Although pasteurisation of milk product is a known safety application to kill potentially harmful bacteria, more consumers are choosing more nutritious raw milk products, challenging processors to provide products that are free of contaminants.

According to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, raw milk cheese, for example, has sickened more than 500 people in the United States over the past decade.  A recent survey by the American Cheese Society found that 59% of cheese-makers make products with unpasteurised milk. Raw milk cheese can be sold legally nationwide -- and across state lines -- as long as it has aged 60 days.

Overall, food safety is a national concern with nearly 50 million Americans becoming ill from eating foods contaminated with salmonella, Listeria monocytogenes, Escherichia Coli and Staphylococcus aureus as well as mould, yeast and viruses.

Through proper handing and production, many contaminates found in raw milk products can be eliminated through a combination of plant air-purification systems with effective end-of –the-process line treatment systems to safely treat products prior to sale and consumption, according to Florida-based RGF Environmental.

Marsden, a professor of food safety and security at Kansas State University and an adviser for the North American Meat Processors Association, said the all-natural photohydroionization^® (PHI) is an advanced oxidation technology that acts as an additional strategic intervention for trimmings and whole muscle. The PHI technology allows for the anti-microbial treatment of meat products without leaving chemical residues.

RGF, the US patent holder for PHI-Cell^® Technology, has over the last 20 years installed various surface sanitation tunnels used for meat, dairy and fruit and vegetable processors. Considered a breakthrough in food processing technology, the stainless steel PHI tunnels are retrofitted depending on type of products being treated. The food tunnel can provide final non-chemical, anti-microbial treatment, and protect products from human error or other cross contamination events, which may have occurred earlier during the process.

The PHI technology has been validated for control of Salmonella, Listeria monocytogenes, Escherichia Coli O157:H7 and Staphylococcus aureus, as well as Mold, Yeast and viruses.