ScienceDaily  — Good news for fans of raw cookie dough: Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists have filed a patent on technology that can protect pasteurized liquid eggs from food safety threats.

These threats include both naturally-occurring spoilage bacteria and pathogens. But don’t go running for that dough just yet; the U.S. Food and Drug Administration still cautions against consuming raw, unpasteurized eggs or products that contain them.

The new technology was developed by Sudarsan Mukhopadhyay, Peggy Tomasula and John Luchansky, researchers at the ARS Eastern Regional Research Center (ERRC) in Wyndmoor, Pa.

Current pasteurization technology removes heat-sensitive pathogens, but some heat-resistant spoilage microorganisms can survive. Consumers can avoid illness by properly preparing and cooking eggs before consumption, but the researchers have found that new technology can compensate for the shortcomings of thermal pasteurization.

The technology, called “crossflow microfiltration membrane separation” (CMF), removes more pathogens than thermal pasteurization. And it does so without affecting the eggs’ ability to foam, coagulate and emulsify, meaning that CMF-treated eggs could be safely substituted for pasteurized eggs in angel food cake and other products where those characteristics are desired.

Sumber : Science Daily

Informasi lengkap dapat diakses di:

 http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090510102122.htm

Photo :  Good news for fans of raw cookie dough: Agricultural Research Service scientists have filed a patent on technology that can protect pasteurized liquid eggs from food safety threats. (Credit: iStockphoto/Mark Gillow)