Electro-cryo technology for food quality and safety.

对健康、营养和安全食品的需求不断增加，以及耐受传统食品处理方法的新病原微生物的出现，产生了对改进和新的食品加工方法开发的需求。但目前对食品加工过程中的系统行为及其对食品营养物质的影响的认识还很欠缺。这些知识的可获得性将提供对开发新技术至关重要的过程的洞察。拟议的研究计划寻求通过推进食品电子技术的科学和工程来填补这一空白，以确保食品安全和提高食品质量。该计划将采用多学科方法，通过1)研究填补非热电流体动力(EHD)干燥过程中能量、质量和动量传递机制的空白；2)研究可扩展电冷冻技术(ECT)系统的设计和建模，并优化其用于食品脱水/加工和食品非热去污(食品安全)的工艺参数；3)应用新颖的分子动力学模拟方法，研究ECT对蛋白质和碳水化合物等食品成分构象的影响和微生物膜电穿孔的机制，以提高食品质量和安全。该计划的研究成果包括：(A)描述各种食品加工操作的数学模型，深入了解加工处理对食品生化和物理变化的影响；(B)评估加工对食品营养物质和意外微生物污染命运的影响的分子模型；(C)分析、设计和改进食品质量和安全的新电冷冻技术。这一研究计划将使加拿大食品行业能够应对其面临的挑战，以确保食品的健康，并最终实现全球竞争力。

Increasing demand for healthy, nutritious and safe food and emergence of new pathogenic microorganisms that are tolerant to conventional food treatment methods have created a need for improved and novel food process development. But there exists a knowledge deficiency in the understanding of food systems behavior during processing and its related impact on food nutrients. Availability of this knowledge will provide insight into processes that are critical for developing new ones.The proposed research program seeks to fill this gap by advancing the science and engineering of food electro-technologies to ensure food safety and improve quality of food products. The program will adopt a multidisciplinary approach, through 1) Research filling the gap in understanding of the mechanisms of energy, mass and momentum transfer during non-thermal electrohydrodynamic (EHD) drying process; 2) Research targeting the design and modeling of a scalable electro-cryo technology (ECT) system and optimization of its process parameters for food dehydration/processing and non-thermal decontamination of foods (food safety); 3) Application of novel molecular dynamic modeling approach to investigate the effect of ECT on conformation of food constituents such as proteins and carbohydrates and the mechanism of microbial membrane electroporation in order to enhance food quality and safety. The research outcomes of this program include: (a) mathematical models describing various food process operation, providing an insight into the impact of processing treatments on food biochemical and physical transformations; (b) molecular models evaluating the consequences of processing on the fate of food nutrients and unintended microbial contamination; (c) analysis, design and improvement of new electro-cryo technology for food quality and safety. This research program will allow Canadian food industry to meet the challenges it faces to ensure food wholesomeness and ultimately achieve global competence.