Microbial Safety of Microwave Processing

Microbial safety is one of the major concerns for public health. With increasing consumption, boosting scale of production, and development of the distribution, incidences of foodborne pathogens outbreaks also rise. Both producers and consumers are seeking a way to process food product quickly with high safety and quality profiles. Microwave processing is convenient in processing food materials both for industrial purposes and domestic applications. It has been widely applied during the past few decades. The major drawback correlated with microwave processing is the non-uniformity in heat distribution that generates cold and hot spots in foods. This review discusses the information on microwave, microbial safety, performance, and challenges associated with microwave processing.