Food Safety Interventions Information
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| Contents Page | Introduction to Interventions | On Farm | Processing - hide on | Processing - hide off | Chilling | Packaging or Retail |
Electromagnetic Radiation
Electromagnetic radiation is widely accepted as a method of heating foods prior to consumption, and can cause destruction of bacteria, probably due to heating. Microwave treatment of cooked product can be an acceptable decontamination intervention, but on fresh product, it tends to give uneven heating, and discoloured, partially cooked areas appear. Alternatives include dielectric and infra-red heating.
Download more information on Electromagnetic Radiation
| INTERVENTION SUMMARY | |
|---|---|
Location |
Post-packaging |
Intervention Type |
Exposure to radiant energy |
Treatment Time |
Few seconds to several minutes |
Regulations |
No specific restrictions Widely used for cooked products |
Effectiveness |
No consensus in the literature |
Likely Cost |
Not known although microwave technology used in other industries is expensive due to the protective shielding necessary |
Value for Money |
Difficult to ascertain |
Plant or Process Changes |
Protective shielding to avoid radiation exposure will need space allocation. However, if used as a thawing process, may be able to reduce holding areas or better utilise space |
Environmental Impact |
Utilises energy |
Occupational Health and Safety |
Radiation leaks must be prevented and controlled |
Advantages |
Can be used on packaged product Radiofrequency heating is more uniform and more precise control of the process Microwave heating can reduce thawing time from hours to minutes |
Disadvantages or Limitations |
Microwave causes uneven heating and product discolouration |
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