Abstract: In order to study the sterilization effect and shelf life of sweet osmanthus sauce, different doses of ⁶⁰Co-gamma ray （0~6.11 kGy） were used to irradiate the osmanthus sauce. The effects of different doses on the perceptual quality, microbial survival rate and shelf life of sweet osmanthus sauce were studied. The results showed that when the irradiation dose was 2.96 kGy, the microbial content in sweet osmanthus sauce reached the corporate hygienic standard. When the irradiation dose was 0.96~6.11 kGy, the color, smell, taste, viscosity and acceptability of sweet osmanthus sauce had no obvious changes compared with the control. The optimum dose of irradiation sterilization for sweet osmanthus sauce with total bacterial count not exceeding 7.1×10² CFU/g was 2.97~6.11 kGy. After treatment with this irradiation dose, the shelf life rate of sweet osmanthus sauce was 100% and the shelf life was more than 360 d. This study provides a reference for the application of irradiation sterilization of sweet osmanthus sauce.

Key words: osmanthus sauce, ⁶⁰Co-γ, ray, sterilization effect, sterilization dose, shelf life