Evaluation of novel food processing methods for ensuring food quality and safety in the Milk and Dairy-Beverage Industries

加拿大的牛奶和乳饮料行业正在探索新的方法，以延长乳制品的保质期，同时保持高质量。热处理，利用热能，是给予微生物生长所需杀伤力的最传统的方法。不幸的是，热能也与质量属性的迅速恶化有关。除了热能，光和声是我们周围另外两种最重要的能源。在最近的过去，特定频率的光(紫外线区域)和声音(超声波区域)被证明具有杀菌效果。然而，这些技术尚未被乳制品行业采用，原因是缺乏：a)与乳制品影响有关的科学数据；b)可进行大规模加工的设备设计。我的研究计划的中心主题是研究过程强度和微生物破坏率之间的关系“&gt；中心假设是声能和光能可以用来生产高质量(感官、功能和营养)的安全食品。我们将测试声能和光能的潜在协同作用，并将尝试通过一种为加工乳制品而设计的新型设备来应用它们的最佳频率。拟议的Discovery Grant(DG)计划要求提供资金，通过进行旨在了解声光技术在加拿大乳制品和饮料行业中的效用的基础研究来验证这一假设。这项工作将通过：1)不同声音频率下微生物损失v/S质量损失的建模“&gt；建议的研究计划的新颖性在于确定了延长乳制品货架期和提高产品质量的新策略。虽然我们的计划最初将着眼于牛奶和牛奶饮料的加工，但未来几年的工作将演变为其他食品加工行业更好的加工策略。这项研究将通过为乳制品的监管批准和工艺设计提供文献，为声光技术的商业化开辟道路。此外，这一为期5年的DG计划将为加拿大食品行业带来高度可就业的HQP，提高安全性和盈利能力。所获得的技术诀窍将允许生产更健康的食品，以改善所有加拿大人的福祉。

The Canadian milk and dairy-beverage industries are exploring new approaches for extending shelf-life of dairy products, while still retaining high quality. Thermal processing, utilizing heat energy, is the most conventional approach to impart required lethality to microbial growth. Unfortunately, heat energy is also associated with rapid deterioration of quality attributes. Apart from heat energy, light and sound are the two other most prominent sources of energy around us. In recent past, particular frequencies of light (ultraviolet region) and sound (ultrasonic region) have shown to offer microbicidal effects. However, these technologies have yet not been adopted by the dairy industry due to lack of: a) scientific-data related to effect on dairy products, and b) equipment-design allowing large-scale processing. The central theme of my research program is to study the relationship between process intensity and rate of destruction of microorganisms ">central hypothesis is that sound and light energy can be utilized to produce safe food with high quality (organoleptic, functional and nutritional). We will test the potential synergism of sound and light energies, and shall attempt to apply their optimal frequencies through a novel equipment designed for processing dairy products. The proposed Discovery Grant (DG) program requests funds to validate this hypothesis by conducting fundamental research aimed at understanding the utility of sound and light technologies in the Canadian dairy and beverage industry. This work will be realized by: 1) Modeling of microbial loss v/s quality loss for different frequencies of sound ">novelty of the proposed research program lies in identifying novel strategies for extending shelf-life and enhancing product quality of dairy products. While our program will initially look into processing milk and milk-based beverages, future work in years ahead would evolve into better processing strategies for other food processing industries. This research shall open avenues for commercialization of sound- and light-based technologies by providing literature for regulatory approval and process design for dairy products. In addition, this 5-year DG program will yield highly employable HQPs, increased safety and profitability for the Canadian food industry. Acquired knowhow will allow production of healthier foods for improving the well-being of all Canadians.