Patent ID: 8231917

Claim:
A method of disinfecting packages through aseptic packaging comprising: (a) forming an antimicrobial composition in a sump, the antimicrobial composition comprising (i) from about 20 ppm to about 250 ppm of a fungal derived catalase enzyme, wherein the catalase maintains 50% of its activity over a period of one hour at a pH from about 2.0 to about 2.5; (ii) from about 0.00001% to about 0.3 wt. % hydrogen peroxide; (iii) from about 0.1% to about 2.0 wt. % of a carboxylic acid selected from the group consisting of acetic acid, octanoic acid, and mixtures thereof; and (iv) from about 0.15% to about 0.4 wt. % of a percarboxylic acid selected from the group consisting of peracetic acid, peroctanoic acid, and mixtures thereof; (b) heating the composition in the sump to about 20° C. to 65° C.; (c) pumping from about 0.01 liters per second to about 5.0 liters per second of the antimicrobial composition from the sump to the package; (d) applying the composition to a surface of a food package in an amount sufficient to render a final food product located in the food package suitable for distribution and sale under nonrefrigerated storage conditions; (e) monitoring the concentration of hydrogen peroxide in the sump; and (f) adding additional catalase into the sump to maintain the concentration of hydrogen peroxide below 0.1 wt. %.