METHOD OF PRODUCING STERILE COOKED RICE AND STERILE COOKED RICE PRODUCED BY THE METHOD

摘要

It is intended to provide a method of producing sterile cooked rice, in which botulinum spores are efficiently decreased while sustaining the color and texture of cooked rice and which can be stored over a long period of time while preventing the proliferation of Clostridium botulinum and other vital bacteria, and sterile cooked rice obtained by this method. The above objects are established by providing a method of producing sterile cooked rice, which comprises conducting a high pressure treatment at 200 MPa or higher to thereby lower the botulinum bacterial count in the form of spores (expressed in the measurement unit cfu/g) to a ratio of 10-1 or less compared with the level before the high pressure treatment, then conducting a heat treatment at a cooking temperature of 115°C or lower to thereby lower the bacterial count to a ratio of 10-3 or less compared with the level before the heat treatment, and sterile cooked rice obtained by this method.