Lethality and quality evaluation of in-packaged ready-to-eat cooked Jasmine rice subjected to industrial continuous microwave pasteurization

The use of the pasteurization unit as a measure of the lethal effect of heating processes and overall quality of ready-to-eat Jasmine rice was determined in order to compare the conventional and microwave technology. Cooked Jasmine rice was packed in a polypropylene plastic cup and sealed with a lidding film, then subjected to a continuous microwave system (eight 800 W; 2450 MHz) and conventional steamer. The pasteurization unit, log reduction, microorganism count, color, instrumental textural property, and sensory attributes were investigated over a 30-day storage at 8°C. The pasteurization process time was reduced from 420 s under the conventional process to 216 s under the microwave process for a 5-log reduction of L. monocytogenes. The microwave heating showed greater effectiveness for shelf life, extending the product from 7 days (conventional) to 30 days. Cooked rice after heating by microwave was whiter and showed lower hardness than the conventional heated sample. Throughout storage, sensory attributes of the pasteurized product heated by microwave were acceptable by panelists. The addition of 15% trehalose or 1% soybean oil into the rice before cooking decreased the hardness of the cooked rice during storage. This study successfully demonstrated that the continuous microwave pasteurization process, compared to the conventional process, required less process time for ready-to-eat cooked Jasmine rice and extended the shelf life while providing better product quality.