Comments on the High Pressure Preservation of Human Milk

Abstract

The current state of studies on the high pressure preservation of the human milk is briefly presented. It is indicated that reaching (i) the antimicrobial safety, (ii) antiviral safety, and (iii) high nutritional, metabolic and immunological quality, may be difficult for a “classical” single pressure pulse High Pressure Preservation (HPP) treatment. It is shown that the sudden decompression leads to additional physical processes, which can be important for supporting the HPP technology. Additional advantages were reached due to the two-pulse compression, with subsequent values: P = 200 MPa and 400 MPa. Tests included the microbiological insight for the two-weeks storage. It is also shown that the decay of the number of microorganisms under the high pressure follows the relation n(t) = n₀exp(At)exp(Bt²). Finally, issues regarding containers for the high pressure preservation of human milk are discussed.