photonics hv Review Role of Pascalization in Milk Processing and Preservation: A Potential Alternative towards Sustainable Food Processing Muhmmad Farhan Jahangir Chughtai 1 , Muhammad Adil Farooq 1 , Syeda Aiman Ashfaq 1 , Sonia Khan 1 , Adnan Khaliq 1 , Sergey Antipov 2,3 , Maksim Rebezov 4,5 , Mars Khayrullin 2 , Alla Vorobeva 2 , Elena Nelyubina 2 , Muthu Thiruvengadam 6, * and Mohammad Ali Shariati 2,4   Citation: Chughtai, M.F.J.; Farooq, M.A.; Ashfaq, S.A.; Khan, S.; Khaliq, A.; Antipov, S.; Rebezov, M.; Khayrullin, M.; Vorobeva, A.; Nelyubina, E.; et al. Role of Pascalization in Milk Processing and Preservation: A Potential Alternative towards Sustainable Food Processing. Photonics 2021, 8, 498. https:// doi.org/10.3390/photonics8110498 Received: 12 September 2021 Accepted: 29 October 2021 Published: 8 November 2021 Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affil- iations. Copyright: © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/). 1 Department of Food Science and Technology, Faculty of Engineering and Technology, Khwaja Fareed University of Engineering and Information Technology, Rahimyar Khan 64200, Pakistan; Farhan.chughtai@kfueit.edu.pk (M.F.J.C.); Adilfarooq9156@gmail.com (M.A.F.); mnsyed25@gmail.com (S.A.A.); soniapk97@gmail.com (S.K.); adnan.khaliq@kfueit.edu.pk (A.K.) 2 Research Department, K.G. Razumovsky Moscow State University of Technologies and Management, 73, Zemlyanoy Val, 109004 Moscow, Russia; s.antipov@mgutm.ru (S.A.); khairullin-mars@ya.ru (M.K.); a1c3@rambler.ru (A.V.); 89049755219@ya.ru (E.N.); shariatymohammadali@gmail.com (M.A.S.) 3 Department of Biophysics and Biotechnology, Voronezh State University, 1 Universitetskaya Ploshchad, 394018 Voronezh, Russia 4 School of Agricultural Sciences, Liaocheng University, 34 Wenhua Road, Liaocheng 252000, China; rebezov@yandex.ru 5 V.M. Gorbatov Federal Research Center for Food Systems of Russian Academy of Sciences, 26 Talalikhina St., 109316 Moscow, Russia 6 Department of Applied Bioscience, College of Life and Environmental Science, Konkuk University, Seoul 05029, Korea * Correspondence: muthu@konkuk.ac.kr Abstract: Renewed technology has created a demand for foods which are natural in taste, mini- mally processed, and safe for consumption. Although thermal processing, such as pasteurization and sterilization, effectively limits pathogenic bacteria, it alters the aroma, flavor, and structural properties of milk and milk products. Nonthermal technologies have been used as an alternative to traditional thermal processing technology and have the ability to provide safe and healthy dairy products without affecting their nutritional composition and organoleptic properties. Other than nonthermal technologies, infrared spectroscopy is a nondestructive technique and may also be used for predicting the shelf life and microbial loads in milk. This review explains the role of pascalization or nonthermal techniques such as high-pressure processing (HPP), pulsed electric field (PEF), ultra- sound (US), ultraviolet (UV), cold plasma treatment, membrane filtration, micro fluidization, and infrared spectroscopy in milk processing and preservation. Keywords: nonthermal processing; high-pressure processing (HPP); pulsed electric field (PEF); ultrasound (US); ultraviolet (UV); cold plasma treatment; infrared spectroscopy 1. Introduction Milk is a nutrient-rich liquid food which comprises carbohydrates, fatty acids, and high-quality proteins with vitamins, minerals, and trace elements [1]. Milk is considered a perishable food due to its high-water contents which help microorganisms to proliferate. Milk and milk products help to prevent arthritis, loss of muscle mass, diabetes mellitus, cardiac disease, cognitive decline, and digestive problems due to their high nutrient con- tent [2]. It is important to thermally process the raw milk before commercialization because it prevents the dairy products from being contaminated by pathogenic bacteria and toxic substances [3]. Thermal processing keeps the aroma, flavor, and texture of food intact by restricting the pathogenic bacteria [4]. Consumers have demanded dairy products that are minimally processed and natural in taste but also have an extended shelf life [5–9]. Photonics 2021, 8, 498. https://doi.org/10.3390/photonics8110498 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/photonics