A process for preserving fresh ground meat comprises the steps of a) packaging fresh ground meat in a sealed package; b) placing the packaged fresh ground meat in a pressurization vessel and closing the vessel; c) pressurizing the pressurization vessel containing the packaged fresh ground meat to an elevated pressure of at least about 50,000 psi pressure so that the packaged fresh ground meat is placed under the elevated pressure; d) maintaining the elevated pressure on the packaged fresh ground meat for a time of from about 1 to about 300 seconds and at a temperature of from about 30 to about 45 F; e) then reducing the pressure on the packaged fresh ground meat to ambient pressure; and f) removing the ground meat from the pressurization vessel. Pathogens are effectively killed using this process, providing manufacturing efficiencies and longer product shelf life as compared to other ground meat handling procedures.

Methods and apparatus for sterilizing plant material include disposing plant material in a sub-atmospheric pressure environment, dispersing a non-toxic, non-polymerizable gas into the sub-atmospheric pressure environment, applying an electric field to change the gas into cold plasma, and maintaining exposure of the plant material to the cold plasma until substantially sterilized plant material is obtained, wherein an amount of at least one active constituent in the plant material is substantially unchanged by the sterilizing. The plant material may be Cannabis.

The present disclosure discloses a processing method of lactic acid fermented food, including: performing a first mixing step by combining food raw materials with sodium chloride to create a first mixture; performing a second mixing treatment on the first mixture and a food acid to obtain a second mixture; performing a fermentation treatment on the second mixture using lactobacillus to obtain the lactic acid fermented food, wherein a content of the sodium chloride ranges from 5% to 7% by mass based on the mass of the food raw materials; a pH value of the second mixture is lower than or equal to 3.8; and the lactobacillus includes Lactobacillus plantarum and/or Lactobacillus curvatus. The method of the present disclosure has low initial salinity, low gas production and short fermentation period and is beneficial to large-scale production.

A method for the production of a stabilized packaged food product comprising the steps of: filling a tray with a predetermined quantity of a food starting material; introducing the tray into a pressure vessel and conveying the tray through the pressure vessel while performing the following steps in sequence inside the pressure vessel: (i) treating the food starting material with high-temperature pressurized steam to sterilize the material, and (ii) dosing the sterile food material inside said tray with a predetermined amount of sterile water; and (iii) applying a lid to the tray to seal the food product inside the tray while maintaining the tray in a sterile environment. Suitable food starting materials comprise starchy food products, such as rice, wheat or pasta, and/or meat or vegetable pieces. Also provided are an apparatus for performing the method and packaged stabilized full moisture food products obtainable by the process.

A method of preparing a meat product is disclosed. The method can comprise providing meat having a first texture, the first texture comprising a plurality of loosely-bound or unbound pieces of the meat. The meat with the first texture can be placed in a chamber. The temperature and the pressure in the chamber can be simultaneously increased to change the first texture to a second texture comprising a single unified body of meat, the second texture of the meat being sliceable.

A method for producing dry pasta comprising the steps of: preparing with durum wheat flour, or soft wheat flour, and water a dough having humidity comprised between 25% and 35%; placing the dough in a chamber in which a vacuum is created comprised between 0.1 bar and 0.5 bar; pushing the dough through a drawing device by applying to the dough pressure comprised 80 bar and 110 bar, to obtain food pasta in the form of units of long pasta or units of short pasta; conveying and delivering said pasta to a dryer; drying said pasta in said dryer until the humidity of the pasta is not greater than 12.5%, said drying including heating said pasta in said dryer to a set temperature and maintaining the pasta at said set temperature for a set interval of time; extracting said dried pasta from said dryer;
wherein said heating is obtained by passing the pasta inside an oscillating electromagnetic field having a frequency comprised between 10 MHz and 100 MHz. An apparatus for producing dry food pasta including a kneading and drawing device configured for producing both long pasta and short pasta, a first dryer configured for drying long pasta produced by said kneading and drawing device, a second dryer configured for drying short pasta produced by said kneading and drawing device; said first dryer and said second dryer are equipped with a plurality of pairs of electrodes between which an electromagnetic field oscillating at a frequency comprised 10 MHz and 100 MHz is created by a generator of oscillating electromagnetic field.

The present invention relates to high pressure processing (HPP) methods of and containers for preparation of food products such as solid or semi-solid foods, beverages and food supplements containing high-pressure sensitive probiotics and other high-pressure sensitive substances, which maintain their viability, biological activity and other beneficial properties in the prepared food product. The present invention also relates to pasteurized food products containing biologically active high-pressure sensitive probiotics, other high-pressure sensitive substances, or their combinations.

Provided is a production method for a soluble material, including: causing a solid raw material containing at least one component of a hydrolyzable material selected from the group consisting of a protein, a carbohydrate and a lipid, and a fibrous material, and water in an amount corresponding to 0.04 to 2.4 parts by weight with respect to 1 part by weight of a dry amount of the raw material to coexist; applying a shearing force in a state where heating and pressurization are performed at 200 to 374 C. and in a pressure range equal to or higher than a vapor-liquid coexistence curve of water to hydrolyze at least a part of the hydrolyzable material and/or to amorphize at least a part of the fibrous material; and halting the pressurization to cause adiabatic expansion.

Disclosed are methods and devices for reducing the number of pathogens in a liquid. The methods or devices uses one or more of pressure, pressure drop, increased temperature, rate of temperature increase, and inert gas to kill pathogens. In one embodiment, inert gas is dissolved into a liquid at a pressure greater than ambient pressure. The pressure is later rapidly reduced, which causes inert gas to be released from the liquid. This reduces the number of pathogens in the liquid. Other method steps or processes that do not utilize inert gas are also disclosed.

A freshness container, in particular in the form of a vacuum drawer device, for food, includes at least one container base body and a container lid to be placed on the at least one container base body, and the container lid includes a control and/or regulating device and a sensor system. The sensor system is designed to determine a CO2 content, a temperature, and/or a proportion of, in particular volatile, organic compounds in an atmosphere arranged within the at least one container base body, and the control and/or regulating device is configured to adjust the CO2 content, the temperature, and/or the proportion of organic compounds in the atmosphere.