THERMAL

PROCESSING
Judith Jatico-Cauilan
Bukidnon State University

Thermal Processing in Canning

The deterioration of food and other biological
materials are caused by
> microbial activity
> biochemical activity or enzyme activity
> purely chemical reactions
> physico-chemical conversions (such as
drying, wetting, discoloration) and
> mechanical causes (such as bruises from
handling, cuts and punctures by insects and
animals).

The main objective of preservation

methods is to prevent or, at least limit these
factors or causes of deterioration. However,
any activity geared towards this objective
should ensure that the nutritional value and
the overall quality of the food is not
compromised, and that the technique used
will have no harmful effect on the consumer

Thermal Processing in Canning

Why do we thermally process food?
What are the effects of heat treatment?
What are the other methods of killing
microorganisms?
Why do we use heat instead of the other
methods?
What foods are to be heated?
What must be the extent of heating

Thermal Processing in Canning

1. Why do we thermally process food?
To kill m.o of public health significance and
for food to be safe for consumption
Thermal processing ensures that all C.
botulinim spores or cells are killed or
inactivated
Ref. m.o: Clostridium botulinum

Thermal Processing in Canning

2. What are the other effects of heat
treatment?
Nutrient loss
Excessive browning or discoloration
Off-flavor production
Texture change
In general, there may be changes in physical
or chemical composition that may lead to
undesirable product quality

Thermal Processing in Canning

3. What are the other methods of killing
microorganisms?
use of preservatives
irradiation
pulsed light
Ultrasound
High pressure processing

Thermal Processing in Canning

4. Why use heat instead of the other
methods?
Heat or thermal processing is the most
established method. Other methods are
costly and not yet established, and are only
used for military and space application
(e.g. irradiation)

Thermal Processing in Canning

5. What foods are to be heated?
Foods with water activity (aw) less than 0.6
does not require heat treatment because it
is almost dry.

Thermal Processing in Canning

Q1 does not require pressure processing
- 70 100 o C
- e.g. vinegar
Q2 requires high pressure processing
- processing with steam under pressure
- e.g. corned beef and other meat products

Thermal Processing in Canning

Q3 does not require pressure processing
* sugar lowers water activity
* acid lowers pH
- 70 100 o C
Q4 does not require pressure processing
- low acid
-* heavy syrup lowers water activity
- e.g. preserves, nata de coco

Thermal Processing in Canning

6. What must be the extent of heating?
To attain absolute sterility, it entails 100%
killing which requires a very high
temperature for a very long time
However, quality of the food material is
degraded
Therefore, there must be a balance
between killing the microbes and keeping
the quality of the food

Thermal Processing in Canning

*Commercial Processing
- Destruction of all viable microorganisms of
public health significance, including those
capable of reproduction under normal
condition
- Condition where there could be dormant
m.o and spores but the condition does not
favor their growth and reproduction
- It must be a compromise between killing of
m.o and quality of the food

Process Determination
Heat Resistance
Experiments

Heat Penetration Data

(Jc, Jn, fc, fn in food)

(D value, Z Value, F value)

Process Calculation
(Fo, cooktime)

Inoculated Packs (testing

D value heating time in minutes

necessary to reduce population by 90% at a
certain temperature
* tenfold reduction of viable microbial cells

the time required to reduce the

number of m.o by factor of 10 at a
given temperature and under standard
conditions
it is an indicator of the resistance of
a microorganism to heat treatment

Ex.
1. A canned food initially contain 1,150 spores of
C. botulinum after heating for 1.75 min at 121 C,
and only 95 spores survived. What is its D121?
DT = specified temperature
2. Two tubes containing equal amount of
m.o was subjected to thermal treatment.
The first tube is heated for 3 min at 121 C
and has 95 spore survivors. The second
tube heated for 5 min at 121 C has 10
spore survivors.

Ex.
1. A canned food initially contain 1,150 spores of
C. botulinum with a D121 = 1.616 min. How many
survivors are left if the canned food is heated for
3.232 min at 121 C? How many survivors were left?

Z value increase in temperature (0F)

necessary to reduce heating time by 90 %
- change in temperature that accompanies
10 fold change in time for the destruction of
microorganism
- increase in temperature necessary to
reduce heating time by 90%
* Concept Theory:
Reduce heating time by increasing
temperature

Ex.
1. If D121 = 0.24 min. for a microorganism with a
z-value of 9.5 C, determine the following?
a) D110
b) D111.5
c) D102

F value necessary time in minutes

required to destroy the organisms in a
specified medium at 250 0F (121 0C)
* D, Z, F indicates heat resistance

Example of medium: milk, meat, fruit

juice, etc.

Assignment
1. F121 = 1.2 min for 1 99.999% killing of C.
botulinum spores.
a) Find the value at D121
b) Find Fo

2. A canner process his product for 121 C for

5 min to attain a certain degree of sterility. If
he plans to process the product at 115 C how
long will he process it to attain the same
degree of sterilization?