Improvement of heating uniformity in packaged acidified vegetables pasteurized with a 915 MHz continuous microwave system

Continuous microwave processing to produce shelf-stable acidified vegetables with moderate to high salt contents poses challenges in pasteurization due to reduced microwave penetration depths and non-uniform heating. Cups of sweetpotato, red bell pepper, and broccoli acidified to pH 3.8 with citric acid solution containing 0-1% NaCl were placed on a conveyor belt and passed through a microwave tunnel operating at 915 MHz and 4 kW with a 4 min residence time. The time-temperature profiles of vegetable pieces at 5 locations in the package were measured using fiber optic temperature sensors. Addition of 1% NaCl to the cover solution lowered microwave penetration into vegetable pieces and decreased the mean temperature in cups of acidified vegetables from 84 to 73 °C. Soaking blanched vegetables for 24 h in a solution with NaCl and citric acid prior to processing improved microwave heating. Heating was non-uniform in all packages with a cold spot of approximately 60 °C at a point in the container farthest from the incident microwaves. More uniform heating was achieved by implementation of a two-stage rotation apparatus to rotate vegetable cups 180° during processing. Rotating the cups resulted in more uniform heating and a temperature of 77 °C at the cold spot. This is above the industrial standard of 74 °C for in-pack pasteurization of acidified vegetables. The effective treatment involved blanching, soaking for 24 h in a NaCl and citric acid solution, and 180° rotation. This work has contributed to a better understanding of the influence of salt addition and distribution during dielectric heating of acidified vegetables using a 915 MHz continuous microwave system.