Method of supercooling perishable materials

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10111452-B2
Application number	US-201415102856-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 9, 2014
Priority date	Dec 10, 2013
Publication date	Oct 30, 2018
Grant date	Oct 30, 2018

Abstract

Perishable products, such as food products, can be preserved by cooling to temperatures below their freezing point without ice crystallization. In some embodiments, the perishable product is cooled to temperatures below the freezing point of water while a pulsed electric field and oscillating magnetic field are applied to the product. Apparatus for supercooling perishable products are also provided and include a pulsed electric field generator and an oscillating magnetic field generator.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method of supercooling a perishable product in a container comprising the steps of:
cooling the perishable product to a temperature within the range of about 0° C. to about −20° C. while applying an oscillating magnetic field to the perishable product; and
simultaneously applying the oscillating magnetic field and a pulsed electric field to the cooled perishable product while maintaining the temperature below the freezing point of the perishable product, wherein the pulsed electric field is applied through a pair of electrodes directly in contact with the perishable product.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the perishable product is a food product.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the food product is a meat product.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the perishable product is an organ or body tissue.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the perishable product is cooled to a temperature within the range of about −4° C. to about −7° C.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the pulsed electric field is provided as a pulsed squared waveform.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the squared waveform is provided at a frequency of at least 20 kHz.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the oscillating magnetic field has a strength of about 50 to 500 mT as measured at the center of the container.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein no ice crystals are formed within the supercooled perishable product.

10. The method of claim 1 , additionally comprising applying the pulsed electric field to the perishable product during cooling.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the perishable product is selected from food products, organs, tissues, biologics, cell cultures, stem cells, embryos, blood, reactive solutions, and unstable chemical reagents.

12. A method of preserving a food product at a temperature below its freezing point comprising:
cooling the food product to a temperature below its freezing point while applying an oscillating magnetic field to the food product; and
maintaining the food product below its freezing point for a desired period of time while applying the oscillating magnetic field and applying a pulsed electric field through electrodes contacting the food product.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the food product comprises one or more pieces of meat.

14. The method of claim 13 , wherein the meat is one or more of chicken, beef and fish.

15. The method of claim 12 , wherein the food product is a vegetable.

16. The method of claim 12 , wherein the food product is preserved for more than 24 hours.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein there is no significant change in one or more of the color, drip loss or tenderness of the food product relative to a food product that was not preserved.

18. The method of claim 12 , additionally comprising applying a pulsed electric field to the food product during the cooling.

19. The method of claim 12 , wherein the pulsed electric field is provided as a squared waveform.

20. The method of claim 19 , wherein the squared waveform is provided with a duty cycle of about 0.2 to about 0.8.

21. The method of claim 19 , wherein the squared waveform is provided with more than one duty cycle.

22. The method of claim 21 , wherein the square waveform is provided with duty cycles of 0.2, 0.5 and 0.8.

23. The method of claim 12 , wherein the oscillating magnetic field has a strength of about 50 to 500 mT.

24. A method of preserving an organ comprising cooling the organ to below 0° C. while applying an oscillating magnetic field to the organ and subsequently applying a pulsed electric field and the oscillating magnetic field to the organ, wherein the pulsed electric field is applied through two contact electrodes.

25. The method of claim 24 , wherein the pulsed electric field is provided as a pulsed square waveform.

26. The method of claim 24 , wherein the oscillating magnetic field has a strength of about 50 to 500 mT.

27. The method of claim 24 , wherein the organ is maintained at the temperature below 0° C. for more than 24 hours while continuing to apply the pulsed electric field and oscillating magnetic field.

28. The method of claim 1 , wherein the pulsed electric field has a strength of about 0.6 V/cm to about 10 V/cm.

29. The method of claim 12 , wherein the pulsed electric field has a strength of about 0.6 V/cm to about 10 V/cm.

30. The method of claim 24 , wherein the pulsed electric field has a strength of about 0.6 V/cm to about 10 V/cm.

Assignees

• Univ Hawaii

Inventors

• Jun Soojin
• Mok Jin Hong
• Park Sung Hee

Classifications

• A23B4/015

  Preserving by irradiation or electric treatment without heating effect · CPC title

• A23B4/06

  Freezing; Subsequent thawing; Cooling · CPC title

• C12N13/00

  Treatment of microorganisms or enzymes with electrical or wave energy, e.g. magnetism, sonic waves · CPC title

• A23B4/062

  the materials being transported through or in the apparatus with or without shaping, e.g. in the form of powder, granules or flakes (moving on the spot only A23B4/066) · CPC title

• A23V2002/00

  Food compositions, function of food ingredients or processes for food or foodstuffs · CPC title