Dehydration redux  October 1, 2009 / Print / Reprints / / Text
Size+ Applying microwave energy in a vacuum to dry or dehydrate
foods has a checkered past, but a Canadian scientist believes he
has solved the challenges.  A view of the commercial dehydration
machine at CAL-SAN in British Columbia. Source: EnWave Corp.  A
1988 article in  about MIVAC could have been written 20 years
later. Shorthand for microwave and vacuum drying, MIVAC promised
to remove moisture from fruit without destroying nutrients or
adversely affecting flavor and color. Pacific Gas & Electric and
California State University-Fresno built the dehydration unit,
and a few systems were sold to food processors. In the end,
MIVAC wound up in the ashbin of food processing innovations.
MIVAC may not have panned out, but scientists in Vancouver, BC
believe they can deliver on its promise with radiant energy
vacuum (REV). The first commercial REV machine went into full-
scale production last fall at Cal-San Enterprises Ltd., a
Richmond, BC blueberr