MicroZap Technology

Food Safety Through Microwave Pasteurization

The Problem — 76 Million Food Borne Illness Cases in the US.
Where Can Odyssey Help? With Your Food Safety and Food Processing Project. 

From Science to Success.

Nowadays consumers are looking for healthier food alternatives, free of additives and preservatives. Discover how our microwaves solutions can help you to offer safe and healthy tortillas to your customers.

History of the Science

The client, a major player of the food industry headquartered in the U.S, was using preservatives in its tortillas to guarantee their safety and shelf-life. 

Although this company was using premium ingredients, consumers started to be bothered by the presence of controversial additives in their daily diet. So our customer wanted to replace them with a log reduction process that can avoid the use of preservatives. 

The client's requirements were clear,  they needed a continuous and fast solution to treat the tortillas at 65 °C during 2 minutes, inside their packaging, in order to pasteurize the product, while preserving its organoleptic properties. 

In collaboration with Texas Tech University, we first engineered a microwave tunnel at pilot scale, that can treat up to 35 kg of packaged tortillas per hour, while keeping the integrity of the product and the plastic packaging. The successful results have shown preservative free tortillas with shelf life extensions equal to tortillas with preservatives while achieving a greater than 3-log reduction of mold. 

The industrial line is designed to pasteurize up to 1100 kg of packaged tortillas per hour, thanks to a 100% electrical microwave processing tunnel. 

Key Benefits 

Safety:  the product is as safe as previous solution, without the use of any preservative. 

Quality : the product's quality is enhanced, offering an healthier alternative. 

Speed:  this process saves time and money for the company. 

Compactness:  an optimized footprint to reduce the space needed. Future proof : a 100% electric solution , with an excellent energy yield. 

Technology: this patented "clean technology" is non-ionizing (no Radura label needed) and it kills pathogens, extends shelf life of food, and doesn't cook or change product quality. 

The Technology

MicroZap treated

Nowadays consumers are looking for healthier food alternatives, free of additives and preservatives. Discover how our microwaves solutions can help you to offer safe and healthy tortillas to your customers.

Videos


White Papers

Reduction of Salmonella and Escherichia coli O157:H7 in Drinking Water Using Microwave Technology. Download PDF →


Reduction of Listeria monocytogenes on Beef Franks utilizing Targeted Directional Microwave Technology. Download PDF →