The surging popularity of nuts and seeds as a healthy snack is driven by increased awareness of their nutritional benefits of these natural foods. However, these natural foods, like all agricultural commodities, carry risks of microbial contamination. Pathogens such as salmonella, e. coli and listeria are found in these products. To safeguard consumers and the growing market’s commercial value, regulatory bodies and industry leaders advocate for pasteurisation as a necessary step in reducing food safety risks.
Today’s consumers favour natural pasteurisation methods aligning with the perceived health benefits of nuts and seeds consumption. Napasol’s pasteurisation technology offers microbiological reduction (>5log) while preserving the raw characteristics of the products. The technology allows Napasol users to deliver safe products to be consumed raw, or they can be further processed with a roasting and flavouring step.
Roasting as a thermal process does provide some degree of microbiological reduction. However, the heat settings required to deliver a suitable performance are usually detrimental to the development of roasting flavours. Typically, low to moderate roasting levels cannot be attained because the microbiological reduction at those lower temperatures is insufficient to reach validation requirements.
In a new development, a Roast Finish process has been added to the Napasol pasteurisation line. In this configuration, the product moves onto a roasting platform immediately after exiting the pasteuriser. Precisely controlled parameters can be applied exclusively to develop roasting flavours and colours.
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