FDA Approves UV Light Processing for all Juices
By John Zakou, NYS Agricultural Experiment Station
GENEVA, NY: In a move that could be a boost to small and mid-scale juice processors all over the country, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved ultraviolet light (UV) processing to reduce pathogens for all fruit and vegetable juices. The ruling is good news for Cornell University microbiologist and food safety expert Randy Worobo, who has been a long-time proponent of UV processing as a viable alternative to thermal pasteurization.
"The expanded approval of UV processing is a good thing for the juice industry," says Worobo, who works at the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva, NY. "UV is a cheaper, less complicated processing option that satisfies some cider producers' reservations about thermal pasteurization."
In taste tests at Cornell, a panel of 50 participants found no statistical difference for raw, UV treated and pasteurized, he says. All cider was prepared by Cornell.
Worobo and his technician, John Churey, began working with UV processing in 1998 while looking for methods to reduce the bacteria E. coli 0157:H7 in apple juice. They teamed up with the engineer who developed the original design of the UV apparatus, Phil Hartman, from Rochester-based FPE, Inc.
The engineers needed a microbiologist and food safety specialist to assist in developing the technology necessary for a commercial unit, and to carry out all the microbiological tests using various pathogenic strains of E. coli. Worobo's laboratory also developed the death kinetics related to UV exposure, tested the different pathogenic strains, the effect of UV pasteurization on cider color and solids, possible UV quenching agents, and identified what government regulations to apply to cider producers. [A quenching agent absorbs ultraviolet light and reduces the germicidal effect.]
The UV apparatus they developed proved to be very effective, reducing E. coli 0157:H7 contamination from 100,000 microorganisms per ml to 1 organism per ml in a single pass. Worobo and Churey then expanded their research to test other juices and pathogens.
They have now tested UV technology on apple cider, apple juice, carrot juice, blueberry juice, grape juice, red and white wine, and orange juice. They have also tested the UV's performance at reducing such pathogens as Cryptosporidium parvum, Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella.
Every tube manufactured by FPE is validated by Worobo's laboratory using a surrogate microorganism that has similar UV sensitivity to E. coli O157:H7. This validation certificate is provided with every CiderSure unit and must be shown to state or federal inspectors if requested. FDA approval took two years. Even though the petition was "fast tracked" by the office of pre-market approval, it was delayed was because additional information was requested, said Worobo. Approval is at least partially due to the validating factors of Worobo's research. When the FDA rented an apple cider mill in California for testing, Worobo and Churey were invited to test the CiderSure unit in the test facility. The results at the test cider mill reproduced those obtained in Worobo's laboratory. The CiderSure unit has now been validated to achieve a 5-log reduction for juice. It can process up to 300 gallons of juice/hour and is approximately 2' x 2' x 4' in size.
Cider makers are enthusiastic about the new technology. "I like the simplicity of UV processing, the extremely low operating expense, the efficiencies of turning it on and off without having to heat it up or cool it off, and its compact size," said John Halsey, of Water Mill, NY, on Long Island. The Halsey family operates a farm market and cultivates 20 acres of apples. They have been in the cider business for 32 years. "I think that the technology and the unit will be an enormous asset to the apple industry. Phil Hartman should get more credit for putting his time, energy and savings into an invention aimed at the small-scale producer," says Halsey.
Source: Cornell University