High‐pressure processing of meat and meat products

High pressure (HP) was first introduced at the end of the nineteenth century in the field of materials chemistry. The first application of high pressure in the food industry was proposed by Hite in 1899 to pasteurize milk and fruit products. The high hydrostatic pressure (HHP) treatment is considered as a nonthermal process, alternative to heat treatments, as it enables inactivation of pathogenic and spoilage microorganisms in foods. This technology is based on two principles that determine the behavior of foods under pressure. The first is an important principle that underlies the effects on reaction equilibria is known as the principle of Le Chatelier, and the second is the isostatic principle. This chapter discusses influences of high pressure on microbial contamination of meat, applications of high-pressure as well as sterilization such as pressure-assisted thermal processing (PATP) or pressure-assisted thermal sterilization.