The nuts and seeds can also be roasted and/or coated during pasteurization to enhance the sensory properties of the products. The “temperature x dwell times” recipe only needs to be adjusted for this. Roasting and coating with salt, color and flavor extracts is an advantageous option to add value to the product.
Pasteurization of nuts and seeds
In Europe alone, according to the latest RASFF (European Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed) notifications, several outbreaks of salmonella have been detected in sesame, nuts and other seeds, leading to a series of recalls. Although nuts were long considered low-risk foods due to their low moisture content, a pasteurization process for nuts and seeds is now the “be-all and end-all” to reduce this risk.
In contrast to steam pasteurization, in which the product is treated with high steam temperatures and pressure, our pasteurization process consists of treating the products with infrared light - a completely natural and gentle process!
The intensity of the infrared light inside the FoodSafety-IRD is automatically regulated depending on the product and process temperature. In each of the up to four temperature zones, a temperature can be set to suit the product. The system control regulates the temperature by automatically increasing or decreasing the light intensity depending on the current product temperature. Damage to the oleosome structure, for example, can thus be avoided. The product is heated directly from the inside out within a few minutes, while the rotating drum ensures constant and gentle mixing. The use of fine water mist during the pasteurization process enables a 5-log reduction in bacterial counts. Our pasteurization process leaves all sensory attributes almost untouched.
Advantages of pasteurization using infrared light
ADVANTAGE
