Food Science and Technology Department
Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications
Document Type
Article
Date of this Version
11-20-2023
Citation
Journal of Food Protection 87 (2024) 100209. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfp.2023.100209
Abstract
Radiofrequency (RF) heating has been extensively studied for pasteurizing low‐moisture foods. Currently, bulk foods are treated with radiofrequency; potential cross‐contamination may occur during packaging of pasteurized products. As an alternative, in‐package RF processing was evaluated for Salmonella inactivation on black peppercorns and dried basil leaves and prevention of cross‐contamination during storage postprocessing. Inpackage steaming refers to the process in which the samples were heated in a steam vent package to generate and retain steam during the treatment. This treatment achieved good heating uniformity which could be because of the circulation of steam within the package. One‐way steam vent allowed the release of excess steam once a threshold pressure was achieved and later returned to its original position to seal the package, when the RF energy was removed. In‐package RF steaming of black peppercorns and dried basil leaves for 135 s and 40 s, respectively, resulted in more than 5 log reduction of Salmonella. The steam vent remained stable posttreatment and properly sealed the package to protect the product from any external contamination. These results indicate that the use of steam vent could effectively pasteurize black peppercorns and dried basil leaves could be beneficial in preventing the potential cross‐contamination postprocessing.
Comments
Open access.