Microwave processing.

A revolutionary microwave sterilisation processing technique has been developed over a 13-year period by WSU professor Juming Tang and a team of university, industry and US military scientists. The technology received Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clearance late last year to process mashed potato and the group is currently working on authorisation for other foods.  

The technology immerses packaged food in pressurised hot water while simultaneously heating it with microwaves at a frequency of 915 MHz — a frequency which penetrates food more deeply than the 2450 MHz used in home microwave ovens. This combination eliminates food pathogens and spoilage microorganisms in just five to eight minutes and produces safe foods with much higher quality than conventionally processed ready-to-eat products, said the researchers.

Spearheaded by US Department of Defense’s combat feeding directorate, the project has received funding from numerous sources, including Kraft Foods, Hormel, Ocean Beauty Seafoods, Rexam Containers, and Graphic Packaging.