Pulsed electric field (PEF) treatment, a novel technology which has an electroporation effect on cells, has a wide range of practical applications, especially in the food industry. Because of their varying susceptibility to PEF, cells exhibit one of three possible states after PEF treatment: dead, intact or sublethally injured. This review article summarizes the relevant references, focusing on the sublethal effects of PEF treatment of cells during food processing. The protective and metabolic mechanisms involved associated with the phenomenon of sublethal effects are featured. In addition, some useful methods which could be combined with PEF to enhance the bactericidal effect are discussed in detail. In summary, PEF technology holds great promise as a widely applicable, safe method for food pasteurization. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.