Process for liquid food preservation using pulsed electrical field treatment

A process for inactivation of micro-organisms in a liquid product, comprising:

• (a) continuously supplying and flowing the liquid product to an inlet of an apparatus for homogeneously heating the liquid product by resistive heating using a pulsed electric field;
• (b) continually generating a pulsed electrical current through the flowing liquid product in the apparatus using the pulsed electric field, wherein the electrical field strength of the electric field is from 0.1 to 3 kV/cm,
• wherein minimally one pulse with a rectangular pulse shape is applied on each fluid element during passage with a pulse duration of at least 10 microseconds,
• wherein the maximum temperature of the heated liquid product remains between 40° C. and 85° C. during the resistive heating without external cooling or external heating, and
• wherein the microbial count (cfu) in the liquid product is reduced by at least 2 log cfu/mL.