Abstract
The effectiveness of electron beam(EB) disinfection and sterilization technology and the changes of essential oil components in fennel were investigated. The absorbed dose was maximal at a depth of 0.9 – 1.0g/cm2, which was 130% of the surface dose of 15 kGy in packed fennel irradiated with 5 MeV EB in a downward direction, and decreased in the deepest layer. As a result, in a fennel bacterial count of 105 cfu/g, a microbial contamination level below 1.0×103 cfu/g was obtained at a packing depth of 2.3 g/cm2 and at the absorbed dose of more than 3 kGy. The bacteria in fennel were highly sensitive to EB irradiation. Furthermore, EB irradiation had no effect on the essential oil content of fennel, and no change of the essential oil components was found at the irradiation level necessary for decontamination.
