Disclosed is a method for the surface pasteurization or surface sterilization of pieces of food products, wherein the food products are employed pre-warmed, and the product temperature lies below the evaporation temperature of the pasteurization or sterilization systems, the pre- warming temperature of the food products is selected to be lower than the saturation temperature, treatment is performed in a moist atmosphere free of air, wherein pasteurization is performed at temperatures between 55 and 99°C at low pasteurization pressure, or sterilization at temperatures between 100°C and 140°C at a higher sterilization pressure, heat treatment is performed in the course of 1 to 30 min, and the condensation water is removed from the surface of the food products by means of subsequent vacuum drying under further reduced pressure.
