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The objective of this proposal is to provide financial assistance to CREC Seafood Laboratory for the replacement of the RS2000 with a state of the art x-ray processor now under design and construction by Rad Source Technologies. <P>This equipment is only available through Rad Source Technologies, Boca Raton, FL. The long term goal upon completion of the replacement is to utilize xray processing to improve the quality, shelf life and safety of value added and ready to eat food products.
Non-Technical Summary: One of the newest technologies recently made available to food researchers and ultimately to small food processors, is a high intensity food grade x-ray irradiator. Rad-Source Technologies is now marketing this irradiator and a research model was purchased (2003) by the Mississippi State University's Coastal Research and Extension Center's Seafood Processing Laboratory. The prototype RS2000, that was purchased, has been constantly used over the past two + years to the completion of three different Master's Degree projects in cooperation with the Department of Food Science, Nutrition and Health Promotion on main campus in Starkville; in addition two independent research projects were performed by the faculty and staff of the Seafood Processing Laboratory in Pascagoula, Ms. where the x-ray unit was housed and used for irradiation processing. These projects were supported by grants from the USDA Special Grants, the Sea Grant College Program, and the National Fisheries Institute. Unfortunately the RS2000, x-ray food processor, suffered irreparable damage and loss due to it's submersion in 5 feet of salt water from the storm surge from Hurricane Katrina on Aug. 29, 2005. This project will provide the replacement of a valuable food processing tool to allow research on methods to reduce the risk of food borne illness and to provide consumers with improved value added food product. <P> Approach: The new xray processor will provide a 20 kW power supply to bring the current xray tube configuration up to a dose rate of 100 Gy per minute. This will save time in processing and will be applicable to small commercial processing operations. This will allow a 1 kGy dose application in about 10 minutes of processing time. Irradiation doses will be up to 5 kGy depending on product and targeted pathogen for elimination. The application will be to prepackaged value added and ready-to-eat food products.