Hanyu Chen
Ph.D. Candidate, Moraru Lab
Cornell University
Effective light-based methods
for inactivation of foodborne pathogens in food processing environments:
simulation and experimental approaches
Abstract
As negative consumer reactions grew against the addition of
chemical preservatives to foods, and concerns raised regarding the development
of resistance to disinfectants in processing environments, novel nonthermal
processing technologies are increasingly adopted by industry to meet the needs
of ensuring food safety while maintaining the nutritional and sensory value of
foods. Light-based irradiation technologies are recognized as strong candidates
for replacing the existing chemical cleaning systems on material surfaces as
they leave no residues and have a broad spectrum of bactericidal efficacy. UV-C
irradiation (240 nm – 280 nm) has shown high effectiveness for disinfection of
foods and contact surfaces. However, the main limitations of UV-C light as a
food preservation technology are the low penetration ability and the harmful
effects on human cells and tissues. Therefore, alternative light-based methods
need to be developed to overcome these limitations, such as treatments using
different wavelengths and varying light sources. Hence this work focuses on
investigating the effectiveness of light-based technologies with different
wavelengths on the inactivation of foodborne pathogens and exploring
experimental and simulation approaches to maximize the inactivation efficacy.
By understanding the parameters influencing the inactivation kinetics as well
as the mechanisms behind different treatments, the results from this study may
promote the utilization and optimization of such systems in the food
industry.