Heat preserved foods

From the traditional canned fruit and vegetable product, to aseptically processed fruit juices in cartons and pasteurised ready meals, Campden BRI has nearly 100 years of experience in dealing with all aspects of heat processed foods. Heat process validation is of key importance in improving food quality without compromising safety - we have expertise in time-temperature integrators and spore and enzyme reduction techniques, and our own software - CTemp Version 8 - allows us to model the rate of heat transfer into containers.

Publications and training courses deal with all aspects of sterilisation and pasteurisation, as well as the microbial and organoleptic quality of the finished product.

Heat process validation

In any heat preserved food, it is essential that the product has received the correct treatment. Many factors affect the amount of heat delivered: with canned foods this includes the shape and volume of the can, the product it contains, and the degree of mixing during the process. With aseptically processed foods, the viscosity of the food and its rate of transfer through the heating pipes are major determinants. The same factors apply where the food is fully sterilised or just receives a pasteurisation process.

At Campden BRI we have a range techniques that can predict and measure both the characteristics of the products and process, and the actual amount of delivered heat. We also have expertise in determining the susceptibility of different organisms to heat.