Recent advances on applying for freezing and pulverizing technology using liquid nitrogen in animal-derived products

The traditional pulverizing technologies face limitations such as nutrient loss, risk of dust explosions and poor properties of powder. Liquid nitrogen freezing and pulverizing (LNFP) is an innovative technology combining low-temperature freezing and pulverizing, which can maintain high nutritional value and performance of food powders. This paper primarily reviews the basic principles of LNFP, the advantages compared to traditional pulverizing technologies (e.g., high-speed airflow pulverizing and ball pulverizing), relevant equipment, applications in animal-derived products, the improvement and innovation direction, and the combination with other food processing techniques. Although LNFP has potential in food processing, it still faces challenges such as food form, thawing loss and enzyme changes. In addition, the cost is also an issue. In the future, combining auxiliary methods with LNFP technology may improve product quality and processing outcomes of animal-derived products.