tRadio frequency (RF) heating has the potential to be developed as a sterilization methodto control microbes of food products. In the present work, the effects of RF heating on thesterilization and product quality of vacuum packaged Caixin (Brassica campestris L.) wereinvestigated. With the addition of salts and other food additives, the dielectric constant (ε)and loss factor (ε) of Caixin were increased, which was helpful to increase the temperatureduring RF heating. The results indicated that, coupled with a hot air drying of 60◦C, RFheating at 6 kW, 27.12 MHz and 20 mm/20 min might be the most appropriate conditions toimprove the microbial safety of Caixin whereas the physico-chemical and sensory qualitieswere not compromised.© 2015 The Institution of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.