The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jul. 25, 2000
Filed:
Aug. 13, 1998
Gauri Shankar Mittal, Guelph, CA;
Shirley Yuet Ho, Toronto, CA;
James D Cross, Waterloo, CA;
Mansel W Griffiths, Rockwood, CA;
University of Guelph, Guelph, CA;
Abstract
A method and apparatus for electrically treating foodstuffs flowing through a treatment chamber with low energy, high voltage electrical pulses for non-thermal pasteurization and/or sterilization. Instant-charge-reversal electrical pulses are applied to a foodstuff located between two electrodes in a treatment chamber, each electrical pulse having a pulse width in a range from about 1 to 5 .mu.s with vertically rising voltage to a peak followed immediately with a decreasing voltage through zero volts and continuing to a voltage peak of opposite polarity and rising vertically back to zero volts. The electrical pulses are very low energy (0.1-25 Joules/pulse) and the field strengths are in the range 15 kVolts/cm to 120 kVolts/cm. This instant-charge-reversal electrical pulse is shown to have a much greater microbial killing power compared to other pulse waveforms used to treat foodstuff. The apparatus uses an electrode arrangement including a cylindrical inner electrode and an annular disc with the cylindrical electrode inserted through the hole in the disc.