Innovative Technologies Could Improve Food Safety

G amma rays, electron beams, flash or steam pasteurization, steam vacuums, ozonation, ultra-high pressure treatmentthese are some of the emerging technologies that U.S. food processors are investigating or implementing to help remove illness-causing pathogens in our food. Many of these emerging food processing technologies are not new, but rather are innovative or expanded applications of existing technologies that had been examined, developed, or used for other purposes. For example, patents were awarded for the use of ionizing radiation to preserve food in 1905, but commercially, irradiation has been principally used to sterilize medical devices. Among disinfectants, ozone was initially used to cleanse drinking water in France in 1906 and has been used to treat bottled water in the United States since 1982. Processing food with high pressure was first examined in the United States during the late 1890's and early 1900' s. However, in response to increased food safety concerns and heightened awareness of potential pathogen reduction abil-