World’s first MATS microwave food sterilization system installed at AmeriQual

AmeriQual will serve as a research & development facility for food manufacturers who want to explore the benefits the MATS microwave sterilization system can deliver.  

For decades, realizing the promise of rapid sterilization using microwaves has been a dream of the shelf-stable food industry.  Washington State University in collaboration with Natick Soldier Center formed an industrial consortium to obtain regulatory acceptance for 915 MHz single-mode microwave sterilization. Upon receiving that acceptance, the technology was licensed to Food Chain Safety who developed the technology into a commercial reality.  Rob Wilson, CEO Food Chain Safety said, “This MATS-B installation represents the culmination of years of development work and the start of an exciting new era in food processing.”

Major benefits of the MATS microwave sterilization system:

• It delivers food that not only looks better but also tastes much better than canned foods.
• Maintains nutritional value of the food.• Uses high-power microwave energy to heat packaged food to sterilization in a fraction of the time required with traditional canning processes.
• Consistently heats products in a repeatable, measurable pattern.
• The continuous process allows manufacturers to achieve higher throughput and lower production costs and provide workers with better work environments vs. traditional canning operations.
• The new preservation technology offers great opportunities to create new and high quality products that are not possible with conventional methods.