IAEA-TECDOC-1337 Radiation processing for safe, shelf-stable and ready-to-eat food Proceedings of a final Research Co-ordination Meeting held in Montreal, Canada, 10–14 july 2000 January 2003 The originating Section of this publication in the IAEA was: Food and Environmental Protection Section International Atomic Energy Agency Wagramer Strasse 5 P.O. Box 100 A-1400 Vienna, Austria RADIATION PROCESSING FOR SAFE, SHELF-STABLE AND READY-TO-EAT FOOD IAEA, VIENNA, 2003 IAEA-TECDOC-1337 ISBN 92–0–100703–5 ISSN 1011–4289 © IAEA, 2003 Printed by the IAEA in Austria January 2003 FOREWORD The increasingly busy lifestyles of populations in many countries have driven the demand for safe, convenient and ready-to-eat food. Traditional food processes such as drying, canning or refrigeration offer a partial solution to this demand as the sensory quality of such food may be significantly affected or the products may be contaminated by pathogenic bacteria during preparation. For developing countries, safe shelf-stable food without the need for refrigeration would offer advantages. In addition, the increasing number of immuno-compromised populations in many countries requires a new approach to food safety to meet their needs. Irradiation offers a potential to enhance microbiological safety and quality of food through shelf-life extension. The benefits of irradiation as a sanitary treatment of many types of food are well known, some of which are applied commercially in several countries. Little data were available, however, on the effect of irradiation on minimally processed food and composite food including prepared meals. A Co-ordinated Research Project (CRP) on the Development of Safe, Shelf-Stable and Ready-to-Eat Food through Radiation Processing therefore was implemented by the Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture in 1996 to evaluate the role of irradiation for such food. The results were encouraging as irradiation offers promise as a sanitary treatment to ensure microbiological safety and shelf-life extension of several types of food products including pre-cut vegetables and some sous-vide meals, chilled ready-prepared meals, chilled ready-to-eat meat products, food for immuno-compromised patients/populations, sterile meals, ready-to-eat-food of intermediate moisture content. This publication presents the research results reported at the final Research Co-ordiantion meeting on this CRP held in Saint Hyacinthe, Quebec, Canada, 10–14 July 2000. E. Stewart of the Department of Food Science, the Queen’s University of Belfast, Northern Ireland assisted in finalizing this manuscript for publication.The IAEA officer responsible for it was P. Loaharanu of the Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture. EDITORIAL NOTE This publication has been prepared from the original material as submitted by the authors. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the IAEA, the governments of the nominating Member States or the nominating organizations. The use of particular designations of countries or territories does not imply any judgement by the publisher, the IAEA, as to the legal status of such countries or territories, of their authorities and institutions or of the delimitation of their boundaries. The mention of names of specific companies or products (whether or not indicated as registered) does not imply any intention to infringe proprietary rights, nor should it be construed as an endorsement or recommendation on the part of the IAEA. The authors are responsible for having obtained the necessary permission for the IAEA to reproduce, translate or use material from sources already protected by copyrights. CONTENTS Summary ................................................................................................................................................. 1 Development of predictive models for the effects of gamma radiation, irradiation temperature, PH, and modified atmosphere packaging on Bacillus cerus, Escherichia coli O157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella typhimurium and Staphylococcus aureus.......................................................................21 D.W. Thayer Studies on irradiation of pre-packaged prepared vegetables and improvement of microbiological safety of some sous-vide meals by gamma radiation..............................................27 J. Farkas, K. Polyák-Fehér, C. Mohácsi-Farkas, L. Mészáros, E. Andrássy, T. Sáray Effect of gamma irradiation on the shelf-life and nutritional quality of ready made meals...................47 M.F. Patterson, E.M. Stewart Feasibility of obtaining safe, shelf-stable, nutritive and more varied whole rations for immunosuppressed patients by gamma irradiation ...........................................................................62 P. Narvaiz, P. Giménez, C. Horak, M. Adeil Pietranera, E. Kairiyama, D. Gronostajski, A.M. Ribetto Development of shelf-stable foods fish pepes, chicken and meat dishes through radiation processing .............................................................................................................85 Z. Irawati, M.A. Maha, N. Ansori, C.M. Nurchahya, F. Anas Inoculation packed studies on the shelf-stable food products: I. Effects of gamma irradiation at 45 kGy on the survival of Clostridium sporogenes spores in the foods (preliminary results)..............................................................................................................100 Z. Irawati, L. Natalia, N. Ansori, C.M. Nurcahya, F.Anas, M.Syafarudin Commercial application of high-dose irradiation to produce shelf-stable meat products. Part 1 — Experimental sterilisation dose required for shelf-stable beef casserole .........................116 I.N. de Bruyn, B.E. de Villiers Commercial application of high-dose irradiation to produce shelf-stable meat products. Part 2 — Practical aspects of maintaining product at temperatures of between –20°c and –40°c during large scale irradiation ...............................................................................124 I.N. de Bruyn Commercial application of high-dose irradiation to produce shelf-stable meat products. Part 3 — Effect of polyphosphates on the tenderness and sensory properties of beef silverside sterilised at 45 kGy .................................................................................................132 C. Erasmus, A. Minnaar, N.N. Dersley The role of irradiation on microbiological safety and shelf-life extension of non-sterile and sterile convenience meat products stored at ambient temperatures........................153 R. Chander, S.P. Chawla, S.R. Kanatt Impact of irradiation on the quality of processed meat and fishery products.......................................167 A. Noomhorm, P. Vongsawasdi, C. Inprasit, J. Yamprayoon, P. Sirisoontaralak, M.E.A. Ingles, A. Adulpichit A study on the use of irradiation in combination with vacuum packaging to produce non-sterile shelf-stable food, semi-dried meat, seafood and vegetables .........................................194 X. Luo, S. Cui, Y. Li, T. Jiang Irradiation of raw Portuguese sausages and meat based ready-to-eat meals........................................198 M.J. Trigo, M.E. Andrade, M.G. Veloso, A. Barreto Optimising processing conditions for irradiated cured fish .................................................................207 J. Nketsia-Tabiri, A. Adu-Gyamfi, K.G. Montford, C.M. Gbedemah, S. Sefa-Dedeh Production and application of edible films and coating in relation to radiation preservation of convenience foods...................................................................................217 M. Lacroix, B. Ouattara, C. Le Tien, S.F. Sabato, R. Yesaf, M. Ressouany, C. Vachon, G. D’aprano, P. Ispas-Szabo, D. St-Gelais, M.A. Mateescu, G. Delmas-Patterson Packaging quality assurance guidance manual model for safe, shelf-stable, ready-to-eat food through high-dose irradiation .............................................................................238 Y. Haruvy, L. Deschenes List of Participants .............................................................................................................................. 259 SUMMARY 1. INTRODUCTION The widespread and increasing incidence in recent years of food-borne illness caused by pathogenic bacteria and parasites and the consequent social and economic impact on the human population have brought food safety to the forefront of public health concerns. Irradiation is widely recognised as an effective control measure for inactivating pathogenic bacteria and parasites from solid food, especially those which are eaten raw or minimally processed in the same manner which thermal pasteurisation has done successfully for liquid food, e.g. milk, fruit juices, etc. Small scale commercial application of irradiation to ensure hygienic quality of food of animal origin has been carried out in several countries including Belgium, France, China, Indonesia, the Netherlands, Thailand and the United States of America (USA) in the past two decades. Following the final approval of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1997 and US Department of Agriculture (USDA)/Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) on the quality control program of irradiation of red meat in late 1999, large scale commercial application of irradiation of meat (mainly ground beef) commenced in the USA in mid–2000. Some 200 metric tonnes of ground beef per week have been irradiated by two industrial scale electron beam machines in the state