Food or edible material: processes – compositions – and products – Inhibiting chemical or physical change of food by contact...
Patent
1999-01-19
2000-08-29
Pratt, Helen
Food or edible material: processes, compositions, and products
Inhibiting chemical or physical change of food by contact...
426323, 426442, 426468, 426532, A23L 3015, A23L 33463, A23L 33562
Patent
active
061105163
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a process for treating foods or foodstuffs for the purpose of substantially eliminating microorganisms. An aspect of this invention relates to a method for elimination of sporulated and/or sporeforming food-spoilage microorganisms from foods. A further aspect of this invention relates to a bactericidal process for treating foods which are adversely affected by elevated temperatures but are not substantially affected adversely by superatmospheric pressure.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
A wide variety of microorganisms can be found in raw and partially processed foods and even in some fully processed foods. The microorganisms of greatest concern to food product manufacturers and food consumers are generally bacteria which produce toxins or which have food-spoilage effects. Many of these bacteria are temperature-sensitive and can be killed--or at least significantly reduced in population--by heat treatments such as canning, pasteurization, and aseptic processing. Other means of controlling bacterial populations involve irradiation, hermetically-sealed-in growth-inhibiting atmospheres, and the addition of chemicals such as food preservatives, e.g. sorbates, and/or changes in the natural pH of the foodstuff.
One common practice in this art is to modify the atmosphere in the container which stores the food, thereby providing a safer environment for food storage. For example, hermetic or air-tight storage has been used to seal off the food container and store the food under a gas mixture which contains very little oxygen and a large amount of carbon dioxide (compared to the normal atmospheric concentration). The high-CO.sub.2 atmosphere in the container prevents growth of oxygen-utilizing organisms. However, this storage technique does not necessarily hinder the growth of either anaerobic bacteria or sporeforming microorganisms.
Heat can be a potent weapon against bacteria. Anti-bacterial effects are obtained with thermal processing of the food itself and with thermal treatment of the containers used to store the food. In thermal processing, temperatures can be below 100.degree. C. or heat can be applied in the form of wet steam (at about 100.degree. C.) or superheated steam (>100.degree. C.). Canning generally involves a steam treatment of the container, whereas processes such as pasteurization (used primarily for dairy products and beverages) is a direct treatment of the food itself. Some control over bacterial populations is obtained at temperatures as low as 60.degree. C., since the life processes and some essential enzymes are damaged or disrupted and can even become inoperative at temperatures above 37.degree. C. Some enzymes, for example, are completely and permanently denatured at temperatures as low as 50.degree. C. (By contrast, cooling to temperatures well below 37.degree., e.g. 10.degree. C. or less can inhibit or temporarily inactivate bacterial life processes and enzymes, but the effect is not permanent, and the bacteria can resume reproductive and other life processes when the temperature of their environment returns to 20 to 40.degree. C.)
There are, however, serious limitations on the use of heat to kill bacteria in foods. Just as enzymes can be denatured by modestly elevated temperatures, so can raw and partially processed foods. Even foods which are normally cooked at relatively high temperatures before being consumed oftentimes cannot be sold in a pre-cooked form. It is generally unacceptable to treat highly temperature-sensitive foods at temperatures much above 60 or even 50.degree. C.
Canning is a severe form of heat treatment that will inactivate heat-resistant microorganisms, including bacterial spores, but due to the limitations of all heat-treatment methods, described above, canning is most often used for foods such as chunky fruits and soups with meat and vegetables. The canned food of commerce is sterile. Hence, canning is virtually the only food preservation method which is effective against bacterial spores.
Sporeforming microorg
REFERENCES:
patent: 5476677 (1995-12-01), Inoue et al.
David, Jairus. Aseptic Processing and Packaging of Food. CRC Press, 1996, . 6-19.
Safety and Nutritional Adequacy of Irradiated Food. World Health Organization, Geneva, 1994, pp. 22-28.
International Conference of Agricultural Research Institute. Safeguarding the Food Supply through Irradiation Processing Techniques. Orlando, Florida, 1992, pp. 13-14.
Calderon, M. Food Preservation by Modified Atmospheres. CRC Press, 1990, pp. 4-8.
Hayakawa et al. "Oscillatory Compared with Continuous Pressure Sterilization on Bacillus stearothermophilus spores". Journal of Food Science, vol. 59, pp. 167, 1994.
Suwa et al. "Effects of Food Emulsifiers on Spoilage of Canned Coffee Caused by Thermophilic Spore Forming Bacteria". Journal of Japanese Society of Food Science and Technology, vol. 35 (10) 706-708 (Abstract only), 1988.
Journal of Japanese Society of Food Science and Technology, vol. 35 (10) 706-708 (Abstract only), 1988.
Dunne Charles Patrick
Hoover Dallas G.
Sikes Anthony
Stewart Cynthia M.
Pratt Helen
The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of
University of Delaware
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