VANCOUVER — Food safety is becoming a more pressing issue now that pulses are being incorporated into packaged foods, says a safety expert.
In the past, pulses were largely sold whole or split. The end user provided the “kill step” when they cooked the product at home, killing off any dangerous bacteria.
However, pulses are now increasingly being consumed in ready-to-cook or ready-to-eat products. They are being incorporated into pastas, snack bars, vegan meat substitutes and baby food, which shifts the safety onus onto food processors and manufacturers.
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“This is the biggest challenge that the industry is facing,” said Beatrice Conde-Petit, food safety officer for the Buhler Group.
The industry has to ensure the pulses are free of harmful bacteria such as E. coli, salmonella and bacillus cereus.
It was once thought that food-borne illnesses were the domain of animal-based food, but now it is known that they can also be caused by plant-based food.
There have been massive recalls of nuts, sesame seeds, wheat, spices and sprouts.
Conde-Petit said food safety starts with getting clean product from farmers using good agronomic practices.
One big misconception held by farmers and grain handlers is that there is a kill step somewhere down the line, so they don’t have to worry about food safety.
“No. You need to care,” she told a small group of delegates from the Pulses 2017 conference.
The kill step typically involves a cooking or roasting process, but what about pulses used in cereal bars or other ready-to-eat food?
Buhler has screened many non-thermal technologies and has decided on ebeam, which uses accelerated electrons to kill bacteria. It is a low-energy beam that gently touches the surface of dry food materials. Conde-Petit said it allows for decontamination without the use of steam or chemicals and it doesn’t produce waste water.
A prototype is being tested in Germany on spices. It can decontaminate one tonne of food per hour. Buhler hopes to have a commercial launch of the product next year.
The final food safety protocol is maintaining proper hygiene after the kill step so the food isn’t re-contaminated with bacteria.
