STERILIZATION METHOD OF SEASONING SAUCE

Abstract

Provided herein is a method of sterilizing a seasoning sauce which includes performing sterilization at an ultra-high pressure. The method of sterilizing a seasoning sauce according to an embodiment has a more excellent sterilization effect on a seasoning sauce than that of an existing heat sterilization method and enhances taste and flavor of the seasoning sauce.

Claims

1. A method of sterilizing a seasoning sauce, the method comprising: dipping a spicy vegetable in a solution including an antimicrobial agent; blanching the spicy vegetable dipped in the solution including the antimicrobial agent; preparing a seasoning sauce by mixing the blanched spicy vegetable with a seasoning ingredient and a thickener; and packaging the seasoning sauce and sterilizing the resulting sauce at an ultra-high pressure.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the spicy vegetable comprises at least one selected from the group consisting of garlic, ginger, chili pepper, black pepper, onions, and spring onions.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the antimicrobial agent is selected from the group consisting of sodium hypochlorite, hypochlorous acid, chlorine dioxide, ozone, hydrogen peroxide, organic acids, bacteriocins, polylysine, and vitamin B1 lauryl sulfate.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the solution including the antimicrobial agent comprises 0.01% (w/w) to 3% (w/w) of an antimicrobial agent.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the blanching was performed by blanching the spicy vegetable dipped in the solution including the antimicrobial agent in water at a temperature of 80 C. to 100 C.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the seasoning ingredient comprises at least one selected from the group consisting of sugar, refined salt, soy sauce, hot pepper paste, soybean paste, vinegar, chili powder, kelp, shrimp, anchovies, and shiitake mushrooms.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the sterilizing is performed by applying a pressure of 200 MPa to 900 MPa.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the sterilizing is performed at a temperature of 20 C. to 100 C.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the packaging is performed by packaging the seasoning sauce in a packing material selected from the group consisting of a pouch, a plastic container, a glass bottle, a tube, and a can.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0030] FIG. 1 is a flowchart illustrating processes of a seasoning sauce sterilization method according to an embodiment.

BEST MODE

[0031] An embodiment of the present invention provides a method of sterilizing a seasoning sauce, including:

[0032] dipping a spicy vegetable in a solution including an antimicrobial agent;

[0033] blanching the spicy vegetable dipped in the solution including the antimicrobial agent;

[0034] preparing a seasoning sauce by mixing the blanched spicy vegetable with a seasoning ingredient and a thickener; and

[0035] packaging the seasoning sauce and sterilizing the resulting sauce at an ultra-high pressure.

[0036] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the spicy vegetable may be at least one vegetable selected from the group consisting of garlic, ginger, chili pepper, black pepper, onions, and spring onions, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0037] According to one embodiment, the antimicrobial agent may be selected from the group consisting of sodium hypochlorite, hypochlorous acid, chlorine dioxide, ozone, hydrogen peroxide, organic acids, bacteriocins, polylysine, and vitamin B1 lauryl sulfate, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0038] According to one embodiment, the antimicrobial agent may be dissolved in water, and a solution including the antimicrobial agent may include 0.01% (w/w) to 3% (w/w) of an antimicrobial agent with respect to a weight of water.

[0039] According to one embodiment, the blanching process may be performed by blanching the spicy vegetable dipped in the solution including the antimicrobial agent in water at a temperature ranging from 80 C. to 100 C.

[0040] According to one embodiment, the seasoning ingredient may be at least one seasoning ingredient selected from the group consisting of sugar, salt, soy sauce, hot pepper paste, soybean paste, vinegar, chili powder, kelp, shrimp, anchovies, and shiitake mushrooms.

[0041] According to one embodiment, the sterilizing process may be performed by applying a pressure of 200 MPa to 900 MPa, preferably, a pressure of 500 MPa to 900 MPa.

[0042] According to one embodiment, the sterilizing process may be performed at a temperature of 20 C. to 100 C.

[0043] According to one embodiment, the packaging process may be performed using a packing material selected from the group consisting of a pouch, a plastic container, a glass bottle, a tube, and a can.

[0044] [Mode]

[0045] Hereinafter, one or more embodiments will be described in further detail with reference to examples. However, these examples are provided only for the purpose of explaining the one or more embodiments and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention.

Example 1: Seasoning Sauce Preparation Method

[0046] A sterilized seasoning sauce was prepared using a sterilization method according to an embodiment of the present invention, and a flowchart therefor is illustrated in FIG. 1. Garlic and ginger were used as spicy vegetables.

Example 1-1: Washing, Dehydration, and Selection of Spicy Vegetables

[0047] To remove a contaminant such as dust, a foreign substance, or the like attached to a surface of the garlic and the ginger, the garlic and the ginger were washed three times with clean water, and then was dehydrated using a dehydrator while being rotated at 700 rpm for 1 minute. After dehydration, damaged garlic and ginger, or garlic and ginger damaged by blight and harmful insects were selected and removed.

Example 1-2: Sterilization Through Dipping in Antimicrobial Solution and Blanching Heating

[0048] The washed and selected garlic and ginger were dipped in a 100 ppm hypochlorous acid solution at room temperature for 1 hour (hereinafter, referred to as antimicrobial solution dipping method), washed with clean water, and then subjected to blanching heating in water at 95 C. for 30 seconds (hereinafter, referred to as blanching heating method).

Example 1-3: Mixing, Cooking and Heating of Seasoning Ingredients

[0049] The garlic and ginger having undergone the pre-treatment sterilization process of Example 1-2 above were sliced, mixed with seasoning ingredients such as sugar, soy sauce, seasoning, and the like and a thickener, and then heated at 85 C. for about 20 minutes, thereby completing the preparation of a seasoning sauce.

Example 1-4: Packaging and High Pressure Sterilization

[0050] The seasoning sauce prepared through the processes of Examples 1-1 to 1-3 was packaged in transparent heat-resistant pouches in an amount of 200 g/unit, and then processed at a temperature of 25 C. to 100 C. and a pressure of 500 MPa for 3 minutes to 10 minutes, thereby completing the manufacture of a processed food that can be distributed in a refrigerated state or at room temperature.

Example 2: Measurement of Sterilization Effect of Pre-Treatment Sterilization Process on Microorganisms

[0051] Pre-treatment and sterilization treatment of garlic and ginger were performed using a constant-temperature circulating water bath, and sterilization effects on total bacteria, heat-resistant Bacillus bacteria, and fungi such as yeast and mold were investigated.

Example 2-1: Measurement of Sterilization Effects of Various Sterilization Processes on Bacteria and Fungi

[0052] Sterilization effects of various sterilization methods on garlic and ginger samples were investigated. As a result of experimentation, as shown in Table 1 below, an antimicrobial component of chopped garlic and ginger exhibited a sterilization effect on fungi, but hardly exhibited a sterilization effect on a total bacterial count since heat-resistant Bacillus bacteria grew naturally at a population of about 10.sup.3 CFU/g. In addition, the antimicrobial solution dipping method was confirmed to exhibit a slight sterilization effect on fungi in whole ginger, but was seen to have no sterilization effect on heat-resistant Bacillus bacteria due to almost no change in total bacterial count. In contrast, the blanching heating method performed at 90 C. for 40 seconds was confirmed to be the most effective method since both a total bacterial count and a fungi count in garlic and ginger were about 10.sup.3 CFU/g.

TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 Total bacterial count Fungi count (CFU/g) (CFU/g) Sterilization Before After Before After method Detailed conditions sterilization sterilization sterilization sterilization Using Pulverize peeled Whole Chopped Whole Chopped antimicrobial garlic and ginger, garlic garlic garlic 0 garlic 0 activity of stored at 4 C. for 1 1.5 10.sup.6 4.3 10.sup.6 Whole Chopped garlic and day Whole Chopped ginger ginger 0 ginger itself (Action of ginger garlic 5.0 10.sup.2 antimicrobial 3.8 10.sup.4 6.0 10.sup.4 component in garlic and ginger: allicin) Antimicrobial 100 ppm Whole Whole Whole Whole solution hypochlorous acid, garlic garlic garlic 0 garlic 0 dipping dipped for 1 hour 2.8 10.sup.5 5.7 10.sup.5 Whole Whole method Whole Whole ginger ginger ginger ginger 2.5 10.sup.2 6.0 10.sup.1 3.4 10.sup.4 5.2 10.sup.4 Blanching Heated at 90 C. for Whole Whole Whole Whole heating 40 seconds garlic garlic garlic 0 garlic 0 method 1.1 10.sup.4 7.0 10.sup.1 Whole Whole Whole Whole ginger ginger 0 ginger ginger 4.6 10.sup.2 4.6 10.sup.6 1.6 10.sup.2

Example 2-2: Optimization of Pre-Treatment Sterilization Process

[0053] As shown in Table 2 below, it was seen that both bacteria and fungi were killed in whole garlic when subjected to blanching heating at a temperature of 90 C. to 95 C. for 30 seconds to 40 seconds, a larger number of heat-resistant Bacillus bacteria was naturally grown in whole ginger than in garlic, and about 10.sup.2 CFU/g of bacteria were remained even after blanching.

TABLE-US-00002 TABLE 2 Whole garlic Whole ginger (CFU/g) (CFU/g) Total Total Detailed conditions for each bacterial Fungi bacterial Fungi process count count count count Non-treatment group 4.7 10.sup.3 0 2.6 10.sup.7 1.3 10.sup.4 After peeling and washing 1.1 10.sup.4 0 4.6 10.sup.6 4.6 10.sup.2 Blanching 90 C., 30 sec 0 0 2.5 10.sup.3 0 conditions 90 C., 40 sec 7.0 10.sup.1 0 1.6 10.sup.2 0 95 C., 30 sec 0 0 1.9 10.sup.2 0 95 C., 40 sec 0 0 1.2 10.sup.2 0

[0054] Thus, to enhance a sterilization effect on whole ginger, an antimicrobial solution dipping method was first performed, and then blanching was performed according to the blanching conditions shown in Table 2. As a result, as shown in Table 3 below, it was confirmed that all the four conditions exhibited an effect of reducing total bacterial counts by an average of 10.sup.1 CFU/g. In addition, it was seen that an effect of reducing bacteria by 10.sup.2 CFU/g on Bacillus bacteria with heat resistance was exhibited when compared to the peeled and washed control, from which it was confirmed that, when the two pre-treatment methods are combined, a sterilization effect was enhanced.

TABLE-US-00003 TABLE 3 Whole ginger (CFU/g) Detailed conditions for each Total bacterial process count Bacillus Fungi Peeling and before washing 1.5 10.sup.6 5.0 10.sup.4 3.0 10.sup.4 Peeling and after washing 3.4 10.sup.4 6.0 10.sup.3 2.5 10.sup.2 Dipped in hypochlorous acid 5.2 10.sup.4 8.5 10.sup.3 6.0 10.sup.1 (100 ppm, 1 hour) Blanching after dipped in 2.0 10.sup.1 to 1.0 10.sup.1 to 0 hypochlorous acid (90 C. to 3.5 10.sup.1 4.0 10.sup.1 95 C., 30 sec to 40 sec)

[0055] From the above results, it was confirmed that, when garlic and ginger, which are main targets for sterilization since they contain a large number of heat-resistant spore-forming bacteria, among main ingredients of seasoning sauces including a Bulgogi seasoning sauce were first dipped in an antimicrobial solution and then was subjected to blanching heating, the bacteria could be almost sterilized, and it was confirmed that these processes could be used as a pre-treatment sterilization method of the method of sterilizing a seasoning sauce according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Example 3: Measurement of Sterilization Effect of Seasoning Sauce According to Pre-Treatment Sterilization Process and Ultra-High Pressure Sterilization Process

[0056] An ultra-high pressure sterilization process was performed by applying pressures of 100 MPa, 300 MPa, and 500 MPa to samples packaged in pouches for 0 minute, 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 15 minutes, and 20 minutes using a laboratory-scale high pressure processor (Hiperbaric). At this time, a temperature was set between 25 C. and 100 C. according to conditions of experimental groups, and come-up times of 26 seconds to 2 minutes and 30 seconds were taken at 100 MPa to 500 MPa. After sterilization was completed, measurement of bacteria and fungi was performed by culturing the corresponding microorganism in an appropriate medium at 37 C. for 48 hours and counting the corresponding microorganism using a colony counting method.

Example 3-1: Sterilization Effect and Sensory Evaluation of Seasoning Sauce According to Pre-Treatment Sterilization Process and Ultra-High Pressure Non-Heating Sterilization Process

[0057] A seasoning sauce was prepared using garlic and ginger having undergone the pre-treatment sterilization process (antimicrobial solution dipping method and blanching heating method) according to Example 2-2, an ultra-high pressure of 500 MPa was applied to the prepared seasoning sauce at room temperature (25 C.) for 3 minutes, and then was stored in a refrigerated state and at room temperature. The results thereof are shown in Table 4 below, from which it was seen that proliferation of microorganisms was not observed in both cases, and thus safety against microorganisms could be secured.

[0058] In addition, sensory evaluation was performed on 30 employees of CJ CheilJedang Co., Ltd using the seasoning sauce prepared through the above processes, and, as a result, an average score in consideration of taste, flavor, texture, and appearance was seen as 4.05 (out of 5 points), which is significantly higher than an average score, i.e., 3.80 of a seasoning sauce prepared through an existing heat sterilization method.

Example 3-2: Sterilization Effect and Sensory Evaluation of Seasoning Sauce According to Pre-Treatment Sterilization Process and Ultra-High Pressure Heating Sterilization Process

[0059] A seasoning sauce was prepared using garlic and ginger having undergone the pre-treatment sterilization process according to Example 2-2, an ultra-high pressure of 500 MPa was applied to the prepared seasoning sauce at a temperature of 90 C. to 100 C. for 3 minutes, and then was stored in a refrigerated state and at room temperature. The results thereof are shown in Table 4 below, from which it was seen that proliferation of microorganisms was not observed in both cases, and thus safety against microorganisms could be secured.

[0060] In addition, sensory evaluation was performed on 30 employees of CJ CheilJedang Co., Ltd using the seasoning sauce prepared through the above processes, and, as a result, an average score in consideration of taste, flavor, texture, and appearance was seen as 3.95 (out of 5 points), which is significantly higher than an average score, i.e., 3.80 of a seasoning sauce prepared through an existing heat sterilization method. From the above results, it was confirmed that, when the sterilization method according to an embodiment of the present invention is used, utilization thereof is high in terms of future commercialization due to excellent taste, flavor, texture and appearance of a product.

TABLE-US-00004 TABLE 4 Whether or not Storage Sample Salinity microorganisms were conditions groups (%) Brix (%) pH proliferated Refrigerated Non-treatment 1.55 32 4.93 Fungi proliferated after 2 storage group weeks of storage (15 C.) Ultra-high 1.45 30 4.89 Not observed until 11 pressure non- weeks of storage heating Ultra-high 1.43 29 4.87 Not observed until 11 pressure weeks of storage heating Room- Non-treatment 1.45 36 4.95 Microorganism proliferated temperature group after 1 day of storage storage Ultra-high 1.36 35 4.92 Not observed until 12 days (35 C.) pressure non- of storage heating Ultra-high 1.32 33 4.89 Not observed until 12 days pressure of storage heating

[0061] The exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been described. It will be understood by those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains that the present invention may be embodied in modified forms without departing from essential characteristics of the present invention. Thus, the disclosed embodiments should be considered in an illustrative sense only and not for the purpose of limitation. The scope of the present invention is defined by the following claims, not by the foregoing description, and all differences within a range equivalent thereto should be construed as being within the scope of the present invention.