USDA makes egg pasteurization that kills 99.999% of Salmonella quickly.

TLDR:

– USDA researchers have developed a new thermal pasteurization method using Radio Frequency (RF) technology
– This method reduces Salmonella in intact eggs by 99.999% in just 24 minutes

In a breakthrough development, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service (USDA’s ARS) has created a thermal pasteurization technique based on Radio Frequency (RF) technology that significantly decreases the presence of Salmonella in intact eggs. Traditional pasteurization methods can take over 57 minutes, but this new RF method can achieve a 99.999% reduction in Salmonella within just 24 minutes.

Conventional thermal pasteurization involves submerging eggs in hot water, but the RF method causes molecular friction within the egg, rapidly heating the liquid inside. This innovative technology not only eliminates Salmonella effectively but also maintains the quality of the eggs. The eggs processed using RF technology did not show any presence of Salmonella even after being stored under commercial cold chain conditions for seven days.

The scientists at ARS are continuously working to further enhance this technology and aim to make it commercially available soon. This new pasteurization method could potentially revolutionize the egg industry and improve food safety standards across the country.