ARS | Publication request: SURFACE PASTEURIZATION WITH HOT WATER AND STEAM

Submitted to: Book Chapter
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: November 6, 2004
Publication Date: August 31, 2005
Citation: Annous, B.A., Kozempel, M.F. 2005. Surface pasteurization with hot water and steam. In: Sapers, G.M., GORNEY, J.R., Yousef, A.E., editors. Microbiology of Fruits and Vegetables. CRC Press. p. 479-496.

Technical Abstract: Surface pasteurization using steam or hot water are both promising technologies that are capable of achieving more than 5 log reductions in target pathogens as well as greatly reducing populations of spoilage microorganisms on the surface of fruits and vegetables. However, hot water immersion treatment of fresh produce appears to be a gentler process and has better control over the surface temperature of produce during treatment as compared to steam treatment. Steam processes are an acceptable treatment for produce intended for further processing due to thermal damage of the produce surface. The VSV process produces good results with a number of commodities with bacterial reductions up to 4.8 log CFU/ml depending on the fruit or the vegetable. The VSV is a rapid process requiring less than 2 s for treatment and with little or no thermal damage.