Researchers at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service (USDA’s ARS) have developed a thermal pasteurization method based on Radio Frequency (RF) technology that effectively reduces the presence of Salmonellain intact eggs, in a fraction of the time required for traditional pasteurization.
Although thermal pasteurization is proven to inactivate pathogens in intact eggs, less than 3 percent of commercial eggs are pasteurized in the U.S., as the process can take more than 57 minutes, according to ARS. Conventional thermal pasteurization involves submerging the eggs fully in hot water.