Effect of the wavelength of infrared heaters on the inactivation of bacterial spores at various water activities.

Bacterial spores (Bacillus subtilis subsp. subtilis NBRC 16183) inoculated onto a stainless steel Petri dish and treated at nine levels of water activity (a(w)) for 2 days were inactivated by infrared radiation heating (IRH) using three kinds of infrared heaters with different radiation spectra. The peak wavelengths used were 950, 1,100 and 1,150 nm.