MicroZap, macro effect

What if zapping food in the microwave was the key to food safety? While it might sound too simple to work effectively, a group of scientists at Texas Tech University are developing a new food purifying technology using electromagnetic radiation - better known as microwaves.

While there’s no denying that microwaves can make life easier for the consumer, they could have a greater impact than we realise. Texas Tech University scientists have formed MicroZap, a technology company that will commercialise the scientists’ microwave and food safety research. MicroZap technology has been used to extend the shelf life of fresh bread to 60 days - a result that could have positive implications for global food waste and food safety.

“We use electromagnetic radiation (microwaves) which interact with the molecules in the product or sample and will affect pathogens, bacteria and mould in the different products we treat,” said Andreas Neuber, Associate Director of the Center for Pulsed Power and Power Electronics at Texas Tech.

“The unit has levels on the outside similar to those produced when people use their microwave oven in the home. MicroZap technology is very similar, except that we work with much higher fields on the inside. We have been extremely successful treating mould in bread products and have extended the shelf life of bread to 60 days.”

Slow burner

Overnight successes rarely happen overnight. “It’s been almost nine years since we’ve started this process,” said Mindy Brashears, Texas Tech Professor of food microbiology and food safety and director of the International Center for Food Industry Excellence (ICFIE). “By the time you start having success and you start hearing about it, and it starts to hit the media, there already has been a lot of background that has gone into that technology.

“We’ve spent a lot of time doing research, writing manuscripts, publishing, working very hard building the company to get to this point today where we’re close to commercialisation.”

Texas Tech was invited to Italy to learn more about the MicroZap technology, which was originally invented by a group of scientists in Italy. The Texas Tech scientists discovered many applications and found many ways they could modify the technology to take it to the next level, Brashears said.

“As we scientists started going through this process, the university realised that this could actually move ahead to a company. They wanted us to go out and really form on - which is something that most scientists don’t really enjoy doing. But we did, and we formed an LLC, and the university helped us find investors.

“Through those investors we were able to come up with a business plan; we have a CEO, a board of directors, stocks and shares - a really legitimate company for this process. The technology and all the intellectual property rights were transferred from the Italian group to Texas Tech, and the patents were filed either through the university of through the company.”

MicroZap has expanded the technology to other food products, including peanuts, fresh produce and pet food, as well as non-food products such as mould on wine corks.

“We’ve also broadened our ability to treat other dangerous pathogens such as Listeria and E. coli, as well as the capability of killing the deadly superbug MRSA in homes and healthcare facilities,” said Don Stull, CEO of MicroZap.

Zapping the world

The technology could have a huge impact on global food security, according to Brashears.

“The technology is very good at killing moulds,” Brashears said. “A lot of our product is thrown away - in the US, 40% of all food is thrown away. When you relate that to a developing country, and we’re trying to ship grains overseas to these countries that need it, a lot of the loss comes from moulding. If we can treat the grains before they’re shipped, then ultimately there would be more product to feed those communities.”

In many areas of the world, waterborne diseases cause a considerable burden. Brashears says water is the most easily treated product in the microwave, as microwaves excite the water molecules more easily than other substances.

“One of our goals at MZ is to develop a unit that is fully solar powered and put this in a developing country with central location sites that could be run by citizens of that country as a source of income,” Brashears said.

“People could bring their grain - and also water - there for treatment. People could put it through the process and come out with water that’s safe and drinkable and won’t cause illness.”

Closer to home

In addition to treating food, MicroZap has also modified devices for treating towels and linens for viruses such as MRSA, which could be commercialised for businesses like hospitals and gyms.

The company also aims to develop a household unit or a small unit that could be used in restaurants or at the grocery store.

“We’ve also looked at pet food, which is becoming a huge source of pathogens in the US. And it not only makes the animals sick potentially, but it can also cause the animal to make the human sick. Or, there are children who will try the pet food and it will make them sick directly. Animal foods have the same standards as human foods in regards to pathogens.

“We’ve done everything from spices to beef jerky, nutrition bars - all sorts of items that have been successfully treated to kill pathogens or kill moulds or other spoilage bacteria to increase the shelf life.”

The team has also trialled rockmelons and other fruits and vegetables.

“We get a good surface sterilisation on the outside with the microwave process. We have to be very careful because these are very delicate, and different fruits and vegetables have different reactions; a cantaloupe has very thick skin so you can treat it longer, but with something like a tomato, if you treat it too long, you run the risk of sensory changes.”

According to Brashears, about 150 companies are interested in the microwave technology - and that is just for food-based products. With continued industry interest and positive research results, MicroZap could have a macro effect on the future of food.