Thermal processing of an ice cream mix with microwave heating: Effects on Listeria monocytogenes inactivation

Date

2026-09-01

Author

Akbulut, Elif Nida
Coskun, Eda
Akbulut, Muhammed Talha
BULAT, TUĞBA
AYTAÇ, SAİT AYKUT
Mert, Behiç
YILMAZ, TUNCAY
ERDOĞDU, FERRUH

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Thermal processing of ice cream mixes is carried out in conventional heat exchangers to assure safety during manufacturing. Significant ice cream related food safety issues are observed in the last two decades while use of green energy and reduction of carbon footprint of processes with a sustainable approach have become a strategic target for the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Therefore, this study aimed to determine the effects of microwave heating (MW) on thermal processing of ice cream mixes. Listeria monocytogenes was chosen as the target microorganism, and MW processing on temperature evolution, microbial inactivation and color change were determined using a batch 1 kW 2450 MHz custom-designed system. A computational model was developed to predict the temperature change of the ice cream mix by coupling heat transfer with electromagnetic field distribution and fluid flow. Dielectric and rheological properties of the mix were measured as a function of temperature, and thermophysical properties were determined with respect to its composition. Model validation studies were completed with the experimentally obtained temperature data. MW heating of 500 mL sample for 600 s reduced the initial Listeria monocytogenes load from 6.51 ± 0.03–3.81 ± 0.01 log CFU/g, while the count decrease was below the detection limit after 750 s. Although statistically significant changes were observed in L*, a*, and b* values after the process, visually color deterioration was not detected. This study demonstrated the effect of MW heating for thermal processing of ice cream mixes, and knowing design parameters of an industrial process would be an important aspect.

Subject Keywords

Ice cream, Listeria monocytogenes, Microwave heating, Thermal processing

URI

https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?partnerID=HzOxMe3b&scp=105042057595&origin=inward
https://hdl.handle.net/11511/119633

Collections

Department of Food Engineering, Article