Objectives
The overall objective of the consortium is to develop commercial microwave sterilization technologies to produce high quality shelf-stable packaged foods
Specific objectives are:
• Develop pilot-scale and demonstration systems to provide uniform microwave heating in packaged foods
• Develop procedures for high-temperature-short-time (HTST) microwave sterilization processes to produce high quality shelf-stable products
• Evaluate and validate the efficacy of the sterilization processes based on the intrinsic chemical marker method, on-line fiber optic monitoring devices, and microbial analyses
• Conduct product quality, shelf-life stability, and sensory evaluation of selected foods processed with the new thermal processing technology, in comparison with conventional retorting methods
• Develop monitoring procedures to ensure food safety that can later be used to develop documentation for FDA approval of the sterilization process for selected foods for military or commercial use
• Provide scientific support and engineering data for developing commercial microwave sterilization systems
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