Surface pasteurization method

A method for processing a food product (P) comprising: transporting said food product (P) through a plurality of stations including a charging station (20), a pasteurization station (30), and a station closure (26), said loading station (20) loading said food product (P) in a package (14), said pasteurization station (300) pasteurizing the surface of said food product (P) after said loading station ( 20), said closing station (26) closing said package (14) with said food product (P) therein after said pasteurization station (300) characterized in that said package (14) is closed with said food product (P ) therein immediately after said pasteurization, with no processing steps between said pasteurization station (300) and said closing station (26), the surface of said food product (P) is pasteurized at said pasteurization station (300) applying a pasteurizing medium to said food product (P) at said pasteurization station (300) and heat is convertiblemente transferred from said pasteurizing medium (300) to the surface of said food product (P) at a transfer rate sufficiently high heat to the coefficient of heat transfer of the surface is sufficiently higher than the coefficient of conductance of the food product such that the surface temperature is substantially instantaneously elevated above temperatures which are instantly lethal for microbes that may be present, and said pasteurizing medium is applied to said surface of said food product (P) with directional jets (354, 360, 372, 376), and said pasteurizing medium is directed at a sufficiently high speed as to physically displace said food product (P) and apply said pasteurizing medium to the entire outer surface of said food product (P).