FIET Project 12 update: Microwave-assisted processing

Traditional thermal processing of pre-packaged food products involves the gradual increase in temperature until the centre of the food product reaches a desired temperature. However, this results in parts of the product receiving more thermal treatment than necessary. Consequently, these food products are often over-processed, suffering negatively in nutrition, texture, flavour and colour. Small incremental changes have been made to these processes resulting in slight quality improvements. Now, with the advent of microwave-assisted technology, there is an opportunity for a step change in technology with the potential to transform the quality of thermally-processed prepackaged foods.