1. PEF was used as an extraction pretreatment

Pulsed electric fields (PEF) can alter cell-membrane permeability and are studied as pretreatments to help extract compounds from plant tissue. The cited 2026 study did not test juice pasteurization or treat a finished food. It applied PEF in work on extracts from fresh and dried sage (Salvia officinalis L.), then measured phytochemical composition, antioxidant assays, and antimicrobial activity of those extracts. Describing it as proof of microbial inactivation in foods would misstate both its material and its purpose.

2. Fresh and dried sage responded differently

Fresh-sage extracts contained more chlorophylls and chlorophyllides, whereas dried-sage extracts had higher total phenolics and pheophytins. PEF had limited impact on phenolic extraction from fresh sage but a more pronounced effect with dried sage. The authors suggested that electroporation may improve solvent penetration into tissue altered by drying. Antioxidant activity assessed with DPPH, ABTS, and FRAP varied with matrix and treatment intensity. These chemical assays on extracts do not establish antioxidant effects after human consumption.

3. Antimicrobial results were selective and in vitro

The extract tests showed activity against selected Gram-positive bacteria, including Bacillus cereus and Staphylococcus aureus. Dried-sage extracts generally showed stronger inhibition; only the fresh-sage extract treated at 8 kV/cm had partial activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa. None of the extracts inhibited Escherichia coli or Salmonella enterica. This was an antimicrobial assay of the extracts, not a demonstration that PEF killed pathogens in food. It also directly argues against a universal claim that the treatment or extracts inhibit all foodborne bacteria.

4. Expert perspective: extraction research is not food-process validation

A review of PEF in vegetable and fruit juice processing explains that field strength, pulse width and frequency, total treatment time, and specific energy affect microbial, enzyme, and quality outcomes. Conditions must be optimized for the juice and equipment; the review is not a universal pasteurization schedule or validation of a particular safety target. The sage study supports further investigation of extraction properties. Pathogen reduction, shelf life, and commercial process performance would need separate tests in the intended food system.

Sources: Effect of pulsed electric field pretreatments on the phytochemical composition, antioxidant, and antimicrobial properties of sage extracts / Pulsed electric field technology in vegetable and fruit juice processing: a review