Microwave food processing delivers what consumers want today: high quality, clean-label packaged foods. The patented, FDA-accepted Microwave Assisted Thermal Sterilization (MATS™) and Microwave Assisted Pasteurization (MAPS™) preserve the taste, nutrients, and texture of packaged food without artificial additives and extra salt.

How do we do it? Microwave processing takes the 'process' out of food processing by minimizing the time food is exposed to high heat. The result is clean-label, packaged meals and side dishes that look and taste freshly prepared — and are better for you.

 
 
 

In conventional processing, or retort, packaged foods are placed in pressurized cookers at high temperatures for up to an hour. This prolonged exposure to high heat destroys the nutrients and affects the taste and texture of foods. To mask this damage, extra salt and artificial additives to enhance flavor, texture and color must be added. Processing food with MATS is dramatically different than conventional food processing.

MATS simultaneously immerses packaged food in pressurized hot water and heats with microwave energy at a frequency of 915 megahertz, eliminating pathogens and spoilage microorganisms in a matter of minutes. This patented process preserves the nutrients, color, texture and flavor of foods — while providing a shelf life equivalent to conventionally processed foods.

 
“When you shorten cooking time [with MATS], you retain more nutritional value. You produce a product that is more appealing to the consumer.”
— Juming Tang, Ph.D., Distinguished Chair of Food Engineering, Washington State University
 

Learn More about MATS/MAPS Processing with the 90-second video below!

MAPS is similar to microwave sterilization and in fact, can be performed on the same system. In microwave pasteurization, foods and beverages are heated at 915 MHz to a temperature of 70-90° for up to 10 minutes, eliminating viral and bacterial pathogens. The result is restaurant-quality, ready-to-eat foods and beverages with a shelf life of up to 12 weeks. With a longer shelf life, MAPS-processed foods and beverages also help reduce food waste due to spoilage across the supply chain.

MAPS-FRIENDLY FOODS

Refrigerated product lines of prepared foods and beverages that are sold in retailers, convenience stores and/or food service channels are all ideal for MAPS processing, including: 

  • prepared foods and ready-to-eat meals

  • beverages

  • vegetables

  • fruits

  • dips, sauces and salsas

  • baby food

  • egg dishes.

MAPS processing can also be used as a safety intervention step to improve the safety of prepared, ready-to-eat and frozen foods and batch ingredient sold or served by grocery chains, restaurant chains, convenience stores, nursing homes, hospitals, school meal programs and commissaries/cafeterias.