Thermal

Preservation/Processing
of Foods
Ch 19
Objectives
• To explore :
• Scientific principles behind thermal processing in home and industry
• Terminology used to describe thermal preservation
• Conduction versus convection heating
• Packaging used for thermally processed foods
Thermal Preservation/processing of Foods
• Refers to controlled processes that are performed commercially
•
• Blanching Increasing
• Pasteurizing severity of
• Commercial Sterilization the process
• Inactivate disease and spoilage causing microorganisms
• Inactivate enzymes in food that can cause spoilage
BLANCHING
• Type of process: Mild intensity heat process
• Exposes fruit / vegetables to boiling water OR steam for a short period of time
• ( 2 sec to 2-3 min)
BLANCHING
• Preservation effect:
• INACTIVATES endogenous enzymes
• Enzymes that can brown, wilt, etc.
• Drive off oxygen and other gases ( minimize pressure build up)

• Short term shelf life extension

• Combined with other forms of processing…. Canning and freezing
Pasteurization
Louis Pasteur
1864

Type of Process: moderate intensity heat process

Temperature below boiling point of water 80-90o C (176-194o F)

Eg) Milk
15 sec at 72oC (162oF)- high temperature, short time HTST (flash pasteurizer)

Process performed PRIOR to packaging

Pasteurization
• Preservation effect:
• Depend on on the type of food
• 1) low acid foods (milk, eggs)
• To destroy pathogenic ( disease causing) bacteria and viruses
• To inactivate enzymes
• 2) acid foods (beer, wine, fruit juices)
• Extend product shelf life
• Destroy some spoilage-causing microorganisms and enzymes
• Acid foods are not expected to be a source of pathogens…
• Except E. coli 0157:H7
• Pasteurized vs unpasteurized juices

• * Primary reason- get rid of enzymes to extend shelf life.

Pasteurization
• Many spoilage-causing Microorganisms can survive
• Especially in low acid foods

• Combined with other forms of processing like refrigeration

• Moderate shelf life extension

• “Best if used before date” at less than or equal to 4oC

• “Intermediate heat treatment”

Commercial Sterilization (CS)
• Type of Process: high intensity heat process
• Also known as “canning”
• Cans, bottles, bags

• Requires a minimum of 121oC (250oF) moist heat for 15 minnutes

Commercial Sterilization
• Preservation Effect:
• Destroys spoilage causing and disease causing microorganisms
• Free from viable forms of microorganisms (including SPORES)

• Ensures spores of Clostridium botulinum are destroyed’

• Bot. destruction not done on other two methods
• Aka: old term “ botulism cook”
Commercial Sterilization
• What does survive is a small number of heat resistant spores
• Do not cause disease
• Ex) extreme thermophiles ( like basillus bacteria)
• BUT are able to multiply (germinate) in the food product even if it is
held at room temperature
Commercial Sterilization (CS)
• Performed once the food is packaged in suitable containers
• Containers must withstand
• high temperatures
• High pressures
• (sterilization is done in the container it is stored in)
• Must be hermetically sealed
• Impermeable to gas and liquid and microorganisms
• CS products have a long shelf life ( 2 years or more)
• Eg) canned products
UHT processing and Aseptic Packaging=
Commercial Sterilization
• 1. Ultra High Temperature (UHT)
• Injection of hot steam under pressure (140-150oC; 284-302oF) for a short time
(4-6 sec), followed by immediate cooling

• 2. Aseptic packaging-
• UHT food is aseptically placed into
presterilized containers and sealed
in aseptic environment
Eg. Shelf stable milk
UHT processing and Aseptic Packaging
• UHT treated & aseptically packaged
• Shelf life > 6 months, w/o refrigeration
• ( more likely to breach seal of container)

• Some UHT treated foods are not necessarily aseptically packaged….

Not commercially sterile

• Longer shelf at refrigeration temperatures

• Not shelf-stable ( at room temperature) ******
• Post processing recontamination
 Commercial Sterilization

• Survivor Curve or Thermal Death Rate Curve (TDRC)

• (speed at which microorganisms are killed)
• If a given temperature kills 90% microbial population in the 1st minute
of heating,
• 90% of remaining population will be killed in the 2nd minute,
• 90% remaining in the 3rd….
Logo rhythmic order of death 10,000 start
1 log=90% or 10% survive 1,000 1D
If a food contains 10,000 mo,
100 2D
How many survivors will there be if
10 3D
A 3D process is applied?
1 4D
0.1 5D
10 4-3= 101= 10
Do the math….
• How would you find the number of survivors after an application of a
3D thermal process to a food containing a starting microbial load of
1,000,000?

1. Death rate =90% per cycle/ log

• Would the answer be….. 2. Each log survival = 10% or x .10
A. 20,000 3. Math:
log 1= 100,000 (90% survive)
B. 5,000 log 2= 10,000 (90% survive)
C. 1,000 log 3= 1,000 (90% survive)
D. 100
E. 10
Commercial Sterilization (CS)
• Survivor Curve or Thermal Death Rate Curves (TDRC)

• D-Value (decimal/ chemical reduction time)

• Time in minutes at a particular temperature (oC or oF) required to kill 90% of
microbial population
• The more microbial load (microbes present) then the more logs (time) will be
needed to reduce the number

• D-value = decimal reduction time

Thermal Death Curve
• Used to determine cooking time and temperature needed to kill a
specific microorganism

• The lower the temperature the greater the exposure time needed to
kill

• * Not necessarily sterile, but kills 90% of the population of specific

microbe
Why is this important?????
What do these charts tell you?
Survivor curve (TDRC)
One
log
cycle
Thermophilic spores
Population

C. Botulism spores

Vegetative state
Determine the thermal process required for
different microorganisms of concern based on:
• Thermal Death Time Curves (TDTC)
• Times required for destruction of microbe under specific conditions at
different temperatures

• Z-value (oC or oF) and F- value (minutes)

Z- value
• In the real world we don’t have instantaneous heat to 240oF
• Product may already be “ cooked “ at 220o F
• Z-value allows comparison of heating processes at different
temperatures
• D-value= time needed at a constant temperature to kill 90% of
microorganism population

• Z-value= resistance of a microorganism to different temperatures

• The temperature change causes the 1 log cycle change in the Dvalue
• (it takes time for the change to happen)

• F-value = minutes required to kill microorganisms at a certain

temperature
 Heating time in
“D-value”

minutes
F-value
temperature

If it takes an increase of 20oF for the D-value to change 1 log (90% death),
then D-value slope =20oF
Now what do these charts tell you?
How can we determine if C.botulinum spores
have been destroyed?
• 1. inoculated pack studies
• Clostidium sporogens PA3679
• Spoilage causing microorganisms (anaerobic, spores)
• More heat resistant than spores of C. botulinum

• 2. Margin of safety (MS)

Margin of Safety (MS)
• MINIMIZE possibility of viable C. botulinum spores

• 1. Low acid foods – use a 12D thermal process (MS)

• 12D = 12 log cycle reduction= can kill 1012 (1 trillion) Microorganisms
• No food exists that has 1012 spores
• Large margin of safety ( usually large # of microbes< 1012 )
• How much time required for the thermal process?
• Depends on the D value decreases as temperature increases
Margin of safety
• 2. acid foods- use a 5D thermal process/ or 3D
• C. botulinum will NOT grow in acid foods ( pH below 4.6)
Other factors that need to be controlled:
(related to the FOOD constituents)
• Mechanism of heat transfer

• Consistency of the food ( solid, vicious liquid, a combination)

• Cold point- last area to heat in container

• Chemical composition of the food (eg. Fat, protein, …)

• Can act as insulators
 Type of heat transfer
(related to the Food constituents)
Combination
Like corn, beans
and peas
Solid foods
Non-vicous liquids
Like canned
Like broth or milk
tuna a salmon

Conduction heating – Convection heating–

transfer from molecule transfer from fluid motion.
to molecule in straight lines Fluid heats along walls and rises
….. Effect of food constituents
• Sugars, starches, fats and proteins can protect spores & vegetable
cells from the killing effect of heat
• D194 for salmonella in chocolate milk = 78 min
• (90% of salmonella)
• Chocolate milk has other ingredients
• D194 for salmonella in regular milk = 0.00008 min
• Also effect the heat transfer mechanism
• Other constituents may decrease the resistance of microorganisms to
thermal processes.
• Eg.) acids, spices, some antimicrobial components
Types of packaging for thermally processed
foods
• Cans (2-3 piece)
• Retort(able) pouches
• Tetrapak
• Glass jars or bottles
• Plastic
Commercial processing concerns:
• Safety- destroy harmful bacteria
• Quality- destroy organisms and maintain quality
• Cost- packaging,equipment and energy use, shelf life, shipping

•-
Heating food before or after pkg
• Either enclosed or conveyor belts

• Retort- huge pressure canners page 579

• Pressure sealed to hold canned foods
• Still retorts- Like home pressure canners, limited temp 250oF
• Agitating retorts- gentle agitation
 Retortable pouch
3 layers ( laminate)
A. mylar or polypropylene
outside surface
B. aluminum –
barrier to gases and water vapor; Hermatic container
C. polypropylene-
in contact with the food;
inert (prevent contact of food with aluminum)
heat resistant surface