Project
LWV22061 SAFFYRE: SAFe and Functional drY ingREdients
Cereal flour, herbs and spices are widely-used low-moisture ingredients that are added to a larg variety of food products and are a common source of microbial contaminants. This category of ingredients are generally regarded as microbiologically safe because the low water activity (Aw) prevents microbial growth. However, microbial contaminants including pathogenic species canremain viable over long periods of storage of dry ingredients and it is very challenging to eradicate them without compromising the product quality.
Of specific concern in spices are Salmonella spp. and the spore-forming organisms B. cereus and C. perfringens1, and for flour enteric pathogensincluding pathogenic Escherichia coli are a risk in flour and derived products such as cookie dough that may be eaten before cooking2.Food ingredients with low water content typically require considerably higher thermal regimes toinactivate microbial contaminants resulting in loss of quality and functionality, moreover, the highenergy input is undesired from a sustainability perspective. Various alternative technologies havebeen exploited to control pathogens on low-moisture ingredients at the level of the individualtechnology However, individual strategies may notreach desired levels of inactivation within the boundaries of acceptable quality and functionality ofthe final product.
The aim of the current project is to develop validated strategies for efficient reduction of microbial contaminants applicable to flour and spices as dry food ingredients by using new combinations of (optimized) existing technologies or by use of novel technologies not/not widely exploited for the dry ingredients in scope of the project. Interventions in scope include dry heating processes (vacuum steam, super-heated steam), volumetric heating processes (microwave and radio frequency heating),mnon-thermal plasma technology, tempering with organic acids or oxidizing compounds. The project consortium forms a unique combination of equipment suppliers for all potential technological interventions, ingredient suppliers, end-users and academia together bringing a wide knowledge on food pathogens and chemical contaminants, product functionality and quality of ingredients.