Curry assisted pressure sterilization (CAPS) methods for food products

Abstract

The present invention is the first method for the pressure sterilization of low acid food items (pH≥4.6). The HPP (high pressure pasteurization) which uses very high pressure of 80000 psi to 90000 psi for 1 to 5 minutes on the food products is very effective in killing almost all pathogens but fails to inactivate the bacterial spores. Hence all HPP treated food items now in the US grocery stores like Salsa, Hummus, or Fruit Juices etc have 60 to 90 days of shelf-life in the Fresh or Deli section (40° F.). Our invention of CAPS (Curry Assisted Pressure Sterilization) uses the spices mainly Turmeric in Indian food to trigger the germination of superdormant spores during the HPP which in turn gets inactivated by very high pressure. Our CAPS treated Curry sauces have the shelf-life of 500 days in the refrigeration (40° F.) and 30 days at ambient temperature (70° F.).

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.