Salmonella enterica serotype Enteritidis (SE) is a pathogenic bacteria frequently isolated from shell eggs. Among the surface pasteurization methods, infrared heating provides an easy and eco‐friendly application. To eliminate SE on the surface of shell eggs, pasteurization was applied via two different approaches. First, conventionally far‐IR‐heated eggs were pasteurized for 480 s, 5‐log SE reduction was achieved, but finally they were soft‐cooked. As a second approach, eggs were far‐IR‐heated (60 s) then cooled (+4°C, 120 s) continuously, and this process was repeated five times. As a result of this process, 5‐log SE reduction was achieved with no quality changes inside the eggs. Although the physical (yolk‐index, Haugh‐unit, pH) and functional (foaming capacity) properties of conventionally pasteurized eggs began to change after 110 s, no change was observed inside the egg quality when the second method was applied. These results indicate that a continuous far‐IR‐heating–cooling combination system could be applied for the surface pasteurization of shell eggs.
Novelty impact statement
The inactivation of Salmonella, which can cause a serious health hazard, is also very important. In this study, it’s shown that applying FIR heating and cooling successively could eliminate SE on the surface of shell eggs without adverse effect in the shell egg. The fact that there is no waste, due to the process, and the easy applicability of the FIR heating creates its superiority over the other methods. This process could be applied to different products as well as a pre‐treatment of the egg process to maintain microbial safety.