioactive compounds such as antioxidant, phenolic compounds, or vitamins of minimally processed fruits and vegetables. As the effects of US depends on several factors related with treatment parameters, target microorganism, and matrix characteristics, further research efforts should be directed on optimizing US processes in accordance with their further application.