University of Georgia scientists have found a new way to
remove
harmful pathogens from raw chicken before you buy it.

It’s the radiant wall oven, a machine used in the food
industry
to brown foods.

Smoking Without A Grill

"It gives products the look of having been smoked or
grilled,"
said Romeo Toledo, a food scientist with the UGA College of
Agricultural
and Environmental Sciences.

"For instance, boneless turkey breast pieces are cooked
and then placed in this oven," he said, "to give them
the brown look of a smokehouse-cooked product."

Toledo saw the potential of the oven’s ability to kill
pathogens
when a CAES food science graduate brought it to his
attention.

"One of my former students was working on surface
treatments
for rapidly browning surfaces of oven-cooked foods," Toledo
said. "He introduced me to the inventor of this
machine."

The inventor agreed to place a radiant wall oven in Toledo’s
lab so he could test its ability to kill pathogens. And it
definitely
has the ability.

In his lab, Toledo applied a nonpathogenic strain of a
microorganism
to food products and then placed the food in the oven. His tests
showed exciting benefits.

Killing Pathogens on the
Surface

"Traditional methods of removing pathogens include
immersing
the food in hot water or exposing it to high-velocity hot
air,"
Toledo said. "This kills the pathogens, but can also heat
the inside of the product, which requires the product be cooled.
The radiant wall oven’s heat is so intense and the product goes
through so fast that it only heats the surface."

The oven’s heat penetrates less than one-eighth of an inch
into the food product. The temperature only rises on the
surface.

"This oven uses heat from a red-hot surface that
surrounds
the product," he said. "Infrared energy from the heat
makes the surface temperature rise at a very rapid rate, and
microorganisms
on the surface are killed without heating the insides of the
product."

Toledo said the radiant wall oven is perfect for use on raw
products like chicken.

"Salmonella is a big problem associated with raw
chicken,"
he said. "We tested chicken drumsticks and thighs in this
oven, and the pathogens were removed and the chicken still looked
raw."

Quicker and Safer

The oven is still useful for surface browning of precooked
turkey, beef or pork products. But now Toledo has found it browns
the food quicker and kills pathogens.

"We dipped products like turkey breast in smoke flavoring
and put them in the oven," he said. "It’s a lot faster
than using a smokehouse. It takes 20 seconds compared to four
hours in a smokehouse, and you’re killing pathogens
too."

The oven works best on individual pieces. "The heat has
to reach all sides of the product in order to kill the
pathogens,"
Toledo said. "The oven would work great on hot dogs. But
you’d have to remove them from the packages, and that’s not
economically
feasible."

Another plus is the oven’s size. "It’s small, so it
doesn’t
take up a lot of floor space in a food-processing plant,"
Toledo said. "Traditional equipment takes up a lot of plant
space. This oven could replace a heater and a cooler and free
up much needed space in processing plants."

Toledo says the food industry is very interested in the
radiant
wall oven.

Could Help Industry Provide Safer
Food

"The industry’s interest is sparked by the new U.S.
Department
of Agriculture rulings for zero tolerance of listeria on cooked,
ready-to-eat meats," he said.

"Before, the industry was not required to monitor
products
for listeria," he said. "Now the USDA can sample
products
in the market, and if they find listeria, they can ask for a
product
recall. "

Recalls are expensive and expose processors to bad publicity.
"Industry leaders are always looking for new and easier ways
to kill pathogens, and I think we’ve found one," Toledo
said.