Recently safety of microwave cooked food has come under scrutiny because of recent outbreak and recalls associated with some of these not-ready-to-eat frozen foods. MW heating uniformity of these foods is paramount in ensuring safe cooking in the MW oven. The heating uniformity can be improved by proper selection of food shape, proportions, layout, packaging selection and more. Given the complexity of optimization of these parameters, a model is highly desirable to simulate the heating behavior of foods in variety of microwave ovens. The main objective of my research is to develop a holistic microwave cooking model to capture all the real scenarios. This study will enhance our understanding of MW heating/cooking of heterogeneous food products.

I am also exploring application of non-thermal process technologies namely PEF, High pressure, and Ultrasound in safety and quality improvement of food products.