Application of Ultra Superheated Steam Technology (USST) to Food Grain Preservation at Ambient Temperature for Extended Periods of Time

Abstract

Article History Received: May 4th, 2015 Food security has been of great concern in every nation irrespective of their developed Accepted: May 28th, 2015 or underdeveloped status. Post-harvest losses are common for almost all agricultural products; Published: June 1st, 2015 therefore, these commodities are a matter of concern for all nations. Super-heated steam drying is a drying technology where the drying takes place through direct contact between superheated Citation steam and the product to be dried. This study was designed to determine the effectiveness of Bari ML, Ohki H, Nagakura MK, Ultra-superheated steam technology (USST) drying alone or USST drying followed by mixing Ukai M. Application of Ultra Super- with scallop powder (SP; 0.1%) to extend the shelf life of: 1) Peanuts; 2) Red wheat (small heated Steam Technology (USST) sized); 3) Broken maize kernels; 4) Mixed animal feed; and 5) Bengal gram/chickpea. It was to food grain preservation at ambi- ent temperature for extended periods observed that treatment with USST at 400 ºC or 500 ºC (actual contact temperature was 210 ºC of time. Adv Food Technol Nutr Sci and 250 ºC, respectively) for 15 seconds was sufficient to decontaminate the mold successfully. Open J. 2015; SE(1): S14-S21. doi: After 26 months of storage at room temperature, no such mold was evident visually compared to control samples, and the products appeared fresh. Furthermore, treatment with USST at 400 ºC or 500 ºC (actual contact temperature was 210 ºC and 250 ºC, respectively) for 15 seconds followed by mixing with scallop powder (SP; 0.1%) was sufficient to increase the shelf life of the food grains studied beyond three years under similar experimental conditions. However, the product did not appear fresh or attractive subsequent to the attachment of the SP powder. Increasing the USST temperature may further enhance the shelf life of the product. Therefore, these findings suggest that USST technology may extend the shelf life of food grain products. However, optimization of treatment time and temperature is required for food grains to be most efficiently stored.