Perfecting Potato Products with Pulse Electric Fields

PEF with regards to potato processing has opened up a new realm of possibilities as opposed to the traditional method of blanching. In these experiments, a few things were assessed- how much reducing sugars PEF treated potatoes would pull out, if time and/or temperature were the leading causes of sugar extraction, and if potato products made with PEF were they similar in taste, texture and smell. The reducing sugars are important because they are one of the reactants that form acrylamide, which is a suspected carcinogen and neurotoxin. Many states and countries within the EU have been banning fried potato products as a result, and PEF offers an alternative solution for consumer safety. Assessing if instant mashed potatoes that were made with non-PEF treated potatoes vs PEF treated potatoes was to ensure that product quality would not suffer at the hand of innovation.