The EO Enhanced Process

During the past several years Cosmed Group has worked with other members of the spice industry to develop a new technology for pasteurization of spices and herbs using gaseous ethylene oxide (EO).

The technology was developed in response to a mandate from the US Environmental Protection Agency to reregister all pesticides registered prior to 1989. The aim of the reregistration mandate was to insure that these pesticides meet the same safety criteria as pesticides registered more recently under much stricter regulatory requirements.

Analysis of a 1996 ASTA study of EO residual levels in spices treated by conventional EO pasteurization indicated that in order to meet the current EPA safety requirements it would be necessary to devise a new method providing significantly lower EO residuals.

Lower Residuals
The ASTA studies, conducted over a 3-year period, were guided by technologies originally developed by Cosmed Group to rapidly reduce residual levels in medical devices sterilized with EO. The ASTA studies demonstrated that it is possible to utilize subatmospheric vacuum and humidity pulses to effectively reduce EO residuals to levels which support the reregistration of EO as a safe treatment for spices, herbs and seasonings.

Enhanced Microbial Reduction
Although the EO Enhanced process was designed solely to provide lower EO residuals, it was found that the process also yields an approximately 10-fold greater microbial reduction than conventional EO treatment. This additional benefit has proven to be of particular importance in view of current efforts to enhance food safety and to guarantee the security of the nation's food supply.

Excellent Organoleptics - No Weight Loss
Additional studies conducted during development of the new technology suggest that organoleptic qualities including taste, color and aroma are indistinguishable from those of spices treated with conventional EO pasteurization. In fact, the only difference which has been regularly observed using the new process is that moisture levels remain at or near pretreatment levels. This is a significant advantage over the conventional EO treatment process which often results in a 1% to 2% reduction in product weight through moisture loss.

Improved Equipment
Most equipment currently being used for EO treatment of spices will not support the EO Enhanced process without significant modification. To achieve optimal results with the new process the treatment chamber must be uniformly heated on all surfaces including the door and must be equipped with a high performance vacuum system, food grade high pressure steam supply and a source of chilled water to supply the condensation and recovery system for the large quantities of steam used in the process. A sophisticated control system is needed to ensure that the process parameters do not vary significantly from the conditions required for optimal microbial inactivation and residual reduction. The EO Enhanced process requires approximately 24 hours for completion of each treatment cycle, a significant increase over typical cycle times for conventional EO treatment.

A Better Product
The EO Enhanced process for treatment of spices provides a number of benefits over conventional EO pasteurization including lower residuals, enhanced microbial reduction and little moisture loss without affecting the organoleptic qualities of the treated spice.