JP2005333963A - Method for low-temperature sterilization, method for low-temperature preservation and preservative for food - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method for low-temperature sterilization by which microorganisms containing a microorganism such as a thermoduric bacterium difficult to completely sterilize at a low temperature can completely be sterilized. <P>SOLUTION: The method for low-temperature sterilization is designed to act 0.1-1.0% of hydrogen peroxide on a food in an aqueous medium and sterilize the microorganism as the object of sterilization in the presence of radicals derived from the hydrogen peroxide. The existable microorganism as the object of the sterilization is selected from the food to be sterilized. The point of action of the microorganism as the object of sterilization based on the hydrogen peroxide concentration and sterilization temperature of the food to be sterilized is obtained to determine a sterilization profile. Furthermore, the point of action is corrected on the basis of a radical elimination ability or the amount of the generated radicals of the aqueous medium, and the sterilization profile is determined on the basis of the corrected point of action. Thereby, the sterilization is carried out. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a pasteurization method, a food preservation method, and a food preservative.

In recent years, in the food processing field, various sterilization techniques have been developed for the purpose of preventing food poisoning, preventing deterioration of food, preventing infection from the food route, and the like.
The most common sterilization method is sterilization by heating, but since foods are generally denatured or altered by heating, sterilization by heating often reduces the commercial value of food. In particular, since spore bacteria have high heat resistance, when the heat sterilization method is used, the quality of food is significantly deteriorated and is often not applicable.

For this reason, attempts have been made to use hydrogen peroxide solution or aqueous peracetic acid solution, or use hypochlorite, alkaline agent, detergent, EDTA, sterilizing solution, etc. in water, but they cannot be sterilized effectively. There were problems such as deterioration of food quality.
As other sterilization techniques, ozone utilization techniques, utilization techniques of acidic water obtained by electrolysis of water, and utilization techniques of a combination of strong alkaline functional water and strong acidic functional water are disclosed.

  However, although these techniques are effective for specific bacteria, they were considered to be ineffective against spore bacteria. In other words, bacteria have enzymes such as catalase, glutathione, alkaline hydroperoxide reductase, and superoxide dismutase against oxygen stress during the evolution process, and the environment in some bacteria deteriorates and growth stops. Some produce special heat shock proteins or form spores to increase tolerance to oxygen stress. They are also resistant to hydrogen peroxide, hypochlorous acid, ozone, etc. that can be effectively sterilized when bacteria are actively growing.

  Therefore, Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-231525) discloses a method of sterilizing soil-derived spore bacteria such as Bacillus cereus by contacting an aqueous solution containing hydroxy radicals. According to Patent Document 1, a hydroxy radical is a reaction product of ozone mixed with hydrogen peroxide and / or peracetic acid, and either or both of hydrogen peroxide and peracetic acid. The mixing ratio of ozone to ozone is 1:10 to 10: 1 mol. Further, it is described that in the step of bringing a food into contact with an aqueous solution containing hydroxy radicals, the food immersed in the aqueous solution is subjected to one or more physical treatments selected from brushing, showering or vibration energy.

Patent Document 2 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-86964) discloses a method for completely sterilizing thermophilic bacteria and heat-resistant spore bacteria present in an object to be processed without leaving the disinfectant in the object to be processed. In addition, a sterilization method is disclosed in which an object to be treated is treated with a sterilizing agent such as ozone or hydrogen peroxide and then treated with low-pressure superheated steam.
However, according to Patent Document 2, heat-resistant microorganisms can be sterilized to some extent, but not all bacteria can be sterilized (for example, see Tables 2 to 5).

According to Patent Document 2, spore germs can be sterilized, but it is indispensable to treat them with superheated steam (for example, refer to claim 1). It cannot escape the deterioration of. Furthermore, the quality deterioration of food, such as the use of hydrogen peroxide at a concentration of 3% or more, and food safety issues remain.
JP 2001-231525 A JP 2001-86964 A (Claim 1)

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a pasteurization method capable of completely sterilizing microorganisms including microorganisms that are difficult to completely sterilize at low temperatures such as heat-resistant bacteria.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a method for completely sterilizing microorganisms including microorganisms that are difficult to completely sterilize at low temperatures, such as heat-resistant bacteria in food, and preserve food for a long period of time. .

As a result of intensive studies in view of the above problems, the present inventors killed various bacteria including spore bacteria when a predetermined amount of hydrogen peroxide is added to a food system and allowed to act for a long time at a low temperature of 10 ° C. or lower. As a result, a patent application was filed as PCT / JP2004 / 00001 under the name of pasteurization method (not disclosed).
And as a result of earnest examination about the method of improving this pasteurization method and sterilizing food safely and surely at a lower concentration, under semi-frozen or refrigerated conditions of 10 ° C. or less, the effective amount is 1.0% or less. It is found that sterilization conditions can be determined based on the sterilization action time of the microorganism to be sterilized, which is determined based on the conditions of the type, sterilization temperature, and concentration of the microorganism to be sterilized. It came to create invention.

The present invention is a pasteurization method for sterilizing microorganisms to be sterilized in the presence of radicals derived from hydrogen peroxide by acting 0.1% to 1.0% hydrogen peroxide in an aqueous medium,
Select the microorganisms to be sterilized from the food to be sterilized, and determine the sterilization profile by determining the action point of the microorganisms to be sterilized based on the hydrogen peroxide concentration, the sterilization temperature of the food to be sterilized, and the sterilization time Further, the action point is corrected based on the radical scavenging ability or radical generation amount of the aqueous medium, and the sterilization profile is determined based on the corrected action point to perform sterilization (claims). Item 1).

The pasteurization method of the present invention is further characterized in that the hydrogen peroxide concentration, the action time, or both are corrected based on the conditions of the sterilization system (Claim 2).
In the present invention, it is preferable to measure the concentration of hydrogen peroxide in the food at the end of the sterilization or during the sterilization, and determine whether to continue the sterilization or to end the sterilization based on the measurement result (Claim 3). .

In the present invention, the concentration of hydrogen peroxide after the sterilization is measured, and when the hydrogen peroxide is equal to or higher than a predetermined value, it is preferable to perform radical scavenging treatment derived from hydrogen peroxide (Claim 4).
In addition, it is particularly preferable to inspect the target microorganism at the same time or during the sterilization prior to sterilization (claim 5).

The present invention also sterilizes microorganisms to be sterilized in the presence of radicals derived from hydrogen peroxide having an effective concentration of 0.1% to 1.0% in food under semi-frozen or refrigerated conditions of 10 ° C. or lower. A method for preserving food for a long period of time under the conditions,
Select the microorganisms to be sterilized from the food to be sterilized, and determine the sterilization profile by determining the action point of the microorganisms to be sterilized based on the hydrogen peroxide concentration, the sterilization temperature of the food to be sterilized, and the sterilization time Further, the action point is corrected based on the radical scavenging ability or radical generation amount of the aqueous medium, and the sterilization profile is determined based on the corrected action point (Claim 6). The sterilization profile is determined by, for example, storage temperature and storage time (Claim 7).

According to the pasteurization of the present invention, microorganisms can be surely sterilized under extremely safe conditions regardless of the type of food.
According to the low-temperature storage method of the present invention, microorganisms present in food can be stored for a long period of time by sterilizing safely.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below. However, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments.
The terms used in this specification are defined as follows.
The term “aqueous medium” is meant to include an aqueous suspension having a predetermined fluidity, an aqueous solution, an aqueous slurry such as a fish sludge, and an aqueous emulsion. Hereinafter, in the present invention, “water or an aqueous medium” is collectively referred to as an aqueous system.
Note that the predetermined fluidity means that in carrying out the present invention, the aqueous system is treated with radicals derived from hydrogen peroxide in the presence of visible light. It means the fluidity that can be irradiated with visible light.
Further, the term “microorganism to be treated” means one or more microorganisms that can be present in food, that is, a microorganism to be treated by the pasteurization method of the present invention. Therefore, when there are a plurality of microorganisms, in the present invention, the time required until the action point, that is, the microorganism having the longest action time is considered as the microorganism to be treated.
The term “hydrogen peroxide-derived radical concentration” means the total concentration of the amount of hydrogen peroxide-derived radicals present in the aqueous system itself and the amount of hydrogen peroxide to be added.

  Furthermore, the term “point of action” refers to a point at which a microorganism is deactivated or killed when a specific radical derived from hydrogen peroxide is allowed to act on a specific microorganism at a temperature of 10 ° C. or less. The time to reach is called the action time below. This action time is determined by the radical concentration and temperature derived from hydrogen peroxide in a specific microorganism.

Hereinafter, the first embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail.
In the present invention, radicals derived from hydrogen peroxide exist in water or an aqueous medium for a long time of 24 hours or more under low temperature conditions of 10 ° C. or less, preferably 4 ° C. or less. In addition, the knowledge that radicals derived from hydrogen peroxide act on microorganisms that have been difficult at low temperatures, such as heat-resistant germs, at low temperatures of 10 ° C. or less, However, there is an action point that acts after a predetermined time, not immediately, and is based on the knowledge that a radical derived from hydrogen peroxide acts on the microorganism at this action point.

  The aqueous system used in the treatment is not particularly limited as long as it is an aqueous fluid having a predetermined fluidity, that is, an object to be treated can be uniformly mixed and preferably irradiated with visible light. An aqueous solution in which water, saline, glucose, salts and the like are dissolved, an aqueous suspension, a fish sludge, a minced meat such as animal meat and chicken, honey, sausages, a water-containing slurry such as a mixture thereof, and the like are appropriately selected.

  The microorganisms to be treated in the present invention are appropriately selected according to the aqueous system to be treated, and generally include a group of microorganisms containing heat-resistant spore bacteria. The heat-resistant spore bacteria is a bacterium that forms spores when it becomes a bad environment such as dryness or high temperature. Examples include the thermoacidophilic microorganisms to which they belong.

  Such spore bacteria are strongly resistant to physical and chemical stimuli and are killed by autoclave sterilization at 120 ° C. or more for 15 minutes or more, but also resistant to boiling at 100 ° C. It is common. Even in the pasteurization method of the present invention, these microorganisms alone or an aqueous system in which these microorganisms and other general microorganisms are mixed may be targeted for sterilization, but the general microorganisms have no action point. Even if there is, there is an action point in a shorter time than the spore bacteria, and in the following explanation, these spore bacteria will be described as treatment targets.

In the present invention, it has been found that when sterilization conditions are determined at low temperatures for these spore bacteria, other bacteria can be sterilized at the same time. In particular, by performing sterilization at a low temperature of 10 ° C. or lower, it is possible to store food that is a sterilization target at a temperature of 10 ° C. or lower simultaneously with sterilization for a considerable period of time.
Although it does not specifically limit as spore bacteria used as the process target of this invention, Genus Bacillus, for example, B.I. cereus, B. et al. coagulans, B.M. subtilis, B.M. stearothermophilus, B.M. licheniformis, B.I. macerans, B.M. megaterium, B.M. sphalicus, B.M. pumilus, B. et al. thuringiensis et al., Genus Clostridium, for example C.I. pasteurianum, C.I. sporogenes, C.I. butyricum, C.I. bifermentans, C.I. perfringens, C.I. difficile, C.I. tetani, C.I. Septicum and the like are exemplified.

(Radical generation derived from hydrogen peroxide)
The radical species used in the present invention are obtained from radical sources known in the art, and are not particularly limited in the present invention.
A particularly preferable radical species is a radical derived from hydrogen peroxide represented by a hydroxy radical. That is, radicals derived from hydrogen peroxide typified by hydroxy radicals do not remain after being sterilized under the conditions of the present invention, changing to water over time at room temperature. Ozone-derived radical species change to oxygen as well, but ozone-derived radicals need to be at a high concentration when sterilizing spores and are not stable for a long time compared to hydroxy radicals, etc. . As conventionally known, radicals derived from hydrogen peroxide are generated under irradiation of light such as hydrogen peroxide or peracetic acid, particularly visible light. In the following explanation, explanation will be made based on radicals derived from hydrogen peroxide as a representative radical source.

In the present invention, the radical concentration in the aqueous system is set to 0.3 to 1.0% in consideration of sterilization of foods and the like. That is, in the pasteurization method previously filed by the present inventors, the upper limit was set at 3%, but when applied to foods, etc., the upper limit was set at 1% in consideration of safety.
This makes it possible to further suppress the possibility of denaturing other components present in an aqueous system such as food, for example, organic compounds such as proteins.
For example, when the sterilization target is fish, radicals derived from hydrogen peroxide inherent in the fish to be applied may exist. In addition, cultured fish, poultry, and livestock may be administered with an ascorbic acid-based anti-stress agent to prevent stress. In these cases, the sterilization profile is corrected by the ESR device described later. Need to be added.

(Radical treatment derived from hydrogen peroxide)
Surprisingly, for example, at a high temperature of 63 ° C. or higher, radicals derived from hydrogen peroxide (hereinafter sometimes simply referred to as hydroxy radicals) immediately act on microorganisms such as heat-resistant spore bacteria to kill them. On the other hand, it is the present invention that the radical derived from hydrogen peroxide at a low temperature of 10 ° C. or lower, preferably at a low temperature of 0 ° C. to 4 ° C., acts depending on the type of spore bacteria of interest. Found. Further, the present inventors have found that hydroxy radicals decompose and disappear relatively easily at temperatures exceeding 10 ° C., but exist stably for several days at temperatures below 10 ° C.

That is, if a predetermined heat-resistant spore bacterium continues to act on hydrogen peroxide-derived radicals in an aqueous system at a temperature of 10 ° C. or lower, for example, 4 ° C., after a predetermined time has elapsed, it is generally 24 hours or longer, particularly 96 It was found that it was completely killed after a lapse of time. In the present invention, such an action point is called an action point, and an elapsed time from the start of processing to such an action point is called an action time.
Therefore, the pasteurization method of the present invention is performed based on such a phenomenon.
In the pasteurization method of the present invention, first, treatment conditions are determined corresponding to a predetermined aqueous system.
The determinants of the processing conditions are (1) the type of microorganisms that may or may be present, (2) the type of aqueous system (presence of salt, pH value), (3) the temperature program of the aqueous system, and the like.

(1) Types of microorganisms In the case of known microbial species present in the material to be treated, that is, aqueous slurries such as eggs, surimi and ground beef, or water extracts such as bouillon Is predicted from the conventionally known data.
On the other hand, if the microbial species present or possibly present in the object to be treated is unknown, it may exist by actually inspecting and identifying the microorganism to be treated by a conventionally known inspection method Microorganisms are identified or inferred.

Once the microorganisms that may be present are determined, among these microorganisms, the microorganisms with the highest bactericidal resistance under the conditions of the low-temperature treatment method of the present invention, such as Bacillus cereus, B. stearothermophilus, B.I. subtilis is selected.
In addition, when processing the microorganisms which have an unknown action point, it can respond by producing the graph shown in FIG. 1 by experiment.
The action points of the microorganisms thus found can be saved in a database or saved in a form such as a graph or a table, and in the case of sterilization after the next time, the action points can be omitted. .

However, according to preliminary experiments by the inventor, it was found that the action point of spore bacteria is substantially the same regardless of the species. Therefore, it may be inferred from the action point of other spore bacteria, preferably known spore bacteria belonging to the same genus.
Table 1 shows typical types of microorganisms that may be present in fish sludge slurries and fruits.

The above table shows that 10 ⁵ to 10 ⁷ microorganisms were added to pure 10 to 100 cc, and a solution to which about 1.5% hydrogen peroxide was added was cultured at 4 ° C. for 1 day and 3 days. The presence / absence of microorganisms was determined. X represents the presence (1 or more), and ○ represents the absence (0). As shown in this table, it can be seen that the target microorganism can be surely sterilized by leaving it at low temperature for 3 days.
That is, according to the experiments by the present inventors, these bacteria were found to die in a temperature range of 72 to 96 hours at a temperature of 10 ° C. or less in hydrogen peroxide in a concentration range of 0.3 to 1%. .

(2) Aqueous conditions (excluding temperature)
In the low temperature treatment method of the present invention, the action point shifts depending on the conditions of the aqueous system to be treated, that is, pH conditions, additives such as salt and sugar.
That is, according to the experiments by the present inventors, it is found by repeated experiments by the present inventors that the presence of a salt such as sodium chloride shifts the action point referred to in the present invention to the right for the same bacterial species. (See below).

In addition, it is possible to find the shift of the action point by preparing a graph in the same manner according to the pH condition, the aqueous system containing sugar, and the aqueous system state (for example, aqueous solution, aqueous suspension, aqueous slurry). .
In the same way as the determination of the action point of an unknown microorganism, the shift of the action point due to the change of the condition is stored in a database or a form such as a graph or a table, and the shift of the action point is observed in the next sterilization. It can be omitted.

  It is possible to infer the shift of the action point corresponding to the change of the condition from the shift of the action point stored in the database, graph or the like. For example, it is also within the scope of the present invention to predict the action point in the case of a predetermined concentration of saline by the tendency of the action point to shift under specific conditions of a specific microorganism due to a salt concentration of 1.8%, 3%, etc. It is.

(3) Temperature program In the pasteurization method of the present invention, the radical treatment derived from hydrogen peroxide is continued at a temperature of 10 ° C. or lower, and the temperature program at that time is not particularly limited as long as it is a temperature of 10 ° C. or lower. For example, it can be stored in a refrigerator under irradiation with visible light at a constant temperature such as 4 ° C. Therefore, in the present invention, it is possible to determine (determine or analogize) the action point according to such a change in the processing conditions, and to perform radical treatment derived from hydrogen peroxide based on the action point.

(4) Presence of hydroxy radicals in a low temperature range The presence of radical species in a low temperature range of 10 ° C. or lower, which is the sterilization condition of the present invention, can be confirmed by, for example, an ESR apparatus. As shown in FIG. 3, the hydroxy radical peak in the sterilization system is present in the vicinity of 334 to 335 mT. In the present invention, it is possible to confirm whether or not a low radical concentration can be maintained by monitoring such a peak.
In the present invention, in such pasteurization, the shift of the action point occurs depending on the type and temperature of the aqueous medium, and the shift of the action point is a radical in a low temperature range of 10 ° C. or less according to the aqueous medium. It was found that this was caused by a change in the residual amount of hydrogen peroxide, and further, it was found that radicals derived from hydrogen peroxide can be sufficiently sterilized even if they are 1% or less. That is, it has been found that radicals derived from hydrogen peroxide remain in a sufficiently effective amount even in a low temperature region of 10 ° C. or lower even in citrus sterilization containing vitamin C having a radical scavenging action.

Therefore, in the present invention, microorganisms that can be present in the food to be sterilized in advance are determined, and an action point in a standard aqueous medium, such as pure water, for the determined microorganisms is prepared in advance for each temperature, and a standard solution in a predetermined temperature range. The radical behavior of the aqueous medium and the radical behavior of the aqueous medium to be applied to the standard solution are measured using, for example, an ESR apparatus.
For example, when an ESR device is used, the strength ratio with respect to the standard solution in a specific temperature range is obtained in advance, and the amount of hydrogen peroxide added is corrected based on the strength ratio in the temperature range, thereby sterilizing safely and reliably. It became possible to do.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to measure the hydrogen peroxide concentration of the food at the end of sterilization or during the sterilization, and determine whether to continue sterilization or to end sterilization based on the measurement result. It is.
That is, the concentration of hydrogen peroxide after sterilization is measured by, for example, an ESR apparatus, and when hydrogen peroxide is a predetermined value or more, radicals derived from hydrogen peroxide are converted into conventionally known foods such as vitamin C and vitamin E. It is also possible to perform an erasing treatment with a free radical scavenger that can be added.

Further, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, prior to sterilization, the target microorganism can be inspected at the same time or during the sterilization.
That is, it is possible to know whether or not the target microorganism exists before the end of sterilization by performing a microbial test before or after sterilizing the food of the present invention, or preferably immediately before sterilization (preliminary test). It becomes.
If the target microorganism does not exist, sterilization may be completed as it is or sterilization may be continued. And the safety | security with respect to the biohazard of the foodstuff can be confirmed, without performing subsequent microbe inspection.
On the other hand, if a target microorganism exists as a result of the preliminary inspection, it can be dealt with by performing a safety check after the sterilization.
That is, since the pasteurization method of the present invention sterilizes over a relatively long period of time, it is possible to perform a preliminary inspection within that period.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described with reference to examples.
(Example 1)
Sterilization experiment of plant (grapefruit) with hydrogen peroxide solution and hydroxyl radical We confirmed that microorganisms living on the surface of citrus fruits can be sterilized with low-temperature hydrogen peroxide solution at low temperature, depending on the difference in solvent In order to compare the bactericidal effect and clarify the low concentration bactericidal action point, the following examples were carried out.

Materials used 1. Special grade 30% hydrogen peroxide solution Lot No. 3760 031224: Santoku Chemical Co., Ltd. 2. Sterile RO water Tap water4. Grapefruit skin (only yellow part is used)
5). Brain Heart Infusion (BHI) Agar Medium Lot No. 084206: Nissui Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. 6. Bacillus cereus YER S-1
7). Alicyclobacillus acidoterrestris KBL304
8). Escherichia coli ATCC 25922
9. Staphylococcus aureus ATCC29213

Measurement conditions Room temperature 24.1 ℃, Humidity 38%
RO water pH 5.68 25.8 ° C
Tap water pH 7.41 21.2 ° C
Immediately after that, 30 minutes and 60 minutes at room temperature. After 1 day, 2 days, 3 days, and 4 days, place them in an aluminum pack and store at 4 ° C.
As a result, after the bacteria-adhered grapefruit epidermis was introduced and stirred, the pH became 5.4. There was no change after 4 days.
The results are shown in FIG.

(Example 2)
1. 1. Comparative experiment method of bactericidal effect between sterilized RO water and tap water Grapefruit epidermis that was fined to 5 mm x 5 mm or less, Bacillus cereus YERS-1, Alicyclobacillus acidoterrestris KBL304, Escherichia coli ATCC 25922, Staphylococcus aureus ⁵ The microbial epidermis GF epidermis was made by attaching to the mixed bacterial solution for 1 hour.
3. Dilute 30% hydrogen peroxide with sterile RO water and tap water to make 0.5%, 1%, and 0% of the control, 10 ml each. Immediately after that, 100 μl of the BHI agar medium was inoculated 30 minutes and 60 minutes, and cultured at 35 ° C. for 24 hours, and the survival of viable bacteria was confirmed.

Experimental method for detecting minimum effective concentration (%) of bactericidal effect in sterilized RO water Grapefruit epidermis finely divided to 5 mm x 5 mm or less, Bacillus cereus YERS-1, Alyclobacillus acidoterrestris KBL304, Escherichia coli ATCC 25922, Staphylococcus aureus ⁶ The mixed bacteria solution was soaked for 1 hour to prepare a grapefruit epidermis with bacteria attached.
2. Dilute 30% hydrogen peroxide with sterile RO water to give 0.01%, 0.05%, 0.1%, 0.2%, 0.3%, 0.4% and 0% of control respectively. 10 ml was prepared, and about 1 g of the GF epidermis adhering to (1) was added thereto and stirred. Immediately after that, 30 μm, 60 minutes, 1 day, 2 days, 3 days, 4 days later, 100 μl of BHI agar medium was inoculated, and 35 ° C. And cultured for 24 hours, and the presence of viable bacteria was confirmed.
As a result of Example 1, in the sterilized RO water and tap water, the tap water slightly took longer to sterilize (see FIG. 1).

Results of Example 2 Sterilization was possible up to 0.3% after 4 days (FIG. 2).

From the above, it is considered that the sterilizing effect of tap water in Example 1 was not as good as that of sterilized RO water due to iron ions in tap water.
Further, although sterilization is possible up to 0.3% experimentally from Example 2, it is considered necessary to set the concentration and time depending on the purity of the solvent and solute and the amount of the sterilization target.

(Example 3)
From the low magnetic field side of the DMPO-OH spin adduct (1: 2: 2: 1), in which various concentrations of hydrogen peroxide are added to various aqueous media, stored at 4 ° C., and the production of hydroxyl radicals by the ESR apparatus is shown. Data was calculated from the intensity ratio between the second signal peak and the standard manganese marker.
The results are shown in FIG. FIG. 3 shows the addition of 0 to 3% hydrogen peroxide to pure water, tap water, 0.9% saline, 3.5% saline and grapefruit as standard solutions, and 0 to 72 hours at 4 ° C. The ESR measurement result of the preserve | saved system is shown.

  From the above results, it can be seen that hydroxy radicals, which are radicals derived from hydrogen peroxide, remain in all systems. And the amount depends on the system.

  It is a table | surface figure which shows the disinfection result of the microorganisms in the Example of this invention.   It is a table | surface figure which shows the disinfection result of the microorganisms in the other Example of this invention.   It is a table | surface figure which shows the time-dependent behavior of the hydroxy radical in the various systems in the Example of this invention.

Claims (7)

A pasteurization method for sterilizing microorganisms to be sterilized in the presence of radicals derived from hydrogen peroxide by acting 0.1% to 1.0% hydrogen peroxide in an aqueous medium,
Select the microorganisms to be sterilized from the food to be sterilized, and determine the sterilization profile by determining the action point of the microorganisms to be sterilized based on the hydrogen peroxide concentration, the sterilization temperature of the food to be sterilized, and the sterilization time Further, the pasteurization method is characterized in that the action point is corrected based on the radical scavenging ability or radical generation amount of the aqueous medium, and the sterilization profile is determined based on the corrected action point to perform sterilization.   The pasteurization method according to claim 1, further comprising correcting the hydrogen peroxide concentration, the action time, or both based on the conditions of the sterilization system.   3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising a step of measuring the hydrogen peroxide concentration of the food at the end of the sterilization or determining whether to continue the sterilization or to end the sterilization based on the measurement result. Pasteurization method.   The hydrogen peroxide concentration after sterilization is measured, and when hydrogen peroxide is a predetermined value or more, radical scavenging treatment derived from hydrogen peroxide is performed. The pasteurization method as described in a term.   The pasteurization method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein an inspection of a target microorganism is performed simultaneously with or during sterilization prior to sterilization. Under the condition of semi-frozen or refrigerated at 10 ° C. or lower, the microorganism to be sterilized is sterilized in the presence of radicals derived from hydrogen peroxide having an effective concentration of 0.1% to 1.0% in the food, and the food is subjected to the refrigerated condition. A method for preserving food for a long time,
Select the microorganisms to be sterilized from the food to be sterilized, and determine the sterilization profile by determining the action point of the microorganisms to be sterilized based on the hydrogen peroxide concentration, the sterilization temperature of the food to be sterilized, and the sterilization time And further, the action point is corrected based on the radical scavenging ability or radical generation amount of the aqueous medium, and the sterilization profile is determined based on the corrected action point.   The food sterilization method according to claim 6, wherein the sterilization profile is determined by a storage temperature and a storage time.

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