I-Corps: Customer Discovery for Microwave Assisted Pasteurization

I-Corps项目的更广泛影响/商业潜力在于，这项技术将强烈影响许多食品的商业生产、分销和零售，这些食品经常受到食源性病原体污染的影响，导致各种疾病。近年来，鸡蛋、牡蛎、牛油果、西红柿、瓜类和浆果等高需求的消费食品都遭到了昂贵而浪费的召回。这项技术将大大减少各种食品的召回次数，并有助于确保各种食品和产品的食品安全。这个I-Corps项目将进一步开发微波辅助巴氏杀菌工艺，促进微波的使用，以解决食品安全问题。由于其丰富的营养价值和高水分活性，壳蛋、牡蛎和新鲜农产品是沙门氏菌等病原微生物的潜在宿主和载体。高温巴氏灭菌是控制这些病原体的最佳解决方案，但由于生化变化影响了重要的功能特性。因此，微波加热被考虑用于巴氏杀菌。像壳蛋这样的产品是这种体积加热技术的理想选择，因为巴氏杀菌过程要求蛋黄温度较高，蛋白温度较低。这种微波巴氏灭菌过程使病原体无法检测，而不会显著影响生食的特性。基于仿真得到的最优参数，设计并制作了用于食品加热的非线性开槽波导应用器样机。该涂敷器由一个带有非线性槽阵列的标准波导组成。对不同食品的工艺参数进行了优化，确定了适合工业应用的工艺参数。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is that this technology will strongly impact the commercial production, distribution and retailing of a number of food products which have frequently been impacted due to contamination by food-borne pathogens, causing various diseases and illnesses. In recent years, consumer foods in high demand such as eggs, oyster, avocado, tomatoes, melons, and berries have been subject to expensive and wasteful recall. This technology will bring about a significant reduction in the numbers of recalls for various foods and also help in ensuring food safety and security of various food products and produces.This I-Corps project will further develop a microwave assisted pasteurization process that advances the use of microwaves to solve food safety problems. Due to their rich nutritive value and high-water activity, shell eggs, oysters and fresh produce are potential hosts and carriers of pathogenic microorganisms like Salmonella species. Heat pasteurization is the best solution for controlling these pathogens but affects the vital functional properties due to biochemical changes. Therefore, microwave heating was considered for pasteurization. Products like shell eggs are ideal candidates for this volumetric heating technology as the pasteurization process requires a higher temperature in the yolk and a lower temperature in the white. This microwave pasteurization process renders pathogens undetectable without affecting raw food characteristics significantly. Based on the optimal parameters obtained by simulations, non-linear slotted waveguide applicators for heating food products were designed and a prototype was built. The applicator consisted of a standard waveguide with an array of non-linear slots. The process parameters for different food products were optimized and found suitable for industrial application.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.