SHOCK waves have been used for the first time to destroy a host of common food bacteria. If the technique can be perfected, it could one day be used instead of pasteurisation to sterilise baby foods, dairy products and fruit juices without spoiling their taste.
The process is being developed by Achim Loske and colleagues at the Autonomous University of Mexico’s Centre for Applied Physics and Advanced Technology in Querétaro.
Loske subjected vials of bacteria to shock waves in a device called an electrohydraulic generator, which generates shocks with pressures of up to 1000 atmospheres, accompanied by intense flashes…
