Development of model food systems for thermal pasteurization applications based on Maillard reaction products

•Egg white, mashed potato, and gellan models developed for pasteurization processes.•Chemical marker, L*, and a* reactions followed first order kinetics for all models.•Thermal lethality and cook value were correlated to the chemical marker, L*, and a*.•Mashed potato was the optimal model food for microwave pasteurization applications.

Model food systems with Maillard reaction products have been an effective tool to assess process lethality for microwave-assisted thermal sterilization. However, model food systems used for sterilization temperatures (110-130 °C) are not optimal for pasteurization temperatures (70-100 °C). The purpose of this research was to develop and assess model food systems to quantify process lethality and food quality for pasteurization applications, such as microwave-assisted pasteurization. Chemical marker M-2 (4-hydroxy-5-methyl-3(2H)-furanone) and color reaction kinetics were determined for egg white, mashed potato, and gellan model foods. M-2, L*, and a* value changes followed first order reaction kinetics and were significantly correlated to thermal lethality and cook value. Mashed potato was the optimal model food, in part because it had the greatest range of L* and a* reaction rates at 90 °C. Mashed potato model foods developed in this study could be used in the future to describe safety and quality reactions during pasteurization process evaluation.