A University of Maine researcher has received a $4.9 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture to develop the novel approach of using non-thermal technologies to control microbial contamination of low-moisture foods.

Dr. Vivian Wu, a professor of food science at UMaine, will be working as lead researcher on a five-year project that will explore new technologies to better control microbial contamination of low-moisture foods, such as cereals, nuts and spices, without using heat.

“Heat is a very effective way to control microbial contamination, but there are food products that heat just doesn’t work that well,” Wu said, discussing such foods as produce and grains. “We want to develop nonthermal processing techniques to eliminate, to maintain the safety of produce and low-moisture food.”

According to Wu, USDA has been emphasizing produce safety for years, and low-moisture foods are becoming an increasing concern as it comes to food safety and bacterial contamination.

Methods Wu will be examining include the use of cold plasma (ionized atmospheric air), gaseous antimicrobial treatment and multicolored decontaminating lights to sanitize low-moisture foods.