Abstract:
Most agricultural crops contain high moisture content (80–95% wet basis (wb)) which makes them very susceptible to microbial damage leading to shorter shelf-life and high postharvest losses. The high perishability of these agricultural
products requires preservation techniques to prolong their shelf-lives. Drying remains an important component of processing
in this regard. Therefore, any pretreatment methods for drying agricultural product that decreases the moisture content and
minimizes drying time by conserving the quality of the crop product is of prime significance. This article is a comprehensive
review of recent developments of non-thermal pretreatment (NTP) methods. A summary of their significance, emerging and
innovative methods of this technology together with its applications and limitations are discussed. This article further examines the environmental impact of NTP techniques.
RESULTS: NTP techniques, such as high pressure, ultrasound, pulsed electric field and osmotic dehydration methods are essential operations for pre-dehydration of agricultural products prior to drying. These techniques can avoid the deleterious effects
of heat on nutritive value, colour and flavour of agricultural products compared to thermal pretreatments. They also enhance
the inactivation of the enzymes, improve energy efficiency and mass transfer, reduce processing time, preserve bioactive compounds, improve drying kinetics and drying rate, minimize enzymatic browning, and enhance product quality
