UNIVERSITY INSTITUTE OF AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES

Course Name: Principles of Food Science and Nutrition

Course Code: 21AGT-209
Dr Reshu Rajput (E10479)
Name of lecture: Thermal Methods of Food Preservation

Department of Agriculture Sciences (UIAS)

1

www.cuch Campus: Gharuan, M

d.in
 THERMAL PROCESSING
 Thermal processing means preservation by application of heat.
 It involves heating of foods in hermetically sealed containers for a
specific time at a specific temperature to eliminate the microbial
pathogens that endanger public health and micro-organisms and
enzyme that deteriorate food during storage.
 The application of heat is an important method of preserving foods
and is also a means of developing texture, flavour and colour.

METHODS FOR THERMAL PROCESSING

• Blanching
• Boiling
• Pasteurization
• Sterilization
• UHT Processing

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 OBJECTIVES OF THERMAL
PROCESSING
• The primary objective of thermal processing of food
is to destroy the most heat resistant pathogenic spore
forming organism, e.g.Clostridium botulinum
• The secondary objective of thermal processing of
food is to destroy spore forming organisms that cause
spoilage. These organisms are generally more heat
resistant than the pathogenic spore formers

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www.cuchd.in Campus: Gharuan, Mohali
 Types of Heat Transfer

• Conduction
• Convection
• Radiation
 Principle of Heat Transfer

• Conduction
–from one particle to another by contact
–food particles in can do not move
• Convection
–movement inside can distributes heat
• Radiation
–energy transfer through a medium which itself
is not heated
 Pasteurization vs. Sterilization
Mild Heat Treatment Severe Heat Treatment
•Aims: •Aims:
•Kill pathogens •Kills all bacteria
•Reduces bacterial load (Food •Food will be commercially
is not sterile) sterile
•Inactivate enzymes •Advantages:
•Advantages: •Long shelf life
•Minimal damage to flavor, •No other preservation method
texture, and nutritional quality. is necessary
•Disadvantages: •Disadvantages:
•Short shelf life •Food is over-cooked
•Another preservation method •Major changes in texture,
must be used, such as flavor, and quality
refrigeration or freezing •Examples:
•Examples: •Canning
•Pasteurization
•Blanching
 HEAT INDUCED CHANGES
Desirable Changes
• Destruction of microorganisms
• Destruction or inactivation of enzymes
• Alteration of color, flavor, texture
• Improved digestibility
Undesirable Changes
• Degradation of nutrients
• Degradation of sensory attributes
Color
Flavour
Texture
 APPLICATION OF HEAT

• Increase storage life -minimize food borne

diseases

– Blanching
– Pasteurization
– Sterilization = “commercial” sterilization
 BLANCHING
Blanching is often used as a preliminary step for
freezing, canning, or dehydration.

A process where food is briefly heated by

1) Immersing in boiling water
2) Steaming
3) Microwave
… and then rapidly cooled to stop cooking.

• Used for fruits & vegetables to inactivate

enzymes
 PURPOSE OF BLANCHING

• Inactivate enzymes that can cause

deterioration in flavor, texture, color, and
nutrients during storage.
• Reduce number of microorganisms
• Remove air from tissues
• Make food more compact
• Enhance colour
 PASTEURIZATION
• Low order heat treatment at temperatures
below boiling.
• Destroys pathogenic microorganisms.
• Extends shelf life by destroying
microorganisms & enzymes (milk, fruit
juices, beer, and wine)
• Products contain many living organisms
capable of growth, thus limiting shelf life.
• Destroys pathogenic microorganisms in
vegetative state
– Juices, milk, liquid eggs

• Extend product shelf life by reducing

microbial and enzymatic spoilage
– Beer, wine and other alcoholic drinks
– Fruit juices
– Pickles
PASTEURIZATION
MICROBIAL DESTRUCTION BY HEAT
• Lethality terms
– D value -time at a given temperature to cause a one log
cycle decrease in cell numbers (Time in minutes required to
kill 90% of population)
– Z value -temperature required to give a one log cycle
decrease in the D value
– D & Z values are used to characterize the nature of
micorobes
– F value -time at 121oC to give a 12 log cycle decrease in the
spore or cells of a given organism
– F12110 =3.0 min Process operating at 121o C for 3 min for
m/o whose Z value is 10oC.
Objectives and processing conditions for
pasteurization of selected foods

S.No Food Objective Processing

Conditions
1 Milk Destruction of pathogens Brucella 71.5oC for 15
abortus, Mycobacterium seconds
tuberculosis, Coxiella burnetii
2 Fruit Juice Inactivation of enzymes (pectin 88oC for 15 seconds
esterase and
polygalactouronase)
3 Ice Cream Destruction of pathogens 80oC for 15 seconds
4 Beer Destruction of spoilage micro- 65-68oC 20 min (in
organisms (wild yeasts, bottle)
Lactobacillus sp) and residual
yeast (Saccharomyces sp)
5 Liquid egg Destruction of pathogens 64.4oC for 2.5 minute
Salmonella seftenberg
 Thermal Death Curves
• Heat kills bacteria logarithmically
– i.e. If 90% are killed in the first minute at a
certain temperature, D1 then
– 90% of those remaining alive will die during
the second minute, D2 and
– 90% of those remaining alive will die during
the third minute, etc. D3 --------------Dn
• Spores are more heat resistant than
vegetative cells
Time-Temperature Combinations

From thermal death curves, the following

time/temperature treatments yield the
same microbe killing effect:

– 0.78 min @ 127oC 10 min @ 116oC

– 1.45 min @ 124oC 36 min @ 110oC
– 2.78 min @ 121oC 150 min @ 104oC
– 5.27 min @ 118oC 330 min @ 100oC
SELECTION OF HEAT PROCESSING
METHOD BASED ON
• Nature of the food (pH, composition, viscosity,
heat capacity, other components)

• Storage conditions following thermal processing

• Heat resistance of organisms

• Heat transfer characteristics

• Initial load of organisms

Rate of heat penetration
Every food particle inside a can must
reach the critical temperature for the
required time
• Factors affecting heat penetration include:
– size of can
– shape of can
– consistency of the food item (thick or thin)
– nature of the food (particulate vs liquid)
5 D and 12 D Process
Processing Requirements Based Upon
Acidity (pH)
 CANNING

Canning is a method of
food preservation wherein
a food and its container
are rendered commercially
sterile by application of
heat, alone or in
combination with pH
and /or water activity or
other chemicals.”
 CANNING OF FRUIT AND VEGETABLES

• Nicholas Appert (1809), a French confectioner developed heat

preservation of food in sealed container known as canning.
• In 1810 Appert published the first book on canning entitled “The
Art of Preserving Animal and vegetable substances for many
years" which is the first known work on canning.
• Canning also known as Appertization.
• Louis Pasteur (1864) discovered that the micro- organisms cause
food spoilage and define the term Pasteurization.
• The term canning refers to a process which involves heating food
stuff in hermetically sealed containers for a specific time at
specific temperature to eliminate microbial pathogens that
endanger public health and microorganisms and enzymes that
deteriorate food during storage.
Manufacturing of cans: Metal cans are mainly used for canning of fruits and
vegetables. Open top sanitary (OTS) cans are made from tin plates which are very
thin sheets of steel lightly coated with tin (0.00025 cm thick) on both sides.
– Tin can is cut into proper sizes with a trimming and slitting machine.
– After notching and slitting, the flat can body is passed through an edging
machine where hooks are formed.
– The can body is then bent into a cylindrical shape and side seam is soldered.
– The can ends are supplied separately along with the cans.
Fabrication of can:
– Reforming : First step consists of reforming cans in reformer to give them
cylindrical shape.
– Flanging: The cans are then flanged by using a flanger, which curls the
rims/edges.
– Seaming: One end of the can is now fixed to the flanged can body by means
of a double seaming machine which firstly form the seam and secondly
tightens it.
– The finished cans are now tested for any leaks with the help of a vacuum/air
pressure tester.
– Finally, after the filling of the cans with fruits or vegetables the second lid (end
cover) after coding is fixed similarly for airtight sealing of cans.
– Can Testing :For testing, the probe of empty can tester is sealed empty can to
which air is pumped to about 15-20 psi.
– Any leakage is judged by immersing can in water. In case of any leakage, the
defect in the double seamer needs to be rectified before starting any
production.
Table7.1: Trade name and sizes of cans used in canning of
fruits and vegetables

Trade name Trade size Size inches (Dia x Size mm Capacity cc

Ht)
11
A1 211×400 2 /16 x4 68×102 316
1 9
1 lb jam 301×309 3 /16 x3 /16 78×90 356

1 1
A1 tall 301×411 3 /16 x4 /16 78×119 479

7 8
A2 307×408 3 /16 x4 /16 87×114 579
1 12
1 lb butter 401×212 4 /16 x2 /16 103×70 470

1
2 lb jam 401×400 4 /16 x4 103×102 721

1 11
A 2 1/2 401×411 4 /16 x4 /16 103×119 848
3 13
7 lb jam 603×513 6 /16 x5 /16 157×148 2543
3
A10 603×700 6 /16 x7 157×178 3069
CANNED FRUIT PROCESSING STEPS
• Inspection of incoming raw materials
• Food preparation
– thawing, cleaning, washing, sorting, grading, peeling,
trimming, slicing or dicing for vegetables and fruits.
– Meats and fish may be tempered, boned, trimmed, diced,
minced or sliced etc.
• Blanching
• Filling the container
• Exhausting
• Sealing the container
• Heat processing
• Cooling
• Incubation and quality control checks
• Labeling, palletizing, warehousing and dispatch
 Steps involved in Canning
Raw material selection / Receiving
• Fruits should be ripe but firm, evenly matured, free from
blemishes, insect damage and malformation.
• Over ripe fruits yield poor quality product, while under
ripe/immature fruit generally shrivel or toughen on canning.
• Vegetables except peas, beans etc are harvested at mature stage
to enable them to withstand cooking during sterilization.
Washing
• Washing with water to remove dust, dirt and adhering surface
micro-flora.
• Mechanical washers involve agitating or tumbling the commodity
on moving belts or revolving screens while they are immersed in
water or subjected to water sprays.
• Washing by using high pressure sprays is most satisfactory.
• Washing after peeling removes vitamins and minerals.
• Vegetables may be soaked in dilute solution of potassium
permanganate or chlorine (25-50 ppm) for disinfection.
• The water temperature should be kept low to keep the fruit firm
and to reduce leaching.
Sorting and grading
• Automatic colour sorters can be used for sorting to reduce labour
cost.
• The fruit and vegetables are graded to obtain uniform quality with
respect to size, colour etc. after preliminary sorting.
• Grading can be done either manually or with the help of grading
machines.
• For mechanical grading, the fruit and vegetables are passed over
screens with holes of different diameter.
• Different types of mechanical graders include screen grader, roller
grader, rope or cable grader etc. Screen graders fitted with vibrating
screens of copper with circular openings are most commonly used.
• White button mushrooms are graded on cap size basis. Grade A (cap
diameter up to 2.5cm) and B grade (cap diameter beyond 2.5cm).
Peeling, coring and Pitting
• Peeling and coring can be done
(1) by hand or knife
(2) by machine
(3) by heat treatment
(4) by lye solution.
 Table-7.3:Common methods for the peeling of fruit and vegetables

S.No. Peeling method Commodities

1 Knife peeling (manual) All fruit and vegetables
2 Mechanical knife peeling Apple, pear, pineapple

3 Hot water peeling Tomato

4 High pressure steam/water Potato, tomato
peeling
5 Abrasive peeling Potato,ginger,carrots
(carborundum crystal acting
as abrasive material)
6 Flame peeling Brinjal, onion, garlic
(rotates food through a
furnace heated to more than
1000oC)
7 Lye peeling Orange segments, peach,
(boiling caustic soda/KOH (1- apricot, nectarines,
2%) for 1-2 minutes) pears,carrots and sweet
potatoes
Blanching methods
• Steam blanching -less loss of water soluble nutrients leaching -oxidation of
product becomes a problem
• Water blanching -fast process due to a better rate of heat transfer
– severe on nutrients
– effective washing process
– blanch water can be used to transport the raw materials to the next stage of
the process
• Microwaves -very expensive and complex equipment is required -low leaching
losses
• Hot Gas -expensive -hot gas from a furnace is blown down through the product
along with team which reduces dehydration and increases the heat transfer rate
Filling
• Under-filling: gives a large headspace. Large headspaces result in the
following:
– Low vacuum if heat exhaust is used.
– Mushiness of the contents due to excessive movement inside the can.
– Under-filling
– Overfilling: produces excessively small headspaces, resulting in the
following:
– Low vacuum if steam flow closure is relied on for vacuum.
– Swelling of can due to hydrogen production.
– Springiness or distortion of can.
Filling in cans
• Generally plain cans are used.
• For coloured fruits like plums, black grapes;
strawberries etc lacquered cans are employed.
• The fruit and vegetable either slices, halves or
whole are filled into the cans keeping in view the
declared drain weight.
Syruping or brining
• The cans are filled with hot sugar syrup (35-55%)
for fruits and with hot brine (2-10%) concentration
for vegetables.
• The syrup or brine is added to the can at a
temperature of 79-82oC, leaving 0.32-0.47cm head
space either manually or in automatic machines.
Exhausting
Exhausting aims to remove air from the package before closure. Exhausting
will:
– Remove all gases from the headspace which will minimize strains on seams
during retorting.
– Remove oxygen, otherwise ether corrosion, oxidation and discolouration will
result.
– Give a vacuum on cooling to give space for the gases which are formed on
storage.
HEAT EXHAUST
• Contents are heated before sealing. This is ideal for products containing lots
of trapped air. Final temperature depends on closing temperature and
headspace.
• STEAM INJECTION also referred to as STEAM FLOW CLOSURE
• This flushes the headspace out with a jet of steam just before closing. This
method is more effective where products are packed in hot brines and
syrups and where a large headspace exists.
MECHANICAL EXHAUST
• Uses a vacuum pump to remove air from the package.
• Food is filled at low temperatures. This method is useful for foods which trap
a great deal of air.
• Seaming/closing: Immediately after exhausting, the cans are
sealed by using a double seamer. Double seaming is a two step
operation.
Clinching: the can lid is inserted on the can body hook by holding
and rotating the lid-in-position can between two rollers in the first
operation.
The next step is to press the seam using the second operation
roller, which results in an appropriate overlap of the body hook
and cover hook which results in an appropriate countersink.
• Coding/Embossing: The code provides the necessary
information about the product like name of canning unit, product
packed in the can, date of packing, lot number etc.
• Heat processing
All fruits and acid vegetables can be processed satisfactorily in
boiling water (100oC) as the presence of acid retards the growth
of bacteria and their spores.
Non acidic vegetables (except tomato and rhubarb) are
processed at higher temperatures of about 115-121oC under
pressure.
Over cooking should be avoided as it spoils the texture, flavour
and appearance of the product.
Processing methods
• Open cooker consists of stainless steel (SS) or
galvanized iron tanks containing boiling water in which
sealed cans are placed.
• Continuous non-agitating cookers, In this system ,the
cans travel in boiling water in crates carried by over-
head conveyors on a continuous moving belt.
• Continuous agitating cookers, In this system, the sealed
cans moving on the belt are rotated by a special
mechanical device to agitate the contents of the cans.
• For low acid foods like vegetables (pH > 4.5), with hard
texture, the processing is carried out in a pressurized
vessel (retorts) at elevated temperatures (≥ 110oC) under
higher steam pressure (2-3 atmospheres).
Cooling
• Immediately after processing, the sealed cans are rapidly cooled
to approximately 35-40oC to stop the cooking process and to
prevent stack burning.
• Cooling is done by
– Immersing/passing hot cans in cold water tanks or by using
cold water jets.
– by passing cold water in to a pressure cooker and exposing
cans to air.
– Water used for cooling should be non corrosive, low in
bacterial and yeast count and chlorinated with 2 ppm of
available chlorine.
Storage
• After cooling, the cans are stacked to allow the outer surface to
dry as even a small traces of moisture can induce rusting.
• Labeling is done manually or by using labeling machine.
• Cans should be stored in cool and dry place (below 30oC).
• Adequately processed cans usually ensure an acceptable
product quality up to at least one year.
 Machineries required for Canning

Can body Reformer Flanger

Double Seamer

Lid Embossing (Batch

no, manufacture date
etc)

Can retort/autoclave
 Table 7.2 Specific requirement for canning of fruits

Fruits Preparation Syrup Exhaust Processing Type of can

o
Strength time at 100 C
o
( B) A2½ can)

minutes

Apricot Use whole or halves, peel by 40 + 0.1 % Exhaust can at 82- 20-25 Plain
o
dipping in boiling lye solution (2% citric acid 100 C for 6-10

NaOH) for 30 seconds to 1 minute, minutes or until

dip in cold water, cut two halves, temperature incan

o
remove pit, keep immersed in center reaches 79 C.

2%salt solution until filled in can.

Peach Use whole fruit ,peel by dipping in 40 -do- 25 Plain

boiling lye solution (2% (NaOH)

for 30 seconds to 1 minute dip in

cold water, cut two halves,

remove pit, keep immersed in 2%

salt solution until filled in can.

 Table 7.2 Specific requirement for canning of fruits

Guava Peel, cut into pieces, remove seeds 40 -do- 20 plain

and keep in 2% brine to prevent

browning and fill in can.

Litchi Peel by hand, remove pits. 40+0.5% citric -do- 25 plain

acid

Pineapple Peel, core and slice fruit, punch 40 -do- 25 plain

circular rings (5.6-8.8 cm diameter)

Pear Peel by hand, cut longitudinally into 40+0.1%citric -do- 20-25 plain

two halves, core and keep in 2% brine acid

to prevent browning until filled in

cans.

Jack fruit Cut fruit into pieces, remove bulbs, 50 + 0.5-0.75% -do- 20-25 plain

separate seed from bulbs, use whole, citric acid

halves or quarters.

Loquat Cut into halves 40 -do- 25 plain

Table 7.3 Specific requirement for canning of vegetables

Vegetable Preparation Brine Exhaust Processing Type of can

strength (A2½ can) at

o
(%) 121 C
2
(0.7 kg/cm

steam pressure)

Asparagus Wash, grade, cut lengthwise 2.25% Exhaust can at 90- 24 Plain /sulphur
o
into pieces of desired size, 100 C for 7-10 resistant
o
blanch for 2-3 minutes. minutes, (79 C in

can center)

Beans Use tender, stringless beans, 2.25 -do- 40 Plain/ sulphur

slice 2.5cm length, blanch resistant

and fill in can.

Cabbage Shred cabbage, blanch in 2.0 -do- 40 Plain

1% citric acid boiling solution

for 5-6 min, cool in 2% brine

Table 7.3 Specific requirement for canning of vegetables.

Vegetable Preparation Brine Exhaust Processing Type of can

strength (%) o
(A2½ can) at 121 C
2
(0.7 kg/cm steam

pressure)

Mushroom Use tight buttons, blanch 2.0+ 0.3 % -do- 25 Plain

for 4-5 minutes, immerse in citric acid+

2% salt solution, fill in 1% sugar

cans.

Peas Shell, grade, boil for 3-5 2+2.5% -do- 45 Sulphur

min sugar resistant

Potato Peel, keep in 2% brine, 2 -do- 45 Plain

blanch in boiling water for

2-3 min, keep in 2.5%

CaCl2 for 1 hour, wash and

Methods of calculation of process time
• Formula (mathematical) method.
• Graphical method.
– Formula or Mathematical method: It is based on the equivalent lethality of
different time temperature combinations and enables rapid calculation of
process time. The process time in formula method is calculated from the
following expression:-
F1 values for selected z values at retort temperatures below 121oC
If the reference F value is known, then it is possible to calculate U by using F 1
tables. The value of g is then found from fh/ U and g tables.

121-θr Z value
(o C) 4.4OC 6.7OC 8.9OC 10OC 11.1OC 12OC

5.6 17.78 6.813 4.217 3.594 3.162 2.848

6.1 23.71 8.254 4.870 4.084 3.548 3.162
6.7 31.62 10.00 5.623 4.642 3.981 3.511
7.2 42.17 12.12 6.494 5.275 4.467 3.899
7.8 56.23 14.68 7.499 5.995 5.012 4.329
8.3 74.99 17.78 8.660 6.813 5.623 4.806
8.9 100.0 21.54 10.00 7.743 6.310 5.337
9.4 133.4 26.10 11.55 8.799 7.079 5.926
10.0 177.8 31.62 13.34 10.00 7.943 6.579
10.6 237.1 38.31 15.40 11.36 8.913 7.305
 STORAGE LIFE OF CANNED FOODS

• Manufacturers advise two years life from time of

manufacture.
• It is good practice to use them within twelve months of
purchase to enjoy maximum flavour, appearance and
nutrition.
• Always store canned foods in a cool, dry place.