Contact: Kathy Barnard, director, Marketing and News Services, WSU College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences, 509/335-2806, kbarnard@wsu.edu
FDA Approves WSU Researcher’s Revolutionary New Food Processing Technology
PULLMAN, Wash. - Imagine a salmon filet that looks, tastes and
is as nutritious as freshly cooked salmon but has a shelf-life of
more than six months. A new technology developed at Washington
State University will make that dream a reality.
For the first time ever, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has
approved the use of microwave energy for producing pre-packaged,
low-acid foods, a major milestone that clears the way for its
commercialization. The technology developed at WSU could
revolutionize how we preserve and process food.
Juming Tang, a professor in the WSU Department of Biological
Systems Engineering, led a team of university, industry and U.S.
military scientists to develop the technology. The outcome results
in food with a longer shelf life as well as better flavor and
nutritional value compared to more traditional food processing
methods such as canning.
"New processes for producing shelf-stable, low-acid foods must pass
rigorous reviews by FDA to ensure that the technology is
scientifically sound and the products will be safe," Tang said.
"Our team patented system designs in October 2006 after more than
10 years of research. We spent another three years, developing a
semi-continuous system, collecting engineering data and
microbiologically validating the process before receiving FDA
acceptance."
The team's Microwave Sterilization Process technology immerses the
packaged food in pressurized hot water while simultaneously heating
it with microwaves at a frequency of 915 MHz - a frequency which
penetrates food more deeply than the 2450 MHz used in home
microwave ovens. This combination eliminates food pathogens and
spoilage microorganisms in just five to eight minutes and produces
safe foods with much higher quality than conventionally processed
ready-to-eat products.
Spearheaded by C. Patrick Dunne, Department of Defense combat
feeding directorate at the U.S. Army Soldier Systems Center at
Natick, Mass., the project has been funded from a variety of
sources and a consortium of industry members that include Kraft
Foods, Hormel, Ocean Beauty Seafoods, Rexam Containers, Ferrite
Components and Graphic Packaging. The WSU team also worked closely
with process authorities of the Seafood Products Association in
Seattle and Hormel to establish validation procedures and in
preparation of filing documents. In addition, faculty members from
other WSU departments, particularly Food Science, contributed to
the success of the project.
"The team's collective efforts have brought a new food processing
technology to the forefront which will truly benefit not only the
commercial sector but our war-fighters worldwide with a wider
variety of high quality, shelf-stable foods," said Gerald Darsch,
director of the U.S. Department of Defense Combat Feeding team. "It
is truly a tremendous accomplishment."
Evan Turek, senior research fellow at Kraft Foods, said Tang's new
technology will make a huge difference for the food industry.
"Since the introduction of industrial microwave ovens in the late
1940s, the food industry has been interested in exploiting the
rapid heating capability of microwaves to improve the quality of
canned food," he said. "The technical issue has always been
ensuring uniform and reproducible heat treatment. Dr. Tang had a
vision about how this might be overcome, and with his leadership
and the engineering prowess of his research staff and students, a
protocol for practicing and validating microwave sterilization was
established. Kraft Foods is proud to have been an early supporter
of the research program at WSU and looks forward to the
commercialization of the technology."
WSU officials agreed.
"This is a great example of how research universities like
Washington State University produce breakthroughs that make an
immediate impact on our nation and world. This new technology
promises significant advances in food safety and quality to benefit
everyone," said Howard Grimes, vice president for research.
Dan Bernardo, dean of the WSU College of Agricultural, Human, and
Natural Resource Sciences, said the impact of the science will be
dramatic.
"There have been very few advances leading to FDA accepted food
processing technologies in recent history," he said. "The FDA's
approval of this new technology truly could revolutionize the way
we process and preserve food, ensuring food safety, increasing its
longevity and maximizing the retention of its flavor and
nutrition."
Ralph Cavalieri, director of the WSU Agricultural Research Center,
said Tang's research has global benefits.
"It is important across a range of applications," he said, "from
feeding astronauts on long-term space missions or soldiers in the
field to transporting and storing food to areas of the world where
people are unable to produce enough food locally to feed
themselves."
Cavalieri said the project would not have been possible without
support from a variety of sectors.
"We have worked synchronously with industry, the army and the
university to make this happen," he said. "Dr. Tang's research also
has received incredible support from Washington's Congressional
delegation, especially Sen. Patty Murray."
Sen. Murray said ensuring funding for projects such as Tang's is
part of an overall effort to support Washington's agricultural and
food industry in ways that benefit the nation and world.
"This is great news for WSU, our growers and American food
processors," she said. "It will help our growers and processors
stay more competitive in the global marketplace and increase food
safety for consumers."
SOURCE CONTACTS
Dan Bernardo, dean, WSU College
of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences,
509/335-4561, bernardo@wsu.edu
Ralph Cavalieri, associate dean and director of WSU Agricultural
Research Center, 509/335-4563, cavalieri@wsu.edu