Campden BRI case study

We have been looking at the applications of pulsed light in food processing for several years. It is a novel system that can be used for surface decontamination of foods and food contact surfaces, including packaging. The technique, which has been shown to be effective against bacteria, spores, yeast and moulds, involves flashing surfaces with intense, short duration pulses of broad spectrum white light.

Craig Leadley, who has led the work on pulsed light, explains:

"Pulsed light can inactivate microorganisms on the surfaces of objects. Although the magnitude of inactivation varies from surface to surface, we found significant effects on both stainless steel and PET food contact surfaces. The irregular nature of food surfaces, in which shadowing is an issue, makes the use of pulsed light less straightforward. The nature of the food also has an effect - increased levels of trimethylamine were observed in treated fish for example although it should be stressed that this was observed using extreme treatments. For this reason it is important that each product is properly investigated to ascertain effectiveness. It is also important to ascertain whether products can be treated through packaging, and how the packaging itself responds to the treatment."

Claranor is a leading developer of pulsed light equipment and technology, and we have developed a beneficial business relationship with them.

Christophe Riedel of Claranor comments: "We get many enquiries from clients who are interested in investigating whether our technology can solve their particular problem. We are delighted to be able to collaborate with Campden BRI, who can carry out independent trials on a whole range of products. Their knowledge of the issues surrounding a whole range of products and contamination issues, and their ability to meaningfully interpret the findings from the experiments means that our clients have confidence that the pulsed light system can be effective for them."

Craig Leadley, Head of Production and Processing Research
+44(0)1386 842059
craig.leadley@campdenbri.co.uk