This investigation was undertaken to determine if ultra-high intensity radiant energy, can be utilized in the food industry to eliminate or significantly reduce surface contamination.

FLASHBLAST™ is the trademark of a pulsed power electromagnetic radiation apparatus developed by Maxwell Laboratories, Inc., San Diego, CA. A FLASHBLAST™ transforms electrical energy into high intensity, short duration pulses of ultraviolet, visible and infrared radiation.

FLASHBLAST™ radiation was found to be highly effective in inactivating vegetative cells, fungi and spores. It was also found to be a viable alternative for total or partial inactivation of microbial contamination on food packaging materials.

It was found that FLASHBLAST™ radiation is composed of approximately 31.4% of IR, 19.3% of UV and 49.3% of visible radiation. Only the UV spectral bands were responsible for the damage to the microorganisms.

Although it was concluded that UV absorption by protein was responsible for most of the organoleptic changes, the data indicated that by filtering the visible and IR regions of the spectrum, the undesirable organoleptic changes in food products were greatly diminished.