Chemical apparatus and process disinfecting – deodorizing – preser – Process disinfecting – preserving – deodorizing – or sterilizing – Using direct contact with electrical or electromagnetic...
Reexamination Certificate
2000-11-08
2003-10-28
Mayekar, Kishor (Department: 1741)
Chemical apparatus and process disinfecting, deodorizing, preser
Process disinfecting, preserving, deodorizing, or sterilizing
Using direct contact with electrical or electromagnetic...
C204S164000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06638475
ABSTRACT:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
Not Applicable
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT
Not Applicable
REFERENCE TO A MICROFICHE APPENDIX
Not Applicable
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and a system for the application of radio frequency energy to products, such as agricultural commodities or valuable artifacts, in order to inhibit the presence of pests, bacteria, and other pathogenic or spoilage organisms. The present invention is also directed to the products treated with such radio frequency energy.
2. Description of the Background Art
Major human safety concerns exists today on the potential contamination food commodities with pathogenic bacteria such as
Escherichia coli
O157:H7, Salmonella sp., Listeria, and especially Campylobacter (see, for example, J. L. Welbourn: “Inside Microbiology”, in Food Testing & Analysis, pp. 20-22 Vol., 4 (3) June/July 1998). Each of these pathogenic bacteria has recently been identified as disease causing agents from the consumption of many common food commodities. Estimated food borne illness outbreaks and deaths annually in the United States affect 12 million and 4,000 individuals, respectively. Agricultural commodities such as grains, seeds, and spices may also be affected by fungal and/or bacterial contaminants. In addition, the keeping quality of agricultural commodities may also be affected by enzyme activity. Further still, microbial activity may generate a variety of toxins (i.e. Aflatoxin from
Aspergillius flavus
in grains).
Accordingly, it is desirable to inhibit the presence of disease-carrying organisms within food and agricultural commodities. Two manners of accomplishing this include slowing down the development of spoilage organisms (biostatic effects) or using thermal energy to cause a lethal effect on the organism (biocidal effect).
A. Thermal Sensitivity Trends
One manner of inhibiting the presence of such infective organisms, such as pathogens and insect/arachnid-type contaminants, is with thermal energy. The use of thermal energy to attack microorganisms within a host material is based on the fact that microorganisms will possess a greater sensitivity and vulnerability to thermal energy than the host materials. (i.e. agricultural commodities and other materials). This greater sensitivity is due to the greater complexity in the organism's biological structure, as well as due to the existence of complex functional processes that are needed to sustain living organisms such as respiration, energy production, and cell division.
By way of illustration only,
FIG. 1
depicts the relative sensitivities of host materials and infective organisms to thermal energy. Boundary
130
indicates the temperature at which irreversible changes occur in the host material. In
FIG. 1
, different classes of host material are allocated relatively different boundaries. Accordingly, fresh fruits are in region
131
, plants in region
132
, seeds in region
133
, grains in region
134
, and soils in region
135
.
FIG. 1
indicates that host material high boundary
130
is greatest (in a relative sense) in soils, and is lowest (in a relative sense) in fresh fruits. As used herein, “irreversible” changes in the host material include (i) changes that affect the host material's inherent metabolic and/or physiological attributes affecting the host material sensory and storage properties, or (ii) changes that affect the host material's inherent chemical and molecular structure affecting the host material's sensory and storage properties. For example, a host material that possesses some inherent metabolic activity is a green tomato following its harvest. A green tomato that is harvested and in conventional storage will continue to undergo metabolic changes associated with a color change (from green to red) and changes in chemistry that account for the taste of a ripe tomato. Accordingly, an irreversible change is a change that alters the host material's inherent metabolic and/or physiologic attributes. For example, pickling vegetables or canning fruits alters the vegetable's or fruit's inherent metabolic activity and would, thus, be considered an irreversible change.
Alternatively, an example of a host material with a specific chemical or molecular structure that accounts for the host material's sensory or storage properties is an artifact such as an antique book or an art object. In an antique book, the chemical or molecular structure of the ink on the page, or the molecular structure of the page itself accounts for the sensory properties associated with the book (i.e., color) as well as its potential value. Such molecular structure or chemical structure may be altered over a long period of time by the presence of spoilage organisms. Furthermore, the host material itself may be consumed by insects or mites. Accordingly, an irreversible change in such a host material is a change that alters the chemical or molecular structure of the host material so as to alter its sensory properties such as color, or its storage properties.
Further still, and in fresh fruits, inherent physiological properties include appearance, structure, and taste. Below boundary
130
(and above boundary
120
) in
FIG. 1
, only “reversible” changes occur in the host material. Examples of reversible changes include such processes as small changes in temperature, where the temperature may cycle up and then down with no net change in the host material's inherent metabolic and/or physiological attributes, or in the host material's chemical or molecular structure as described above. Boundary
110
indicates the point above which irreversible changes occur in insects and arachnids. As used herein, “irreversible” changes in infective organisms include changes that affect the organism's ability to reproduce or the ability to survive. By way of illustration, below boundary
110
(and above boundary
100
) reversible changes occur in insects and arachnids. Further still, boundary
120
indicates the region above which irreversible changes occur in microbes. Again, by way of illustration, below boundary
120
(and above boundary
110
) reversible changes occur in microbes.
As stated above, thermal sensitivity in living matter is in direct proportion to biological complexity. Therefore, a high degree of biological complexity results in a high sensitivity to thermal energy. In
FIG. 1
, it is noted that insects and arachnids are the most sensitive, while soils are the least sensitive. The microbes depicted in
FIG. 1
include fungi and yeasts, bacteria, viruses, and protozoa. Furthermore, and with respect to insects and arachnids in all life cycles, an induced thermal level of 40-60° C. results in instant or delayed mortality or disruption of reproductive activity. When microorganisms are subjected to thermal energy only slightly above their maximum growth temperatures, an irreversible change, such as the reduction of viable cells or spores, generally follows. It is believed that this behavior is due to the denaturation of proteins, enzymes, or genes essential to reproduction. This is generally described in “Physical Principles of Food Preservation,” part II, ed. Owen R. Fennema, Marcel Dekker Inc., 1975. Further still, although a valuable artifact such as an antique book or an art object may not have any “biological complexity” as described above, the host material may be nevertheless highly sensitive to environmental factors, such as temperature, that may alter the host materials inherent chemical or molecular structure.
Accordingly, the application of thermal energy to a living-organism/host-material system, such as an infected food product or an infected artifact, can be utilized to target enzyme activity primarily and therefore the functional capabilities of living organisms. Enzyme inactivation is a critical goal in rendering a variety of products free of living contaminants such as insects, arachnids (i.e. mites), and microbes. The appli
Essert Timothy K.
Lagunas-Solar Manuel C.
Zeng Nolan X.
Mayekar Kishor
O'Banion John P.
The Regents of the University of California
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