Innovations in Thermal Treatment of Food

Abstract

This chapter presents a review of recent innovations that have been made in the field of thermal processing for food preservation, and attempts to foresee what impact these innovations may have on food markets. Three categories of innovation are addressed: improved methods for establishing optimum process conditions, new factory equipment systems for retorting and materials handling, and new retortable packaging systems. The first category focuses on new and novel methods for estimating kinetic parameters, which are needed to mathematically model the thermal inactivation of bacterial spores. Results from new and traditional methods are presented that illustrate the impact of the new methods in justifying shorter process times. The second category focuses on advances in retort design and control, as well as on automated materials handling systems for large cookroom operations. The third category focuses on the growing interest in retortable flexible pouches and semi-rigid bowls and trays for shelf-stable foods. A case study involving the development of ethnic menu items with such packaging systems is described.