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US 2017/0000167 A1Published application
Food sanitization
AssigneeMars, Incorporated
InventorPatrick Joseph CORRIGAN
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Cold plasma treatment may be used to sanitize the surface of porous foods. Surprisingly, such treatment may have little or no effect on the oxidative stability of sensitive surface coatings comprising, for example, fats, vitamins, or other compounds subject to degradation by heat, UV treatment, and/or oxidation.
Claims24
A method for reducing bioburden in a processed food, the method comprising:
- providing a processed food having a porous surface;
- and
- treating the processed food with cold plasma under conditions sufficient to effect at least a 1 log reduction in the bioburden in the processed food.
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A method for reducing bioburden in a processed food, the method comprising:
- providing a processed food having a porous surface;
- and
- treating the processed food with cold plasma under conditions sufficient to effect at least a 1 log reduction in the bioburden in the processed food, wherein said processed food having a porous surface is subjected to a treatment selected from the group consisting of being rotated, mixed, flipped, moved and combinations thereof within the plasma stream, such that a majority of the surface of said processed food having a porous surface contacts the plasma stream.
(canceled)
A method for reducing bioburden in a processed food, the method comprising:
- providing a processed food, wherein the processed food comprises a coating deposited on the surface of the processed food, and the coating comprises one or more ingredients which are susceptible to degradation by oxidation;
- and
- treating the processed food with cold plasma under conditions sufficient to effect at least a 1 log reduction in the bioburden in the processed food.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.