Microwave heating takes place due to the polarization effect of electromagnetic radiation at frequencies between 300 MHz and 300 GHz.
There is not much commercial use of these frequencies for food pasteurization or sterilization, although they are used in baking and other processes in the food industry.
The use of microwave for food processing is continuously developing world-wide. Faster heating and high energy efficiency are the major advantages of microwave processing of food.
Food shape, volume, surface area and composition are critical factors in microwave heating, These factors can affect in microwave heating.
Microwave energy, like all electromagnetic radiation, travels in a wave pattern. The waves are reflected by metals; pass through air, glass, paper, and plastic; and are absorbed by food. Most microwave containers are designed to transmit microwave energy without reflecting or absorbing it, and thus are made of paper or plastic.
Microwave heating has also found applications in the food industry including tempering of frozen foods for further processing, pre-cooking of bacon for institutional use, and final drying of pasta products.
Microwave in food processing
