Surface Treatment of Food by Low Energy Electrons in View of their Microbial Decontamination

New approaches for the radiation processing of food and agricultural products use the limited penetration of electrons of energy below 300 keV. The aim of the project was to examine the effectiveness of low energy electron beam (LEEB) irradiation to eliminate microbial contamination from the surfaces of food products. The energies of electrons used in our experiments allowed the beam to penetrate to a depth no greater than 400 µm in the food products that we studied. For tested samples the LEEB effectively eliminated microbial contamination, and the decrease in number of microorganisms depended on the energy of electron beam, the absorbed dose on the surface and the microbial species naturally inhabiting tested samples. This study involved some collaboration with the Food Research Institute, National Agriculture and Food Research Organization, Ibaraki, Japan. (author)