Applying Electrostatic Principles in the Food Processing Industry
Studying at university, Mathew “Matt” Kafker has completed courses encompassing a wide range of topics, including statistical modeling, statistical mechanics, and geophysics. Matt Kafker has recently taken a class on electrostatics, a branch of physics that focuses on electrical charges at rest.
A recent article in FoodSafetyTech centered on the application of electrostatic technology in improving transfer efficiency when it comes to pathogen reduction within food processing. The traditional use of antimicrobials on meat products by processors is inefficient relative to covering the entire surface area of products with solution. Conventional antimicrobial intervention processes tend to utilize large amounts of chemical solution and water in covering a less-than-optimal surface area.
Electrostatics boosts transfer efficiency by applying opposite charges to antimicrobial solutions and food products. With opposites attracting, and negatively charged particles drawn to their positively charged counterparts, peracetic acid and other forms of antimicrobial intervention adhere better to protein products.
While this seems a basic concept, in application it proved extremely challenging for meat processors to adopt. Various systems required testing, and results necessitated analysis, to achieve transfer efficiency. With the final conveyor system design being one that rotated slowly and exposed product surfaces, the results represented a significant improvement. Lab studies demonstrated that, with electrostatic technologies in place, the system had equal antimicrobial effectiveness to a dip tank while employing 95 percent less solution.
A recent article in FoodSafetyTech centered on the application of electrostatic technology in improving transfer efficiency when it comes to pathogen reduction within food processing. The traditional use of antimicrobials on meat products by processors is inefficient relative to covering the entire surface area of products with solution. Conventional antimicrobial intervention processes tend to utilize large amounts of chemical solution and water in covering a less-than-optimal surface area.
Electrostatics boosts transfer efficiency by applying opposite charges to antimicrobial solutions and food products. With opposites attracting, and negatively charged particles drawn to their positively charged counterparts, peracetic acid and other forms of antimicrobial intervention adhere better to protein products.
While this seems a basic concept, in application it proved extremely challenging for meat processors to adopt. Various systems required testing, and results necessitated analysis, to achieve transfer efficiency. With the final conveyor system design being one that rotated slowly and exposed product surfaces, the results represented a significant improvement. Lab studies demonstrated that, with electrostatic technologies in place, the system had equal antimicrobial effectiveness to a dip tank while employing 95 percent less solution.
