Improving thermal processing of foods

Gain insight into the latest developments with thermal processing aimed at assuring food safety whilst optimising product quality, with a new reference book from an international team of contributing experts.

Heat processing of foods is important both as a preservation tool and in the development of texture, flavour and colour. Using thermal processing to help assure safety whilst maximising quality is a major objective for manufacturers of heat preserved foods, and demands a thorough understanding of established technologies and clear vision of the opportunities offered by new and emerging technologies. This single comprehensive volume provides a definitive reference guide for both technologists within the heat preserved sector and researchers in the field of heat processing technologies on research into improving particular thermal processing techniques and measuring their effectiveness.

Part 1 looks at how best to optimise thermal processes. Part 2 then looks at developments for sterilisation and pasteurisation and Part 3 concentrates on developments in continuous heat processing. Parts 4 and 5 then look at aspects of process efficacy with Part 4 concentrating on improving process validation and Part 5 on microbial inactivation. The breadth and depth of the volume will make it of interest to everyone with a serious interest in the thermal processing of foods.

Contents

Part 1 - Optimising thermal processes

• Optimising the safety and quality of thermally-processed packaged foods
• Optimising the efficiency and productivity of thermal processing
• Optimising the efficiency of batch processing with retort systems in thermal processing
• Using computational fluid dynamics to optimise thermal processes

Part 2 - Developments in technologies for sterilisation and pasteurisation

• Modelling and optimising retort temperature control
• Improving rotary thermal processing
• Developments in packaging formats for retort processing
• Developments in cook-chill and sous-vide processing

Part 3 - Developments in continuous heat processing

• Developments in aseptic processing
• Developments in tubular heat exchangers
• Optimising plate heat exchanger design and operation
• Developments in ohmic heating
• Air impingement heating
• Lower-based packaging sterilisation in aseptic processing

Part 4 - Improving validation of thermal processes

• Modelling heat penetration curves in thermal processes
• Validation of heat processes: an overview
• The use of data loggers to validate thermal processes
• The use of time-temperature integrators to validate thermal processes
• New techniques for measuring and validating thermal processes

Part 5 - Analysing microbial inactivation in thermal processing

• Analysing the effectiveness of microbial inactivation in thermal processing
• Evaluating microbial inactivation models for thermal processing
• Identifying and dealing with heat-resistant bacteria

Hardback book - 520 pages