Method for the surface decontamination of packaged solid food
AssigneeUniversidad Politecnica De Cartagena
InventorsAntonio LOPEZ GOMEZ, David Antonio LOPEZ CANOVAS
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Abstract
The invention relates to a method for the microbial decontamination of packaged solid food by means of essential oils (EOs), comprising vacuum evaporation of the EOs, and vacuum applying the EO vapours to the solid food arranged in an open container, wherein said vapours are drawn along by air or by a mixture of food-grade gases and guided to the vacuum enclosure containing the packaged food to be microbiologically decontaminated.
Claims13
A method for the surface decontamination of packaged solid food which is performed before or during the closure of the container or before container dispatch by means of essential oils (EOs), comprising the following steps:
- a) evaporating the EOs in a vacuum vessel at a temperature between 20 and 150° C., such that said evaporation takes place in a time of between 1 and 40 seconds,
- b) applying the EO vapor to the packaged solid food located in a vacuum chamber or enclosure, wherein the generated vapor are drawn along by air or by a mixture of food-grade gases to this enclosure at a ratio of 10 to 120 mg of essential oil evaporated per liter of air or mixture of gases, this volume being measured at atmospheric pressure and a temperature of 25° C., and guided to where the food is arranged in an open container.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.