Disinfestation and sanitisation

Insect pests, fungi, yeasts and pathogens infestations are a major problem in the storage, processing and marketing of agricultural commodities such as nuts, cereals, grains, pulses, seeds, etc. Typically, chemical fumigants are used for postharvest pest and bacteria control but regulatory issues, environmental concerns, potential health hazards, reduced acceptance by consumers and the increase of the organic products market have pressed the industry to implement non-chemical treatment alternatives, including thermal methods.

Conventional thermal techniques are simple and easy to control, however they are intrinsically slow and it is well known that prolonged heating can be detrimental to quality of food products. Direct heating methods by electromagnetic waves, instead, allow for rapid and uniform heating of many substrates. Recently, specific research has confirmed the viability of the radio frequency technology in this application field.