Recent advances in low moisture food pasteurization

Low-moisture foods such as cereals, seeds, nuts and jerky have been linked to outbreaks. Technologies available to pasteurize low moisture foods include conventional thermal processes such as baking, roasting and extrusion, controlled condensation steam processes, and energy-based technologies such as irradiation, radio frequency heating and cold atmospheric plasma. Moist heat is much more effective than dry heat in inactivating pathogens Low dose (<5 kGy) irradiation can effectively control pathogens nuts and cookie dough with little effect on quality. Radio frequency processes rapidly heat low moisture foods and are more effective at doing so than microwave heating. Cold atmospheric plasma is rapidly gaining ground as an alternative non-thermal technology for surface decontamination of low moisture foods.