Patent ID: 7976885

Claim:
A method of processing food product comprising: indexing a web of packaging material into a forming station that forms the web into a component portion of a package for receiving food product; indexing the component portion into a loading station that loads food product into the component portion; indexing the component portion into a pasteurizing station; sandwiching the component portion between upper and lower members in the pasteurizing station, wherein the upper and lower members come together to form a pressurized chamber connected to a piping assembly comprising a tee having first and second inlets and having an outlet connected to the pressurized chamber; operating an injector to spray antimicrobial agent into the tee via the first inlet prior to or simultaneously with the sandwiching by the upper and lower members; supplying a burst of pasteurizing medium into the tee via the second inlet simultaneously with or immediately subsequent to operating the injector to spray the antimicrobial agent into the tee, such that as burst of pasteurizing medium is supplied to the tee the pasteurizing medium mixes with the antimicrobial agent in the tee to form a mixture; and thereafter discharging the mixture into the pressurized chamber such that the mixture flows across said food product from the one or more inlet ports to the one or more outlet ports.