Claims
- 1. A method of cleaning produce, comprising the steps of:
immersing the produce in a liquid energizing bath; subjecting the produce to an electrical waveform for a predetermined period of time in the energizing bath, said waveform removing bacteria and pathogens from a surface of the produce; and applying the produce to a rinse bath to rinse the produce.
- 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of subjecting the produce to the electrical waveform includes subjecting the produce to an alternating electrical waveform that includes a fundamental carrier wave and a higher frequency wave imposed on the carrier wave.
- 3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the step of subjecting the produce to the electrical waveform includes generating the carrier wave at a current sufficient enough to establish an electric current in the energizing bath and generating the higher frequency wave that has a frequency sufficient to provide a microelectrification of the bacteria and pathogens on the produce.
- 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of subjecting the produce to the electrical waveform includes sweeping the electrical waveform from a first predetermined frequency to a second predetermined frequency.
- 5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the step of sweeping the electric waveform from the first predetermined frequency to the second predetermined frequency includes ramping the electrical waveform in a step like manner where each step is at a higher frequency and is maintained at a step for a predetermined period of time.
- 6. The method according to claim 2, wherein the carrier wave has a frequency in the range of 10 Hz to 100 kHz and an electrical current in the range of 1 milliamp per square centimeter to 1,000 milliamps per square centimeter in the bath.
- 7. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of subjecting the produce to an ultrasonic waveform to vibrate the produce for a predetermined period of time in the energizing bath.
- 8. The method according to claim 7, wherein the step of subjecting the produce to an ultrasonic waveform includes sweeping the ultrasonic waveform between a first ultrasonic frequency and a second ultrasonic frequency.
- 9. The method according to claim 8, wherein the step of sweeping the ultrasonic waveform between the first frequency to the second frequency includes ramping the ultrasonic waveform in a step like manner where each step is at a higher frequency and is maintained at the step for a predetermined period of time.
- 10. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of immersing the produce in an energizing bath includes immersing the produce in a heated energizing bath.
- 11. The method according to claim 10, wherein in the step of immersing the produce in an energizing bath includes immersing the produce in an energizing bath heated to about 95° F.
- 12. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of immersing the produce in an energizing bath includes immersing the produce in a water based ionizing bath.
- 13. The method according to claim 12, wherein the step of immersing the produce in the ionizing bath includes immersing the produce in a bath including dissolved salts.
- 14. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of immersing the produce in an energizing bath includes immersing the produce in an acid bath having a pH less than 7.
- 15. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of immersing the produce in an energizing bath includes immersing the produce in an alkaline bath having a pH greater than 7.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a division of application Ser. No. 09/661,492 filed Sep. 14, 2000, and both applications claim priority to provisional application Serial No. 60/153,908 filed Sep. 14, 1999, the entire specification of which is incorporated herein by reference.
Provisional Applications (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
|
60153908 |
Sep 1999 |
US |
Divisions (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09661492 |
Sep 2000 |
US |
Child |
10357176 |
Feb 2003 |
US |