About the Project

system

This CAP project [2015- 08046], titled "Development of continuous intense pulsed light technology for non-thermal pasteurization of powdered foods", is funded by USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA). The project integrates research with extension activities, addressing USDA NIFA program area "Enhancing Food Safety through Improved Processing Technologies" (A4131) by developing an intense pulsed light (IPL) based technology for non-thermal pasteurization of powdered foods.

Powdered foods are widely used as ingredients in manufacturing processed foods or consumed directly by humans and animals for their energy and nutrient contents. Inappropriate and insufficient decontamination have led to numerous outbreaks of foodborne diseases in recent years. Different physical and chemical processes have been used to decontaminate powdered foods. However, these processes have various defects, making their application ineffective and sometime impractical. IPL is an emerging technology for overcoming these defects.

In this project, a continuous IPL process will be investigated for its germicidal effectiveness and also its impacts on physical, chemical, nutritional, and sensory properties of representative powdered foods. A prototype IPL system will be designed and constructed through the consultations with industry partners and stakeholders. The research activities on the system will cover the process optimization in lab and the field trials with industry partners, while the extension activities will include the workshop to demonstrate its usage to the stakeholders. Overall, we expect this technology platform will cost-effectively improve the safety of powdered foods and reduce the occurance of foodborne diseases asscoiated with the consumption of powdered food. These benefits of IPL technology could be translated into enhanced the competitiveness of US food industry, increased utilization of US agricultural products, and higher health and living standards of the consumers.

Lab Scale Intense Pulsed Light Food Pasteurization System