Services
Spice & Herb Sterilization and Pasteurization Service
You send us your spices, herbs and dried ingredients. We sterilize or pasteurize them with gentle saturated steam and return them ready to use, safe, and with their aroma, color and flavor preserved. No capital investment, no chemicals, and volumes that flex to your needs.
How the service works
Send us your product
Ship your spices or herbs to our Swiss facility. We handle any batch size, from a single trial lot to recurring production volumes.
We define and validate the process
Our engineers set the exact steam parameters for your product and target, then validate them so quality and microbial safety are both guaranteed.
We treat and trace
Your product is steam sterilized or pasteurized under controlled conditions, with full digital traceability of every batch.
We return your product
You receive your treated spices or herbs, documented and ready for use, with a short turnaround.
Steam sterilization and pasteurization of spices and herbs
Steam is the clean alternative to ethylene oxide (EtO) and irradiation for decontaminating dried ingredients. Using saturated steam under vacuum, our DIP process (Dried Ingredients Pasteurization) achieves precise microbial reduction with no chemical residues. In client studies it has delivered a validated reduction of more than 5-log on pathogens such as Salmonella, E. coli, Listeria and Enterobacteriaceae, and the system can reach up to 7-log under full sterilization parameters. When needed, it even reduces spores (Bacillus, Clostridium), which continuous systems cannot. Each product is treated at its own calibrated parameters, and because your product stays sealed in its bag and never touches the machine, there is no cleaning between products. The treatment is gentle and precisely controlled, so aroma, color, flavor and volatile oils stay intact. We process whole and ground spices (chili, pepper, paprika, garlic, cloves, nutmeg, ginger, turmeric), herbs (oregano, thyme, basil, parsley), seeds, botanicals, dried vegetables, seasonings and custom blends.
Sterilization or pasteurization, which do you need?
The two treatments target different levels of microbial reduction. Sterilization aims for the highest reduction of the total microbial load, while pasteurization targets pathogens with a gentler treatment that preserves even more sensory quality. For food ingredients, many customers deliberately choose a calibrated pasteurization to protect quality rather than pushing to full sterilization. We help you choose and calibrate the right level for your product and market.
Why send your products to Imtech-Steri
Gentle steam, preserved quality
Precise saturated-steam treatment that reduces microbes without degrading aroma, color or flavor.
Flexible volumes
From a single trial batch to recurring runs, with no oversized minimum. Ideal when investing in your own line is not justified.
Validated and documented
Onsite load and process validation, plus digital traceability for every batch, for full compliance and audit readiness.
Expert engineering team
Decades of sterilization engineering experience calibrating the right process for each product.
A Swiss engineering company founded in 1979, with more than 45 years of steam sterilization expertise and pharmaceutical-grade documentation (ISO 13485, GAMP-compliant software, CE, SN EN 285, SN EN ISO 17665-1). Our vacuum steam process is backed by independent peer-reviewed research on spices such as black pepper and cumin.
Frequently asked questions
Ready to sterilize or pasteurize your spices and herbs?
Send us your product or request a trial.
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