So is heat treating milk the only way to pasteurise it?
Although this tried and tested preservation method has been around for around 100 years, and is still the international standard for extending the shelf life of milk, it will soon not be the only method available.
Technology never stops improving and changing – which is a good thing.
The difficulty is, and always will be, that technology is continuously bringing in new equipment and processes and the law has difficulty in keeping pace.
This is because the new methods must be thoroughly tested to verify on a repeatable basis that they have the same level of effectiveness and efficacy as the standard and recognised methods – and this takes time. Once this is done, there has to be reviews of those results and then there is the whole process of changing the standards and the review of those.
There are some new methods emerging which are now going through this intense process.
These include the MATS, which will completely change the whole ready to eat meal industry.
Microwave Assisted Thermal Sterilisation (MATS) uses 915Hz microwaves to rapidly sterilise ready to eat (RTE) meals. It gives a mucher deeper penetration than domestic microwaves by causing rapid volumetric heating. This maintains the aroma, appearance, flavour, texture and nutritional content of these foods.
Although the RTE meals industry is the potential place for this technology it is in the Defence industry that most of the work on MATS is being done.
Other amazing technologies being developed and tested right now, include the following;
- Shockwave – using high shocks to potential tenderise meats
- Ultrasound – food texturisation
- Forward Reverse Technology – a new method for liquid concentration
- Super Dry Technology – using ultrasound in combination with low temperatures and reduced times
- High Pressure thermal Testing – using pressure instead of temperature as a Pasteurisation method
Antenna Microwave – possible Pasteurisation alternative