The USDA-FSIS estimates that pasteurization of all shell eggs in the U.S. would reduce the annual number
of illnesses by more than 110,000.
However, less than 3% of shell eggs are commercially pasteurized.
One
of the main reasons for this is that the commercial hot water process requires as much as 60 min to
complete.
In the present study, a radio frequency (RF) apparatus was constructed, and a two-step process
was developed that uses RF energy and hot water, to pasteurize eggs in less than half the time.
In order to
select an appropriate RF generator, the impedance of shell eggs was measured in the frequency range of
10e70 MHz. The power density within the egg was modeled to prevent potential hotspots.