College of Mechanical and Electronic Engineering, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, China.
Department of Biological Systems Engineering, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA.
Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr. 2020;60(15):2622-2642. doi: 10.1080/10408398.2019.1651690. Epub 2019 Aug 13.
Food grains constitute a vital part of the daily diet of the population worldwide, and are generally considered as safe products with high storage stability due to their low moisture contents. However, post-harvest losses (PHL) caused by insects, fungi, food-borne pathogens, and undesirable enzymes remain a major concern for the grain industry. Thermal treatments are commonly used to reduce the PHL of grains and their products without any chemical residues. Among which, radio frequency (RF) technology has been regarded as a promising alternative to traditional heating methods for improving safety and quality of food grains due to its fast, volumetric, and deep penetration heating characteristics. This review provided comprehensive information about principles of RF technology and its main applications including disinfestation, pasteurization, enzyme inactivation, drying, and roasting for processing food grains and their products. The methods to improve the RF heating uniformity and effects of RF heating on product quality were also reviewed. Finally, the current problems and recommendations for future work related to RF processing of grains and their products were discussed. This review would improve the understanding of RF heating for food grains and their products and promote the application of RF technology in the food grain industry.
粮食是全世界人口日常饮食的重要组成部分，由于其含水量低，通常被认为是安全且具有高储存稳定性的产品。然而，由昆虫、真菌、食源性病原体和不良酶引起的产后损失（PHL）仍然是谷物行业的主要关注点。热处理通常用于减少谷物及其产品的 PHL，而不会有任何化学残留物。其中，射频（RF）技术因其快速、容积和深度穿透加热的特点，被认为是一种有前途的传统加热方法替代品，可用于提高粮食安全和质量。本综述提供了关于 RF 技术的原理及其主要应用的综合信息，包括粮食及其产品的杀虫、巴氏杀菌、酶失活、干燥和烘焙。还回顾了改善 RF 加热均匀性的方法以及 RF 加热对产品质量的影响。最后，讨论了与谷物及其产品的 RF 加工相关的当前问题和未来工作建议。本综述将提高对粮食及其产品的 RF 加热的理解，并促进 RF 技术在粮食工业中的应用。
