JP2016036257A - Fruit vegetable sterilization method and device therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

SOLUTION: To provide a method for, sterilization of strawberry by radiating an electron beam from outside of a package P to fruit vegetable (strawberry 1) stored in the package P, in which thickness of the package P is equal to or less than 350 μm, acceleration voltage of the electron beam is set to 150 kV or more and 300 kV or less, the electron beam is radiated to the fruit vegetable stored in the package, from one or the other side, for radiating the electron beam to whole periphery of the strawberry.EFFECT: It becomes possible to store fruit vegetable for a longer period.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

  The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for sterilizing fruit vegetables, and more particularly to a method and apparatus for sterilizing fruit vegetables by irradiating the fruit vegetables contained in a package with an electron beam to sterilize the fruit vegetables.

Conventionally, a sterilization method for sterilizing an object to be sterilized by housing the object to be sterilized in a package and irradiating an electron beam from the outside of the package is known (Patent Documents 1 and 2). ).
Specifically, in Patent Document 1, after a sealed body obtained by sealing and packaging a plurality of packaging materials in an oxygen concentration state of 0.1% or less is accommodated in a cardboard box, the packaging material is irradiated with an electron beam. Sterilized.
In Patent Document 2, a tomographic image in the irradiation direction is taken to obtain the density distribution of the irradiated object, and the fluctuation of the dose distribution of the irradiation radiation in the irradiated object is determined based on the density distribution as a predetermined reference value. Irradiation conditions are determined so as to suppress the following, and irradiation according to the irradiation conditions is performed.

JP-A-1-267130 JP 2000-167029 A

However, the sterilization methods of Patent Documents 1 and 2 use a medium energy or high energy electron beam with an acceleration voltage of 1 MeV to 10 MeV, and a large-scale apparatus configuration is required to use such an electron beam with a high acceleration voltage. Is required. Moreover, the packaging form, irradiation conditions, etc. were unsuitable for disinfecting fruit vegetables such as strawberries.
Accordingly, the present invention provides a method and apparatus for sterilizing fruit vegetables that can be effectively sterilized by sterilizing fruit vegetables contained in a package with an electron beam and can be stored for a longer period of time. Is.

That is, in the method for sterilizing fruit vegetables according to claim 1, the fruit vegetables sterilized by irradiating the fruit vegetables contained in the package with an electron beam from the outside of the package to sterilize the fruit vegetables.
The thickness of the package is 350 μm or less, and the acceleration voltage of the electron beam is set to 150 kV or more and 300 kV or less,
The fruit vegetables contained in the package are irradiated with an electron beam from one and the other, and the entire circumference of the fruit vegetable is irradiated with an electron beam.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a fruit vegetable sterilizing apparatus comprising: a conveying unit that conveys a package containing fruit vegetables; and an electron beam irradiating unit that irradiates an electron beam to the package conveyed by the conveying unit. In sterilizer,
The thickness of the package is set to 350 μm or less, the acceleration voltage of the electron beam is set to 150 kV or more and 300 kV or less,
The electron beam irradiating means irradiates the fruit vegetables contained in the package with an electron beam from one side and the other side.

  In the invention of claim 1 and claim 4, the thickness of the package is set to 350 μm or less, and the acceleration voltage of the electron beam by the electron beam irradiation means is set to 150 kV or more and 300 kV or less to obtain a general package. If it is a stored fruit vegetable, it can be sterilized.

The block diagram of the sterilizer concerning 1st Example. The figure explaining the strawberry as fruit vegetables. It is a figure explaining a package, (a) shows a block diagram and (b) shows a top view, respectively. The table | surface which shows a 1st experimental result. The table | surface which shows a 2nd experimental result. The block diagram of the sterilizer concerning 2nd Example. The top view of the sterilizer concerning 3rd Example. Sectional drawing of the sterilizer concerning 3rd Example.

The illustrated embodiment will be described below. FIG. 1 shows a sterilizing apparatus 2 for sterilizing strawberries 1 as fruit vegetables according to the present embodiment with an electron beam. The transport means 3 for transporting the package P containing the strawberries 1 and the above And an electron beam irradiation means 4 for irradiating the package P of the transport means 3 with an electron beam.
Strawberries 1 to be sterilized in this embodiment are attached to the edible floret part 1a, the so-called sticker part 1b located above the floret part 1a, and the outer peripheral surface of the floret part 1a as shown in FIG. It is constituted by a large number of fruits 1c.
In order to suppress the occurrence of mold in the strawberry 1, it is desirable to irradiate the entire area of the strawberry 1 with an electron beam. The acceleration voltage of the electron beam is set so that the irradiated electron beam passes through the sticker portion 1b and the fruit 1c and reaches the surface of the floret portion 1a also in the portion.

FIG. 3 shows a package P that can accommodate a plurality of strawberries 1, wherein (a) shows a configuration diagram and (b) shows a plan view.
The package P is a tray-shaped tray portion 11 located on the lower side of the lower side, a transparent lid portion 12 covering the tray portion 11, and a tray-side protection interposed between the tray portion 11 and the strawberry 1. It is comprised from the film 13, and the cover side protective film 14 interposed between the cover part 12 and the strawberry 1. FIG.
The tray portion 11 and the lid portion 12 are each made of a resin such as polyethylene terephthalate having a required thickness so as to maintain a predetermined shape even when the strawberry 1 is accommodated. The film 13 and the lid-side protective film 14 are made of a resin having flexibility such as polyethylene having flexibility such that the strawberry 1 in contact with the film does not hurt.
The tray-side protective film 13 is formed with a plurality of recesses 13a formed in the shape of recesses that are formed in accordance with the shape of the strawberry 1. Thus, when the strawberry 1 is accommodated in the package P, the adjacent strawberry 1 and strawberry 1 is maintained at a distance from each other.
The total thickness of the tray part 11 and the tray side protective film 13 and the total thickness of the lid part 12 and the lid side protective film 14 are preferably 350 μm or less based on the results of experiments to be described later.
As the package P, a package having another configuration can be used. For example, a bag-shaped package or a package without the tray-side protective film 13 or the lid-side protective film 14 can be used. is there.
However, based on the experimental results to be described later, it is necessary to prevent the adjacent strawberries 1 from coming into contact with each other in the package P. It can be configured to accommodate only.

The transport means 3 is a pair of chain conveyors that transport and support the flange portion formed on the outer edge of the tray portion 11 of the package P from below, and the tray portion 11 of the package P transported thereby and The lid portions 12 are exposed vertically.
Two electron beam irradiation means 4 are provided along the conveyance direction of the conveyance means 3, and the first electron beam irradiation means 4A located on the upstream side is located above the conveyance means 3 and on the downstream side. The second electron beam irradiation means 4B is provided below the conveying means 3, respectively.
Each of the electron beam irradiating means 4 is adapted to irradiate an electron beam toward the conveying means 3, and is classified into a so-called low energy device whose acceleration voltage is set to 300 kV at the maximum. Yes.

With the above configuration, the package P transported by the transport means 3 sequentially passes below the first electron beam irradiation means 4A and above the second electron beam irradiation means 4B, and the first electron beam irradiation means 4A performs irradiation. The electron beam transmitted through the lid portion 12 and the lid-side protective film 14 of the package P is irradiated on the upper surface side of the strawberry 1, and the electron beam irradiated by the second electron beam irradiation means 4B is protected by the tray portion 11 and the tray-side protection. The light passes through the film 13 and is irradiated on the lower surface side of the strawberry 1.
And since the strawberry 1 in the package P is hold | maintained in the state mutually separated by the said accommodating part 13a, the electron beam irradiated from the upper and lower sides is irradiated to the perimeter of the strawberry 1, and the whole of the said strawberry 1 is the whole. Sterilized.
In that case, in the sticker part 1b and the fruit part 1c in the strawberry 1, the said electron beam permeate | transmits these, the contact part with the said flower part 1a is sterilized, and also the whole package P which accommodates the said strawberry 1 also Sterilized.
Further, by adjusting the transport speed of the package P by the transport means 3, the dose of the electron beam irradiated to the strawberry 1 accommodated in the package P can be adjusted. For example, if the package P is transported at a low speed The electron beam dose can be increased.

4 and 5 are tables showing experimental results on sterilization of strawberry 1 using the electron beam.
First, in the first experiment shown in FIG. 4, the strawberry 1 is accommodated in three types of packages P having different thicknesses as the package P, and an electron beam having a different acceleration voltage is applied to the strawberry 1 of each package P. After irradiation, the strawberry 1 was held for a predetermined period and the number of strawberry 1 with mold was counted.
As the package P, a polyethylene bag having a thickness of 40 μm, an individual packaging container made of biaxially stretched polystyrene having a plate thickness of 120 μm, and the above-described package P shown in FIG. 3 are used. Each individual packaging container accommodated only one strawberry 1 and prepared a plurality thereof.
In addition, the individual packaging container was not provided with the lid-side protective film 14 or the tray-side protective film 13 unlike the package P in FIG.
As the package P shown in FIG. 3, in the experiment, the tray portion 11 and the lid portion 12 are made of polyethylene terephthalate having a thickness of 345 μm, and the tray-side protective film 13 and the lid-side protective film 14 have a thickness of 5 μm. The thing made from polyethylene was used.
Thereby, the total thickness of the tray part 11 and the tray side protective film 13 and the total thickness of the lid part 12 and the lid side protective film 14 were 350 μm, respectively.

Next, the electron beam irradiation means 4 used in this experiment is a so-called low energy device that can irradiate an electron beam with an acceleration voltage of 300 kV at the maximum. In the experiment, the acceleration voltage is set to 100 kV, 150 kV, and 300 kV, respectively. Further, the target dose was set so that the dose of the electron beam irradiated to each strawberry 1 was 5 kGy or 10 kGy.
Then, the above three types of bags, individual packaging containers, and packages P are irradiated with an electron beam from above and below, respectively, so that the entire periphery of the strawberry 1 is irradiated with the electron beam. The product was placed in a normal temperature environment (temperature: 24 ° C.) for 3 days and 6 days while being housed in the package P, and the presence or absence of mold on each strawberry was confirmed.

First, when strawberry 1 housed in a polyethylene bag with a thickness of 40 μm is irradiated with an electron beam with an acceleration voltage of 100 kV so that the target dose is 5 kGy, mold will appear on 3 of 10 strawberries 1 after 3 days. After 6 days, mold was generated on 5 out of 10 strawberries 1.
Similarly, when the strawberry 1 is irradiated with an electron beam with an acceleration voltage of 100 kV and a target dose of 10 kGy, mold is generated in 2 of 10 strawberries when 3 days have elapsed, and 5 of 10 when 6 days have elapsed. Mold on strawberry 1 of
Next, when the strawberry 1 housed in the bag is irradiated with an electron beam having an acceleration voltage of 150 kV, mold is generated in 1 of 10 (5 kGy) and 1 (10 kGy) of strawberry 1 after 3 days. However, when 6 days passed, mold was generated on one (5 kGy) and one (10 kGy) strawberry 1.
Furthermore, when the strawberry 1 accommodated in the bag is irradiated with an electron beam with an acceleration voltage of 300 kV, the strawberry is observed after 3 days and after 6 days, regardless of whether the target dose is set to 5 kGy or 10 kGy. No mold was observed in 1.
From the above results, in the case of the strawberry 1 contained in a bag having a thickness of 40 μm, it was found that the strawberry 1 can be stored well even if it is irradiated with an electron beam having an acceleration voltage of 150 kV or more even for 6 days.

Similar to the above, the strawberries 1 housed in individual packaging containers made of biaxially stretched polystyrene having a thickness of 120 μm were irradiated with electron beams having acceleration voltages of 100 kV, 150 kV, and 300 kV so that the doses were 5 kGy and 10 kGy, respectively.
When the acceleration voltage is 100 kV, mold occurs in 4 out of 10 (5 kGy) and 3 (10 kGy) strawberries 1 after 3 days, and 8 (5 kGy) and 8 (10 kGy) after 6 days. ) Of mold 1 occurred.
When the acceleration voltage is 150 kV, mold occurs in 4 out of 10 (5 kGy) and 3 (10 kGy) strawberry 1 after 3 days, and 8 (5 kGy) and 8 (10 kGy) after 6 days. ) Of mold 1 occurred.
When the acceleration voltage was 300 kV, no mold was observed in the strawberry 1 when 3 days had elapsed and when 6 days had elapsed even when the target dose was set to either 5 kGy or 10 kGy.
From the above results, it was found that in the case of the strawberry 1 housed in an individual packaging container having a thickness of 120 μm, the strawberry 1 can be stored well even if it is irradiated with an electron beam at an acceleration voltage of 300 kV even for 6 days.

Finally, the strawberry 1 housed in the 350 μm-thick package P shown in FIG. 3 was irradiated with electron beams having acceleration voltages of 100 kV, 150 kV, and 300 kV so that the doses were 5 kGy and 10 kGy, respectively.
When acceleration voltage is 100 kV, mold occurs in 4 out of 10 (5 kGy) and 4 (10 kGy) strawberry 1 after 3 days, and 8 (5 kGy) and 8 (10 kGy) after 6 days Mold on strawberry 1 of
When acceleration voltage is 150 kV, mold occurs in 4 out of 10 (5 kGy) and 4 (10 kGy) strawberry 1 after 3 days, and 8 (5 kGy) and 8 (10 kGy) after 6 days Mold on strawberry 1 of
When the acceleration voltage was 300 kV, no mold was observed in the strawberry 1 even when the target dose was set to either 5 kGy or 10 kGy, even after 3 days and after 6 days.
From the above results, it was found that in the case of the strawberry 1 housed in a 350 μm thick container, the strawberry 1 can be stored well even if it is irradiated with an electron beam at an acceleration voltage of 300 kV even for 6 days.

FIG. 5 shows the result of the second experiment. In this second experiment, a plurality of strawberries 1 are accommodated in a deeply-bottomed polyethylene container in contact with two or three stages up and down, and the container A film made of polyethylene having a thickness of 10 μm is attached to the opening of the film so that it is stored at room temperature for 7 days, and the number of moldy strawberries 1 is measured.
In this experiment, an electron beam is not irradiated for comparison, and an electron beam with an acceleration voltage of 250 kV is irradiated from above the container with a target dose of 7 kGy, and this is applied to the container having the above configuration. The experiment was conducted by accommodating the number of strawberries shown in the table.
When the container is irradiated with an electron beam, since the strawberries 1 in the container are in contact with each other, the contact portion is not irradiated with an electron beam and is laminated in a plurality of stages. When an electron beam is irradiated from above, the electron beam is not irradiated to the strawberry that is shaded on the lower side.
As a result of the experiment, about strawberry 1 not irradiated with the electron beam, generation of mold was confirmed in 12 out of 12 pieces, 8 out of 15 pieces, and 10 out of 16 strawberry pieces 1 after 7 days. Mold was generated on 30 (70%) strawberries 1 out of 43.
On the other hand, even in the strawberry 1 irradiated with the electron beam, the occurrence of mold was confirmed in 8 out of 16 pieces, 7 out of 16 pieces, and 7 out of 15 pieces of strawberry 1 after 7 days. Mold was generated in 22 (48%) strawberries 1 out of them.
Thus, if it accommodates in the package P in the state which the strawberry 1 contacted mutually, even if it irradiates an electron beam, mold | fungi will generate | occur | produce in the strawberry 1 and it is not suitable for a long-term preservation | save. It has been found.

FIG. 6 illustrates the sterilization apparatus 2 according to the second embodiment. Similar to the sterilization apparatus 2 of the first embodiment, the transport means 3 for transporting the package P and the electron beam irradiation means provided along the transport means 3. 4.
The conveying means 3 of the present embodiment includes an upstream conveyor 21 and a downstream conveyor 22 provided separately on the upstream and downstream sides, and a reversing means 23 provided between the upstream conveyor 21 and the downstream conveyor 22. It consists of and.
The reversing means 23 is composed of a bucket 23a having a substantially U-shaped cross section for accommodating the package P, and a rotating shaft 23b for swinging the bucket 23a.
The bucket 23 a is provided so as to be positioned between a pair of chain conveyors constituting the upstream conveyor 21 and the downstream conveyor 22, and the rotating shaft 23 b is in the conveying direction of the upstream conveyor 21 and the downstream conveyor 22. The bucket 23a is configured to swing 180 ° with the direction orthogonal to the rotation center.
With such a configuration, when the bucket 23a is swung by the rotating shaft 23b, the bucket 23a is in a receiving state in which the opening is directed to the upstream conveyor 21 and a delivery state in which the opening is directed to the downstream conveyor 22. It is supposed to be located.

  And the electron beam irradiation means 4 of a present Example is from the 1st electron beam irradiation means 4A provided above the upstream conveyor 21, and the 2nd electron beam irradiation means 4B provided above the downstream conveyor 22. Both are configured to irradiate an electron beam from the upper side of the package P transported by the transport means 3.

According to the sterilization apparatus 2 having the above configuration, the package P is first transported on the upstream conveyor 21 of the transport means 3 with the lid portion 12 facing upward.
The package P passes through the first electron beam irradiation means 4 </ b> A in the upstream conveyor 21, whereby the electron beam is irradiated from the lid 12 side of the package P, and the upper surface side of the strawberry 1 is sterilized.
The package P that has passed through the first electron beam irradiation means 4A is accommodated in the bucket 23a of the reversing means 23 located in the receiving state at the downstream end of the upstream conveyor 21.
Then, the rotating shaft 23b rotates the bucket 23a to the delivery state, whereby the package P in the bucket 23a is turned upside down and the tray portion 11 faces upward.
When the bucket 23a is positioned in the delivery state, the package P is placed on the downstream conveyor 22 and is conveyed by the downstream conveyor 22 with the tray portion 11 facing upward.
And the said package P passes the said 2nd electron beam irradiation means 4B in the downstream conveyor 22, Thereby, an electron beam is irradiated from the tray part 11 side of the package P, and it was located in the lower surface side of the strawberry 1 until then The part is sterilized.
Thus, even in the configuration of the second embodiment, the electron beam can be irradiated from the tray portion 11 side and the lid portion 12 side of the package P, and the entire circumference of the strawberry 1 as in the first embodiment. Can be irradiated with an electron beam.

7 and 8 show the sterilization apparatus 2 according to the third embodiment. Similarly to the sterilization apparatus 2 of the first embodiment, the transport means 3 for transporting the package P and the electron beam provided along the transport means 3. The irradiation means 4 is comprised.
The transport means 3 of the present embodiment is provided adjacent to the belt conveyor 31 that transports the package P and the end of the belt conveyor 31 and moves the package P below the electron beam irradiation means 4. The reversal transfer means 32 is comprised.
The belt conveyor 31 reciprocates the package P. Specifically, the belt P, which has not been sterilized by the electron beam, is moved from the left upstream side to the right downstream side in the drawing. Then, the package P is transferred to the reverse transfer means 32, and the package P after the electron beam sterilization is received from the reverse transfer means 32 and moved from the right side to the left side in the figure.

The reverse transfer means 32 swings the bucket 33 by rotating the bucket 34 holding the package P, the first turning means 35 for turning the arm 34 holding the bucket 33 in the horizontal direction, and rotating the arm 34. The second turning means 36 is configured to be made up of.
The bucket 33 is configured to support the three flange portions of the package P conveyed to the right end of the belt conveyor 31 in the figure, and is constituted by a U-shaped member as shown.
In the package P held by the bucket 33, the tray part 11 and the cover part 12 are exposed on the lower side and the upper side, respectively, so that the electron beam irradiation means 4 is placed on the upper surface side and lower surface side of the strawberry 1 inside. An electron beam is irradiated.

FIG. 8 is a view for explaining the first and second swiveling means 35 and 36 of the reverse transfer means 32, and is provided on the upper surface of a housing 37 provided adjacent to the belt conveyor 31.
The first turning means 35 includes a first rotating shaft 39 that is rotatably provided inside a cylindrical member 38 provided on the upper portion of the housing 37, and a first rotating shaft 39 that is provided inside the housing 37 and performs the first rotation. The first motor 40 that drives the shaft 39 is included.
The first rotating shaft 39 has a cylindrical shape, and a lower end of the first rotating shaft 39 protrudes into the internal space of the housing 37, and a gear 39a is provided at the tip. The gear 39a is driven by the first motor 40. Meshing with the gear 40a.
A casing 39b that holds the arm 34 in the horizontal direction and rotatably holds the arm 34 is provided at the upper end of the first rotating shaft 39.
When the first rotating shaft 39 rotates through the gears 39a, 40a by driving the first motor 40, the arm 34 swings in the horizontal direction together with the casing 39b, thereby being provided at the tip of the arm 34. The bucket 33 moves along an arcuate locus as shown in FIG.
Specifically, as shown in FIG. 7, the first turning means 35 moves the package P held in the bucket 33 from a position adjacent to the belt conveyor 31 to a position beyond the electron beam irradiation means 4. It is designed to reciprocate within the range.

The second turning means 36 includes a second rotating shaft 41 that is rotatably provided in the first rotating shaft 39 and a second rotating shaft 41 that is provided in the housing 37 and drives the second rotating shaft 41. The motor 42 is constituted.
The second rotating shaft 41 penetrates the inside of the first rotating shaft 39 and protrudes upward and downward. The lower shaft is directly connected to the drive shaft of the second motor 42, and the upper end is connected to the housing 39b. An accommodated bevel gear 41a is provided.
A bevel gear 34 a that meshes with the bevel gear 41 a of the second rotating shaft 41 is provided at an end portion of the arm 34 that protrudes into the housing 39 b, and is rotated by driving of the second motor 42. It has become.
According to the second turning means 36, as shown in FIG. 7, the bucket 33 receives the package P from the belt conveyor 31 with the lid 12 facing upward, and the arm 34 rotates. Thus, the tray 11 is rotated to an inverted state in which the package P is inverted with the tray 11 facing upward.

  The electron beam irradiation means 4 is provided in the middle of an arc-shaped locus of the package P that is moved by the reverse transfer means 32 of the transport means 3 so as to irradiate the electron beam from above the passing package P. It has become.

The operation of the sterilization apparatus 2 having the above configuration will be described. First, the package P that has not been sterilized is transported from the left side to the right side in the figure with the lid 12 facing upward. Then, it stops at the delivery position at the right end of the figure.
At this time, the reverse transfer means 32 moves the arm 34 to a position adjacent to the belt conveyor 31 by the first turning means 35, and positions the bucket 33 in the delivery state by the second turning means 36. Accordingly, the bucket 33 is positioned on the belt conveyor 31.
When the package P conveyed on the belt conveyor 31 is held by the bucket 33, the first turning means 35 turns the arm 34, whereby the package P held by the bucket 33 is turned into the electron beam irradiation means 4. The lid 12 of the package P is irradiated with an electron beam, and the upper side of the strawberry 1 is sterilized.

When the first turning means 35 turns the bucket 33 to a position beyond the electron beam irradiation means 4, the second turning means 36 turns the bucket 33 to change from the delivery state to the inverted state, and the package P is a tray portion. 11 will face upward.
Subsequently, the first turning means 35 turns the bucket 33 in the opposite direction, so that the package P passes again below the electron beam irradiation means 4 and the tray 11 of the package P is irradiated with the electron beam, The part of the strawberry that was previously located on the lower side is sterilized.
When the first turning means 35 moves the bucket 33 to a position adjacent to the belt conveyor 31, the second turning means 36 turns the bucket 33 from the inverted state to the delivery state, whereby the package P is moved to the lid portion 12. Is placed at the delivery position of the belt conveyor 31 in a state where is set upward.
The belt conveyor 31 moves the package P with the lid 12 facing upward from the right side to the left side in the figure.

Also in the sterilization apparatus 2 according to the second and third embodiments, the upper surface side and the lower surface side of the strawberry 1 accommodated in the package P are irradiated with an electron beam, and the entire circumference of the strawberry 1 is irradiated with the electron beam. The strawberry 1 can be preserved for a long period of time as in the above experimental results.
In addition, although the strawberry 1 is accommodated as a fruit vegetable in the said Example, it cannot be overemphasized that the same effect is acquired also about perishable fruit vegetables other than the strawberry 1.
Moreover, after irradiating the strawberry 1 accommodated in the package P with the electron beam using the sterilization apparatus 2, the lid 12 of the package P is once opened in an aseptic atmosphere, and aseptic air is supplied into the opened package P. By ejecting, even if ozone is generated by irradiation with an electron beam, it can be eliminated.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Strawberry 2 Sterilizer 3 Conveyor 4 Electron beam irradiation means 11 Tray part 12 Lid part 13 Tray side protective film 13a Storage part 14 Lid side protective film

Claims (7)

In the fruit vegetables sterilization method of sterilizing the fruit vegetables contained in the package by irradiating the outside with the electron beam from the outside of the package,
The thickness of the package is 350 μm or less, and the acceleration voltage of the electron beam is set to 150 kV or more and 300 kV or less,
A method for sterilizing fruit vegetables, wherein the fruit vegetables contained in the package are irradiated with an electron beam from one and the other, and the whole circumference of the fruit vegetables is irradiated with an electron beam.   2. The method for sterilizing fruit vegetables according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of accommodating parts are provided in the package, and the adjacent fruit vegetables are separated from each other by accommodating fruit vegetables in each accommodating part.   The method for sterilizing fruit vegetables according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the fruit vegetables are strawberries. In a fruit vegetable sterilization apparatus comprising a transport means for transporting a package containing fruit vegetables and an electron beam irradiation means for irradiating the package with the electron beam.
The thickness of the package is set to 350 μm or less, the acceleration voltage of the electron beam is set to 150 kV or more and 300 kV or less,
The said electron beam irradiation means irradiates an electron beam from one side and the other with respect to the fruit vegetable accommodated in the said package, The sterilizer of the fruit vegetable characterized by the above-mentioned.   5. The fruit vegetable sterilizing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein a plurality of storage parts are provided in the package, and the adjacent fruit vegetables are separated from each other by storing the fruit vegetables in each storage part. Inversion means for inverting the package,
A package whose electron beam is irradiated on one side by the electron beam irradiation unit is inverted by the reversing unit, and then the other side surface of the package is irradiated with the electron beam by the electron beam irradiation unit. The sterilizer for fruit vegetables according to any one of claims 4 and 5.   The fruit vegetable sterilizer according to any one of claims 4 to 6, wherein the fruit vegetables are strawberries.

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