Radio frequency food processing technology

Emerging Food Technologies Presentation Series - 2016

University Of Sri Jayewardabepura

W.A.M.Pamuditha3rd year 1st semesterFood Science & Technology Department

Radio frequency food processing technology



W.A. Mihiravi Pamuditha

Taxila Central College, Horana

Want to be a food technologist

My hobbies- Reading novels, news papers

Every life need a correct guidance!



CONTENT

IntroductionRadio frequency (RF) heating Mechanismdifference between conventional heating & RFApplications in food industryAdvantages of using RF in food processingDisadvantages of using RF in food processingThe future of RF food processing technologyRF applications for Sri Lanka



INTRODUCTION

Radio frequency (RF) heating is an advanced and emerging technology for food application. In the modern industries the demand for safe, hygienic, tastier, no fat and preservative free food has increased up RF application.

Goal of Novel TechnologiesFood preservation by ensuring its safety and quality has been a prime goal of food processors. Therefore the efforts of processors - attending consumer demands for high quality food and dealing with raising economic standards



Radio frequency (RF) heating Mechanism



Radio frequency (RF) heating Mechanism contd.

The electromagnetic energy transfers directly into the product. Therefore it induce volumetric heating due to frictional interaction between molecules. In RF heating the food is placed between two capacitor plates. It plays the role of a dielectric where a high frequency alternating electric field is applied. Such field will force polar molecules (water) to constantly realign themselves with the electric field. This molecular movement is very fast due to the high frequency of the field. It will cause for the generation of heat within the food by energy dissipation caused by molecular friction.



RF vs. conventional heating

Conventional heating (i.e. conduction, convection, radiant) has a heat source on the outside. Heat is transferring to the surface of the material and then conducting the heat to the middle of the material. Radio Frequency heating is different; it heats at the molecular level. So it heats from within the material and heats the middle as well as the surface.



Applications in food industry1. Thawing of food products –

Rapid thawing of meat and seafood products enhancing the product freshness quality.more suitable for industrial heating of meats – Because RF has greater penetration depths than MW By radiofrequency treatment, thawing meat blocks to within a target temperature range of -1 to +5⁰C is feasible.



It has minimum drawbacks than the common methods such as immersion in tanks or spraying with water. Water systems have several problems such as

under-thawed product yield lossesover-thawed product involving problems with

texture loss decreased freshness excessive water consumption



2. Baking and drying

widely used application of RF heating in the food processing industryThe addition of a relatively small RF unit to the end of a conventional baking line results in a substantial increase in product yield, improve the product quality.more energy being dissipated in wet regions than in drier ones



Food dryer



Baking and drying contd. This RF leveling leads to improvements in product quality and more

consistent final products eg- : drying of: food ingredients (e.g. herbs, spices, vegetables)potato products - French friesnumber of pasta productsThe post-baking of biscuitsRF drying of grains such as cowpea grainsmoisture removal, and “moisture leveling” in finished goods

3. Pasteurization/sterilizationThere is a demand for more in-package pasteurization today. As a non-contact volumetric heating technique, RF is an ideal process for this application.



4. RFID Tags

RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tags have been used for some years now.They work much like a barcode, uniquely identifying a large number of products.The RFID component on the tags have two parts: a microchip that stores and processes information, and an antenna to receive and transmit a signal.



RFID Tags contd. RFID has the potential to increase efficiency of operations, improve asset visibility and traceability, decrease reliance on manual processes, reduce operations costs, and provide useful data for business analytics.RFID tags can also incorporate additional information such as details of the product and manufacturer and can transmit measured environmental factors such as temperature and relative humidity.theoretically possible to trace the product back all the way of every raw material that went into that product.



Advantages of using RF in food processing

Radio Frequency heating and drying offer many benefits over conventional heating and drying methods. Faster heating and drying times More uniform heating and drying Self limiting during drying Moisture leveling and profiling Selective heating Energy efficiency Shorter process lines. Contactless heating



Disadvantages of using RF in food processing

Equipment and operating cost

The main disadvantage of RF heating. For an equivalent power output, RF heating equipment is more expensive than conventional convection, radiation or steam heating systems. It is also more expensive than an equivalent ohmic heating system.



The future of RF food processing technology

Although the RF applications are quite limited in the food industry as a whole, the consumer demand for ever-tastier, ever cheaper, low or no-fat, chemical free and safe products have recently extend its application in the food processing. By replacing conventional dryers with Radio Frequency dryers, manufacturers will be able to change from batch processes to continuous processes. It will reduce the drying times.



The future of RF food processing technology contd.

Nanotechnology techniques are already used in the manufacture of RFID tags. The improvements in these techniques in the coming years will result in smaller, cheaper RFID systems. This will make them ever more common and they will eventually replace barcodes altogether.



In the future, the household refrigerators will recognize the RFID tags of frozen food; remind you to buy fresh milk; throw off the expired food, decrease the consume of

high cholesterol food and so on…!



RF applications for Sri LankaThe application of RFID in tracking the fruit and other kinds of food: The supply chain of fresh fruits from the origin to the final customers can also use RFID to track, to guarantee the quality and nutrition of the food. improve asset visibility and traceability, decrease reliance on manual processes, reduce operations costs, and provide useful data for business analytics.RFID tags can be used to sense temperature and integrate it over time to determine the shelf life of products.



References

http://nfscfaculty.tamu.eduwww.researchgate.netwww.crcpress.comfst.sagepub.comwww.radiofrequency.comhttp://www.medwelljournals.comhttp://www.foodqualityandsafety.com

http://www.researchgate.net/

http://www.researchgate.net/

http://www.crcpress.com/

http://www.radiofrequency.com/

http://www.medwelljournals.com/

http://www.foodqualityandsafety.com/



Thank you

Radio frequency food processing technology

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