KR100957789B1 - method for preparation of agricultural products - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a agricultural product cleaning method for removing foreign substances and dust air pollutants, pathogenic microorganisms and parasite eggs and residual organic pollutants adsorbed on the surface of agricultural products,

More particularly, the present invention relates to a method for cleaning agricultural products using an electron beam and peracetic acid.

More specifically,

The present invention includes the following steps.

Agricultural product washing step using peracetic acid;

Electron beam irradiation step; And

Sterile Water Cleaning Step

In the method of the present invention, sterilization and dusty air pollutants, pesticide residues, environment of pathogenic microorganisms and parasitic eggs adsorbed on the surface of agricultural products by using highly reactive radicals generated when the electron beam accelerated by the electron beam accelerator is irradiated. By oxidizing hormones and other persistent organic pollutants to produce health hygienically safe agricultural products, it has the effect of efficiently carrying out automatic cleaning process, sterilizing pathogenic microorganisms and removing harmful ingredients. Provide safe produce.

Agricultural product cleaning device, electron beam irradiation device, electron beam, pesticide residues, pathogenic microorganisms, persistent organic pollutants (POPs)

Description

{Method for preparation of agricultural products}

1 is a front view showing the overall system schematic of the agricultural product cleaning device having an electron beam irradiation apparatus according to the present invention.

2 is a plan view showing an overall system schematic view of the agricultural product cleaning device having an electron beam irradiation apparatus according to the present invention.

Fig. 3 (3a, 3b, 3c) is a side view showing the overall system schematic of the agricultural product cleaning device equipped with the electron beam irradiation apparatus according to the present invention.

Figure 4 is a detailed view of the roller installation in the agricultural product washing apparatus with an electron beam irradiation apparatus according to the present invention.

5 is a roller chain connection configuration in the agricultural product cleaning device having an electron beam irradiation apparatus according to the present invention.

Figure 6 is a transport progress of the agricultural product to be cleaned in the agricultural product washing apparatus equipped with an electron beam irradiation apparatus according to the present invention.

[Description of Symbols for Main Parts of Drawing]

  (1) Cleaning object input conveyor

  (2) Air supply fan

  (3) cleaning object discharge conveyor

  (4) (6) Forward Rolling Roller

  (5) left rolling roller

  (5-1) Driven Roller Bracket

  (7) right rolling roller

  (7-1) Drive Roller Bracket

  (8) Cleaning object conveying conveyor

 (10) Cleaner Outer Casing

 (20) scrubber inner casing

 (20-1) Casing inclination adjusting device inside the scrubber

 (30) Primary cleaning shower nozzle

 (40) Spray nozzle

 50 second cleaning shower nozzle

 (60) Sterilizing Water Tank

 61 UV germicidal lamp

 (62) Sterilizer Shower Pump

 70 citric acid dilution water tank

 (71) Citric Acid Dilute Water Shower Pump

 80 forward roll roller drive reducer

 (90) left and right rolling roller drive reducer

(100) Electron beam irradiation apparatus

(110) citric acid raw material tank

111 citric acid feed pump

(112) citric acid mixing line mixer

The present invention relates to a method for cleaning agricultural products, and more particularly, by using peracetic acid and electron beams, foreign substances and harmful components on the surface of agricultural products, soil, dust and dusty atmospheres without affecting the intrinsic components or tissues at all. Cleaning of foreign substances such as contaminants, sterilization of pathogenic microorganisms and parasites, and agricultural product removal methods capable of selectively removing only residual organic pollutants such as pesticide residues and environmental hormones.

In the case of agricultural products produced in Korea, there are many routes to produce safe agricultural products through various paths such as soil and dust, dusty air pollutants, pathogenic microorganisms, parasitic eggs and persistent organic pollutants such as pesticide residues and environmental hormones. It is becoming an obstacle. In particular, in recent years, many heavy metals and persistent organic pollutants have been mixed with yellow sand and air pollutants, which have been moved from China. The production of safe agricultural products is very important and must be strictly maintained in terms of securing the competitiveness of our agriculture and the public health and hygiene of the people, so it is time to develop high-tech equipment to produce safe agricultural products.

In recent years, a large portion of agricultural products are collected and cleaned by large-scale agricultural products processing centers (APCs), agricultural unions or agricultural distributors, and then supplied to consumers. Vegetable and fruit cleaning devices already developed and used in Korea mainly use ultrasonic waves, ozone, ultraviolet rays and far infrared rays. Most of the technologies currently applied are focused on cleaning foreign substances such as soil and dust and sterilization of simple microorganisms, and are not used to control dusty air pollutants, heavy metals and persistent organic pollutants attached to and adsorbed on the surface of agricultural products. There are many limitations.

According to a report by the World Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO, 1998), harmful substances such as foreign substances adsorbed and attached to agricultural products, pathogenic microorganisms, pesticide residues and environmental hormones can cause problems in human health. . Data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests that health hygiene rates associated with agricultural products are increasing. For example, about 2% of food-related diseases in the United States between 1973 and 1979 were associated with agricultural products, but increased from 6% between 1990 and 1997. Of these factors, 50% were caused by bacteria, 7% by viruses, 6% by parasites, and 35% by unknown causes.

These hazards can be classified as physical, chemical and microbiological factors, which can arise as a result of undesirable treatment methods in harvesting, washing, screening, packaging and the like. Chemical pollutants found in agricultural products are those that occur naturally or are added during air pollution dropping or agricultural production, post-harvest processing, and other processes. High exposure to harmful chemicals may result in acute or chronic toxicity through bioaccumulation. These chemical hazards include fungal toxins such as aflatoxins, alkaloids, chemical fertilizers, antibiotics, pesticides, and environmental hormone-like substances ( PCBs, PAHs, etc.) may be included.

Pathogenic microorganisms associated with agricultural products are mainly Salmonella, Shigella, pathogenic Escherichia coli, Campylobacter species, Yersinia enterocolitica, Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, Clostridium species, Bacillus cereus, Vibrio species. Bacteria such as Clostridium botulinum , Bacillus cereus and Listeria monocytogenes are found in soil and can easily contaminate agricultural products. Salmonella , Shigella , Escherichia coli, and Campylobacter are bacteria in the intestines of animals and humans, such as inflow of sewage into arable land, use of contaminated water as irrigation water, the presence of animals in arable land, or inappropriate composting processes. It can contaminate fruits and vegetables. Pollution can also occur at stages such as harvesting and packaging agricultural products and in the marketplace. In many cases, foreign substances attached to and adsorbed on agricultural products, pathogenic microorganisms, pesticide residues, and environmental hormone-like substances not only pose serious health and hygiene problems for their people, but can also become a serious obstacle to trade in international trade.

In Korea, 1.7% of them were found to be ineligible as a result of inspecting pesticides on 127 agricultural products in the market. Parsley was the highest for agricultural products that exceeded the pesticide residue limit (28.2%), followed by 19% of Angelica leaves and 8.9% of celery. It also occurred (Seoul Institute of Health and Environment).

The rate of organic pollutant removal by the simple water washing process currently operated by various agricultural product distribution centers in Korea was found to be only 24 ~ 78%. In the case of ordinary brown rice, 80-90% of the pesticides (Marason) remained unremoved by water washing, and in the case of apples, only 30% of the pesticides (diazinon) were washed. In addition, the removal rate of pesticides (dynafon hydration), which is known as a toxic pesticide, was only 30-59%, and the removal rate of pesticide residues (kerusen) distributed in the skin of grapes was about 33-69% ( Daejeon Institute of Health and Environment).

Recently, parasite eggs have been detected in Kimchi in Korea, which has caused a lot of problems in foreign trade relations with enormous social waves. According to the Korea Food and Drug Administration, "The detected parasite eggs are animal-derived roundworms, so they are likely to remain through animal feces." "Some of the pig's feces are used without sufficient composting process, or dogs, cats, etc. May be smeared with feces. " This problem is derived from the environmental hygiene treatment of the produced agricultural products. Therefore, it is considered that the pretreatment process for producing safe agricultural products is the most important indicator.

Therefore, various researchers have been developing and utilizing high-pressure microelement cleaning treatment technology and powder spray washing technology, and most of the technologies rely on simple water washing. For example:

Republic of Korea Patent (20-0259143) is an example of ultrasonic cleaning device for fruits and vegetables, and the Republic of Korea Patent (20-0216131) similarly exemplifies the washing and sterilization of vegetables or fruits. In addition, the Republic of Korea patent (10-0464883) is a household washing machine using ultrasonic and ozone, the Republic of Korea patent (20-0368996) is an ultrasonic sterilization washing machine, the Republic of Korea patent (20-0391172) is a fruit and vegetable pesticide washer using far infrared, Republic of Korea Patent (20-0264592) is an example of ultrasonic, ozone-based fruits, vegetables, tableware antibacterial washing machine, Republic of Korea Patent (10-053702) is an ultrasonic residual pesticide treatment device equipped with an ozone decomposition catalyst, Republic of Korea Patent (10-0358037) exemplifies a method for removing pesticide components using OH radicals produced by treating agricultural products with aqueous hydrogen peroxide solution.

During the cleaning process of agricultural products, various foreign substances and dusty air pollutants contained in the agricultural product washing water are removed, pathogenic microorganisms and parasitic eggs are removed, and residual organic pollutants such as pesticide residues and environmental hormones are adsorbed on the surface of agricultural products by using electron beam. There is no case related to the device to remove.

The ultrasonic cleaning principle can be classified into two types: first, cleaning by cavitation, and second, cleaning by accelerating water molecules by ultrasonic. Ultrasonic cleaning ability is based on the impact force, and there is a limit to the damage of the cleaned object when the impacted object has a weak physical impact force. The cleaning device using the ultrasonic device simply cleans the foreign substances attached to the agricultural products by cavitation, but it does not directly decompose residual organic pollutants such as pesticides or environmental hormones. Is exposing problems.

Over the past 10 years, the development of technology related to food sterilization and decomposition of organic toxic substances using electron beams generated by electron beam irradiation devices has been very active internationally. . The electron beam refers to the continuous flow of electrons with a nearly uniform velocity coming out of the electron gun, also called an electron beam. Typical electron beams have a wavelength of 0.1 to 0.005 nm and are similar to the X-ray wavelength range (0.001 to 5 nm). Electron beam irradiation technology is a technology that increases the added value or kills harmful microorganisms or removes harmful substances by splitting a high energy electron beam on a substance and changing the structure of the substance with energy.

The application of electron beam irradiation varies depending on the energy density, and the low energy electron beam irradiation apparatus of 300 keV or less has various applications. When used for sterilization of agricultural products, it is possible to remove pesticide residues on the surface without destroying protein, and the range is extended to disinfection of disposable medical equipment. It is known that the electron beam does not have a high permeability, such as gamma rays, and transmits only a few millimeters of the surface of the object to be irradiated, so that it does not fundamentally affect the intrinsic quality of agricultural products. In addition, it has been reported that the irradiation of electron beams on household plastic wraps can remove environmental hormone-like substances.

A study by the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) found that irradiation of electron beams actually contributed to food safety. Low-dose electron beam irradiation has proven to be possible to produce safer and higher quality foods. The US Agricultural Research Service investigated the electron beam as a means of sterilizing the pathogenic microorganisms of beef. As a result, the taste and smell of the beef were altered, although it was effective in sterilizing the microorganisms. To solve this problem, the team conducted a low-dose electron beam irradiation that reached only 15 millimeters or less from the surface of the conductor. In general, pathogenic microorganisms exist on the surface of agricultural products or on the surface of food, which makes this principle possible. The final findings indicate that low-dose electron beam irradiation can effectively reduce the number of pathogens present on food surfaces without affecting the taste of beef (http: //www.ars. usda.gov/is/AR/archive/oct06/beef1006.htm)

As a result of reviewing the previous inventions and various data, various foreign substances and dusts contained in the agricultural product washing water when the agricultural product processing center (APC) and agricultural union or agricultural distributors carry out the cleaning process of agricultural products There are no examples of devices that remove air pollutants, pathogenic microorganisms and parasites, and remove residual organic pollutants such as pesticide residues and environmental hormones by being adsorbed on the surface of agricultural products using electron beams.

The present invention removes foreign substances and dusty air pollutants adsorbed on the surface of agricultural products by using highly reactive radicals generated during agricultural product cleaning by irradiating electron beams, sterilization of pathogenic microorganisms and parasite eggs, pesticide residues and environmental hormones. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a method for cleaning agricultural products to oxidize residual organic pollutants such as to produce health and hygienically safe agricultural products.

The present invention relates to a agricultural product cleaning method for removing foreign substances and dust air pollutants, pathogenic microorganisms and parasite eggs and residual organic pollutants adsorbed on the surface of agricultural products,

A method of cleaning agricultural products using an electron beam and peracetic acid.

More specifically,

The present invention includes the following steps.

Agricultural product washing step using peracetic acid;

Electron beam irradiation step; And

Sterile Water Cleaning Step

Agricultural products include vegetables, fruits, special crops, medicinal crops, whole crops, flower crops or mushrooms.

Agricultural product cleaning may be added to the air bubbling (air bubbling) step.

At this time, the added peracetic acid (Peracetic acid) is preferably 100 mg / L.

The electron energy (MeV) irradiated by the electron beam irradiation device can be irradiated at 0.1-10kGy level depending on the target agricultural products. Sterilization and pesticide residues, environmental hormones and other persistent organic pollutants can be oxidized to produce health and hygienically safe agricultural products. The electron beam irradiation device is designed to maximize the electron beam irradiation effect by spraying the fine water particles through a sterile water spray nozzle (40) irradiated with ultraviolet rays.

Applicants have strong oxidizing power but very short half-life in order to effectively and quickly remove harmful substances such as pathogenic microorganisms, pesticides and environmental hormones attached to the surface of the agricultural products without denaturing intrinsic ingredients such as quality or taste of agricultural products. The present invention has been accomplished by applying an electron beam irradiation method capable of inducing OH radicals to be produced.

Peracetic acid has been reported to be effective in reducing microbial populations on agricultural wash water and fruit surfaces. Park et al. (2000) reported that peracetic acid can significantly reduce Salmonella and E. coli O157: H7 populations in melon (CM Park, PJ Taormina and LR Beuchat. 2000. Efficacy of allyl isothiocyanate in killing enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157: H7 on alfalfa seeds.International Journal of Food Microbiology, 56 (1). 13-20). Peracetic acid is currently licensed for use in both washed and chopped and uncut crops in the United States.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 and Table 1.

Flowchart for cleaning agricultural products and removing harmful ingredients Cleaning object input → Air bubbling → Peracetic Acid Cleaning → Electron beam irradiation → Sterile Water Cleaning → complete

After adjusting the concentration of peracetic acid in the washing tank to 100mg / L, transfer the agricultural product to Conveyor (1), and then bubble the air to the air supply fan (2) to clean the surface of the agricultural product. Remove any foreign matter such as dirt or dust attached to it.

After washing the agricultural products to be washed to the discharge conveyor (3) to the primary washing high-pressure Shower Nozzle (30), the cleaning object is transferred to the electron beam irradiation apparatus (100).

After moving to the forward rolling roller (4), the object to be cleaned is transferred by rolling in the forward direction with the removal of foreign substances by the soft villi attached to the outside of the roll.

The cleaning object transferred from the forward rolling roller 4 was configured to be transferred to the left rolling roller 5 again. The direction of the object to be cleaned is transferred forward while being forwarded as the rolling direction is changed in the left direction according to the spiral projection and the inclination adjustment angle in the forward rolling.

In the forward roll roller (6) in the same principle as the forward roll roller (4), it is transferred to the right roll roller (7) to move the object to the right in the same way as the left roll roller (5) to roll to the right while moving forward cleaning The surface of the object is evenly cleaned and configured to maximize the electron beam irradiation effect.

As the object to be cleaned passes through the right rolling roller (7) in the forward rolling roller (4) section, the electron beam irradiation is completed. Finally, in the process of being transferred to the cleaning object conveying conveyor (8), the sterile water shower pump (62) Secondary additional cleaning was performed through the supplied second cleaning shower nozzle (50).

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to Examples. However, the following examples are illustrative of the present invention, and the content of the present invention is not limited to the examples.

≪ Example 1 >

Fuji apples, which are commercially available, were purchased as a target agricultural product, soaked in living sewage (E. coli group distribution: 4,200 MPN / mL) for 3 minutes, and then taken out and dried naturally. During this period, E. coli distributed in the living sewage was estimated to adhere to the surface of the apple, and this is to investigate the cleaning and sterilization effect by peracetic acid and electron beam according to the present invention.

<Example 2>

In order to investigate the decomposition effect of the pesticide by the electron beam irradiation, the apple sample dried in Example 1 was used, 0.5g of the furonside hydrate (Dinitroaniline-based, fluazinam, 50%) used in the control of apple anthrax It was prepared by dissolving in 1 liter of distilled water. After putting the prepared fronside hydration solution into a spray bottle, the solution was sprayed sufficiently to flow the chemical liquid on the apple surface prepared in Example 1, and then dried naturally.

&Lt; Example 3 >

In order to investigate the decomposition effect of environmental hormone-like substances by electron beam irradiation, Benzo (a) pyrene (C ₂₀ H ₂₀ ) standard solution, which is an indicator of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), known as environmental hormone-like substance was purchased. Dilution with ultrapure water to a level of 100 ppb was stored in a separate spray bottle. Next, in Examples 1 and 2, benzopyrene was attached to the apple surface by spraying a spray on the apple sample to which E. coli and pesticides were attached, and then dried naturally.

<Example 4>

Finally, lead (Pb), known as air pollution dust drops, was prepared in the apple samples prepared through the above steps 1, 2, and 3 to a level of 100 ppb and then stored in a separate spray container. In Examples 1, 2, and 3, a spray was sprayed onto some E. coli, pesticides, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon compounds to which the heavy metal lead was attached to the apple surface, and then dried naturally.

Example 5

The apple samples prepared through the above steps 1, 2, 3, and 4 are placed in a washing bath containing peracetic acid (100 mg / L) solution and subjected to air bubbling while soil, dust, and other air pollution adhere to the apple surface. Foreign substances such as dust were removed. The prepared apple samples were irradiated with electron beam at the level of 1, 3, 5kGy / min in the electron beam irradiation device of the Radiation Research Institute in Jeongeup, Jeollabuk-do, and washed with sterile water sterilized by UV sterilization for other component analysis.

Example 6

Examples 1, 2, 3, 4, the apple samples prepared in the washing tank containing the general washing water while operating the ultrasonic vibrator for 5 minutes, such as soil, dust, other air pollution dust attached to the apple surface Foreign substances and harmful components were removed and then rinsed with sterile water which had been sterilized by UV sterilization for other component analysis.

Example 7

All experiments were performed in three replicates, and the control sample was only washed with water without irradiating peracetic acid and electron beam. The prior art ultrasonic vibrator treatment also operated the ultrasonic vibrator for 5 minutes in the absence of peracetic acid.

Investigation of Coliform group (MPN / mL) adhered to apple surface was investigated by optimal diffusion method by mixing and homogenizing with an appropriate amount of diluent using a sterilized mixer. Fluaziman, an active ingredient among the furonside pesticides attached to apples, was homogenized, extracted with acetone, and analyzed by gas chromatography (NPD / ECD), and benzopyrene, a representative indicator of PAHs, was extracted using methylene chloride. After Soxhlet extraction, the content was analyzed using gas chromatography / flame ion detector. Heavy metal lead was analyzed by inductively coupled plasma atomic absorption spectrophotometer (ICP) after decomposition with HNO ₃ .

Removal rate of harmful components in apple surface using prior invention and present technology (%)  Irradiation Electron beam irradiation dose (kGy / min)  ultrasonic wave Control One 3 5 Coliform group 0 100.0 100.0 100.0 29.30 Fluaziman 0 60.56 89.52 96.38 3.41 Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons [Benzo (a) pyrene] 0 18.23 39.38 63.54 10.53 Pb 0 46.43 49.26 46.67 2.22

Control: Do only peracetic acid and electron beam treatment

Ultrasonic: 5 minutes simple water wash and ultrasonic vibrator without treatment with peracetic acid and electron beam

As a result of the investigation of the harmful components attached to the apple skin by Example 7 through the process of Examples 1-6, E. coli group was found to have died at the electron beam irradiation dose of 1kGy level. However, when the ultrasonic vibrator was operated for 5 minutes, the sterilization rate of E. coli group was only increased by 29.30% compared to the control group, and the sterilization effect was insignificant.

In the case of pesticide furonside, the removal and decomposition effect of the electron beam irradiation dose of 3-5kGy was more than 90% compared to the control, but when the ultrasonic vibrator was operated for 5 minutes, it was only 3.41% less than the control. In the case of benzopyrene, an indicator of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, which is widely known as an environmental hormone, the removal efficiency was 18.23% in comparison with the control at 1kGy, 39.38% in comparison with the control at 3kGy, and 63.54% in comparison with the control at 5kGy. When the ultrasonic vibrator was operated for 5 minutes, it showed a 10.53% reduction effect compared to the control. Although not mentioned in the present embodiment, even in the case of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, if the irradiation dose of the electron beam is increased to 10 kGy or more, it is expected that a considerable amount can be decomposed and removed.

The heavy metal lead attached to the apple peel did not show a significant difference depending on whether the electron beam was irradiated, but in the present invention treated with peracetic acid more than about 50% of heavy metals can be removed more efficiently than the control group which was simply water-washed. appear. However, when the ultrasonic vibrator was operated for 5 minutes, only 2% of heavy metals were removed compared to the control.

As described above, according to the agricultural product cleaning method of the present invention, cleaning of agricultural products using peracetic acid and the removal of harmful components by electron beam irradiation which can induce the generation of OH radicals having strong but short half-lives are strong. The method has been shown to be effective in removing harmful components in many ways compared to simple water washing processes or ultrasonic cleaning techniques.

The removal effect of lead, heavy metals, air pollutant dust adsorbed on the surface of agricultural products by peracetic acid was more than 50% better than that of the prior art. Without pesticides attached to the surface of agricultural products, the removal efficiency was over 90%, and the environmental hormone, which is a persistent organic pollutant, showed more than 50% removal efficiency. Finally, pathogenic microorganisms adhered to the surface of agricultural products were able to maintain complete sterilization even by low dose electron beam irradiation.

Therefore, the present invention is expected to resolve concerns about food safety, increase farm income, and enhance competitiveness for imported agricultural products.

Claims (5)

delete Agricultural product cleaning method comprising the following steps: Agricultural product cleaning using air bubbling; Agricultural product washing step with 100 mg / L peracetic acid; An electron beam irradiation step of 0.1-10 kGy level; And Sterile water cleaning step. delete delete The method of claim 2, wherein the agricultural products are vegetables, fruits, special crops, medicinal crops, monocrops, flower crops or mushrooms.

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