Radio frequency (RF) heating has the advantages of a much faster heating rate as well as the great potential for sterilization of food compared to traditional thermal sterilization. A new kettle was designed for sterilization experiments applying RF energy (27.12 MHz, 6 kW). In this research, beef sausages were pasteurized by RF heating alone, the dielectric properties (DPs) of which were determined, and heating uniformity and heating rate were evaluated under different conditions. The results indicate that the DPs of samples were significantly influenced (p < 0.01) by the temperature and frequency. The electrode gap, sample height and NaCl content had significant effects (p < 0.01) on the heating uniformity when using RF energy alone. The best heating uniformity was obtained under an electrode gap of 180 mm, a sample height of 80 mm and NaCl content of 3%. The cold points and hot spots were located at the edge of the upper section and geometric center of the sample, respectively. This study reveals the great potential in solid food for pasteurization using RF energy alone. Future studies should focus on sterilization applying RF energy and SW simultaneously using the newly designed kettle.
Keywords: RF sterilization; beef sausage; dielectric properties; heating uniformity.