An apparatus and method for cooking at least one egg with an eggshell. The apparatus comprises a housing provided with a device for providing microwave radiation in a confined space in the housing and a holder located in the confined space. The holder is provided with at least one cavity adapted to the shape of the egg with the eggshell. The holder comprises at least a first holder part and a second holder part being movable with respect to each other between a first position in which an egg with an eggshell can be positioned in the cavity to a second position wherein the holder parts enclose the cavity. The apparatus further comprises means to insert a liquid into the holder for filling the cavity with the liquid to at least partly surround the eggshell of the egg located in the cavity. The housing comprises at least a first housing part provided with the first holder part and a second housing part provided with the second holder part. The first housing part is located at least partly below the second housing part. The first housing part with the first holder part is movable between the first and second position with respect to the second housing part with the second holder part.

An in-shell egg pasteurization process includes, in a temperature-raising stage (12), raising the temperature of yolk of a plurality of in-shell eggs (40), simultaneously and at least predominantly by means of microwave radiation, to a pasteurization temperature, the temperature-raising stage (12) including a plurality of elongate or longitudinally extending microwave cavities that are isolated from one another so that microwaves fed into an elongate or longitudinally extending microwave cavity do not leak into any other elongate or longitudinally extending microwave cavity. The in-shell eggs (40) are displaced along the lengths of the elongate or longitudinally extending microwave cavities whilst being irradiated with microwaves. In a pasteurization stage (14), the raised temperatures of the in-shell eggs (40) are maintained for a pasteurization time sufficient to pasteurize the in-shell eggs (40).

A transporting element for accommodating and for transporting spherical, cylindrical or egg-shaped articles, in particular foodstuffs, in particular eggs, along a conveying route, has a plurality of mounts arranged one beside the other along the longitudinal extent. The transporting element is designed in the form of a channel-like body with an accommodating space curved in the form of part of a circle, as seen in cross section, and encloses an angle of at least 180. The mounts are designed in the form of slot-form apertures in that region of the channel-like body that is curved in the form of part of a circle. The apertures extending parallel to one another, and transversely to the longitudinal extent of the channel-like body, as far as longitudinal crosspieces on either side, these forming a respective longitudinal periphery.

An in-line shell egg pasteurizer has a clean-in-place system. Empty shell egg carriers are placed in the water bath for multiple cleaning cycles. The cleaning solution level is lowered to expose the shell egg carriers and the top parts of the water bath walls. An air perturbation is used to agitate cleaning solution held in the bottom of the water bath and clean heating coils and other components located in the bottom of the water bath. Sprayers (e.g., nozzles, cleaning spray balls, etc . . . ) mounted on a hood over the water bath clean the top parts of the water bath walls and the empty shell egg carriers placed in the water bath.

An apparatus and method for cooking at least one egg with an eggshell The apparatus comprises a housing provided with a device for providing microwave radiation in a confined space in the housing and a holder located in the confined space. The holder is provided with at least one cavity adapted to the shape of the egg with the eggshell. The apparatus further comprises means to insert a liquid into the holder for filling the cavity with the liquid to at least partly surround the eggshell of the egg located in the cavity. The apparatus comprises also means to control the amount of liquid in the holder during a cooking process of the at least one egg, wherein: a first amount of liquid is inserted into the cavity before providing microwave radiation in the cavity, which first amount of liquid surrounds the eggshell of the egg located in the cavity; a second amount of liquid is gradually inserted into the cavity.

An in-line shell egg pasteurizer has a clean-in-place system. Empty shell egg carriers are placed in the water bath for multiple cleaning cycles. The cleaning solution level is lowered to expose the shell egg carriers and the top parts of the water bath walls. An air perturbation is used to agitate cleaning solution held in the bottom of the water bath and clean heating coils and other components located in the bottom of the water bath. Sprayers (e.g., nozzles, cleaning spray balls, etc . . . ) mounted on a hood over the water bath clean the top parts of the water bath walls and the empty shell egg carriers placed in the water bath.

A method for decontaminating articles having porous outer surfaces. The method includes providing a decontamination chamber; conveying the articles through the decontamination chamber at a predetermined speed wherein the speed is selected such that the articles are disposed in the decontamination chamber for a predetermined period of time; providing a source of sterliant vapor, the source providing the sterilant vapor at a temperature within a predetermined acceptable temperature range and at a concentration within a predetermined acceptable concentration range; conveying a sterilant vapor from the source of sterilant vapor to the decontamination chamber; and exposing the articles to the sterilant vapor. The predetermined period of time and the predetermined acceptable concentration range of the sterilant vapor are selected such that the sterilant vapor does not penetrate the porous outer surfaces of the articles.

A method for decontaminating articles having porous outer surfaces. The method includes providing a decontamination chamber; conveying the articles through the decontamination chamber at a predetermined speed wherein the speed is selected such that the articles are disposed in the decontamination chamber for a predetermined period of time; providing a source of sterliant vapor, the source providing the sterilant vapor at a temperature within a predetermined acceptable temperature range and at a concentration within a predetermined acceptable concentration range; conveying a sterilant vapor from the source of sterilant vapor to the decontamination chamber; and exposing the articles to the sterilant vapor. The predetermined period of time and the predetermined acceptable concentration range of the sterilant vapor are selected such that the sterilant vapor does not penetrate the porous outer surfaces of the articles.