FOOD ENGINEERING

Unit –III
Thermal Processing
Address:
Dr. Sanjay Kumar
Assistant Prof.
Dept. of Chemical Engg.
BMSCE, Bangalore
 ✓ It is used to ensure safety and to give acceptable shelf stability.
✓ It can be achieved using a number of techniques such as thermal processing, non-thermal processing,
using chemical preservatives etc.

Preservation
 • Thermal Processing
✓ The term thermal refers to processes involving heat.
✓ During thermal processing, heat (temperature) is used to inactivate microorganisms from a food
product.
✓ Food can’t be heated for a longer period of time.
✓ So, the proper combination of temperature and time is required to eliminate a desired number of the
microorganism from a food product.
✓ Thermal processing includes blanching, pasteurization, sterilization, evaporation, dehydration,
roasting, frying etc.
▪ Objectives
✓ To reduce/destroy microbial activities.
✓ To reduce/destroy enzymatic activities.
✓ To increase food shelf life.
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Thermal Processing of Food

 Thermal Processing

Blanching Pasteurization Commercial

Sterilization

✓ Solid foods are exposed to ✓ Liquid foods are exposed ✓ Foods are exposed to
boiling water for a short to mild heat (below more heat (above boiling
period of time. boiling point of water) for point of water) for a
a short period of time. certain period of time.

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 ✓ Vegetables & fruits are exposed to boiling water (90 to 95 0C) for a short period of time (1 to 2
minutes).
✓ It is used for solid foods.
✓ It is normally carried out under atmospheric pressure using hot water or steam.
✓ It is used as pre-treatment step prior to freezing, drying and canning etc.
• Objectives of Blanching: The main objectives of blanching are as follows:
✓ Food contains cellular oxygen and other gases. After canning process, the storage container may get
deformed due to the expansion of these gases. So, blanching can be used to drive off cellular these
gases from plant tissues just prior to canning.
✓ It is used to inactivate enzyme activity in foods.
✓ It is used to preserve color and texture of food.

Blanching
✓ These systems are designed for solid foods.
✓ So, conveying systems are used to carry the
product through the system.
✓ Step 1: Food is conveyed using conveying
system.
✓ Step 2: Blanching is done using direct or indirect
heating systems.
✓ Step 3: After blanching, the food is cooled using
either water or air.

Blanching System
 ✓ Foods are treated with mild heat (usually < 100 0C) for a certain period of time.
✓ The time and temperature conditions depend on size, shape and type of food.
✓ It is used for liquid foods (low acidic & acidic liquid foods).
✓ It is used to destroy pathogens, and bacteria.
✓ It is used to extend shelf life.
NOTE: Mild heat treatment do not destroy all the microorganisms. So, the pasteurized food must be
refrigerated.

Pasteurization
 ✓ Most pasteurization systems are designed for liquid foods.
✓ It uses stain less steel heat exchanger where product flows on one side while heating media flows on
the opposite side to raise milk temperature to at least 72 0C for at least 15 seconds followed by rapid
cooling (< 4 0C).

High Temperature short time Pasteurization

9
 ✓ Foods are treated with heat (usually > 121 0C) for a certain period of time.
✓ It is used to destroy all the microorganisms.
✓ It gives extended long shelf life (more than 6 months).
✓ Employed temperature is more than the boiling point of water.
✓ They are of three types i.e. batch, continuous and aseptic

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Commercial Sterilization
 Handling Accessories Batch Retort

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Batch Sterilization or Still Retort

 • A still retort is a vessel to expose the product to temperature above the boiling point of water.
• Sterilization is carried out in retort at 121 0C for 7 minutes.
• It is a closed chamber that can withstand high temperature (150 0C) and pressure (400 kPa).
• Using control system, T & P can be increased to desired level for a specified time, held at desired
condition for a specified time, and then returned to normal T & P conditions.
• Food products are placed into a container. Containers are loaded into the chamber.
• The lid is sealed. Them, high pressure steam is released into the vessel until the desired pressure and
temperature are reached.
• The food products are held at desired temperature and pressure for a predetermined period of time.
• After holding time, the pressure is released and temperature decreases.

12

Batch Sterilization or Still Retort

 13

Continuous Retort system

 14

Aseptic Processing system

 • During preservation processes for foods, an external agent is used to reduce the population of
microorganisms present in the food.

15

Microbial Survival or death rate curve

 ✓ When survivor curve data are presented on semi log coordinates, a straight line is obtained

𝑑𝑁 𝑛
𝑑𝑁
∝𝑁 ⇒ = −𝑘𝑁 𝑛
𝑑𝑡 𝑑𝑡

For 1st order kinetic model

𝑑𝑁
= −𝑘𝑁
𝑑𝑡
𝑁 𝑡
𝑑𝑁
න = − න 𝑘𝑑𝑡 ⇒ ln 𝑁 − ln 𝑁0 = −𝑘𝑡
𝑁
𝑁0 0

𝑁
ln = −𝑘𝑡 ⇒ 𝑵 = 𝑵0 𝒆−𝒌𝒕
𝑁0
1 𝑁 1 𝑁0
𝑡 = − ln ⇒ 𝑡 = ln 16
𝑘 𝑁0 𝑘 𝑁
 ✓ The decimal reduction time D is defined as the time necessary for a 90% reduction (1 log
cycle or 10-fold reduction) in the microbial population.
✓ Unit of D is time

𝐼𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑝𝑜𝑝𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 = 𝑁0

Population after reduction,

90
N = 𝑁0 − 𝑁0 × = 0.1𝑁0
100
At t = D,
𝑁0
= 10
𝑁
17

Decimal reduction time (D value)

 −𝒌𝒕 𝑁 1 1
𝑵 = 𝑵0 𝒆 ⇒ = 𝑒 −𝑘𝑡 ⇒ = 𝑒 −𝑘𝐷 ⇒ ln = −𝑘𝐷 ⇒ ln 10 = 𝑘𝐷
𝑁0 10 10
𝟐. 𝟑𝟎𝟑
⇒ 2.303 = 𝑘𝐷 ⇒ 𝑫 =
𝒌

𝑵 = 𝑵0 𝒆−𝒌𝒕 ⇒ 𝑁 = 𝑵0 𝒆−𝟐.𝟑𝟎𝟑𝒕/𝑫 ⇒ 𝑁 = 𝑁0 𝑒 2.303 −𝑡 Τ𝐷

= 𝑁0 10−𝑡Τ𝐷 ⇒ 𝑵 = 𝑵𝟎 𝟏𝟎−𝒕Τ𝑫

Taking Log both sides,

𝑁 𝑁 𝑡 𝑁0 𝑡 𝒕
log = log 10−𝑡Τ𝐷 ⇒ log =− ⇒ log = ⇒𝑫=
𝑁0 𝑁0 𝐷 𝑁 𝐷 𝐥𝐨𝐠 𝑵𝟎 − 𝐥𝐨𝐠 𝑵

In general,
𝒕𝟐 − 𝒕𝟏
𝑫=
𝐥𝐨𝐠 𝑵𝐚𝐭 𝒕𝟏 − 𝐥𝐨𝐠 𝑵𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝟐 18
▪ The following data were obtained from a thermal resistance experiment conducted on a spore
suspension at 112 0C. Determine the D value of microorganism (MO)
Time (min) 0 4 8 12
No. of microorganism 106 1.1×105 1.2×104 1.2×103

𝒕𝟐 − 𝒕𝟏 4−0 4
𝑫= 𝐷= ⇒𝐷= = 𝟒. 𝟏𝟕
𝐥𝐨𝐠 𝑵𝐚𝐭 𝒕𝟏 − 𝐥𝐨𝐠 𝑵𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝟐 log 106 − log 1.1 × 105 0.958
8−0 8
𝐷= ⇒𝐷= = 𝟒. 𝟏𝟔
log 106 − log 1.2 × 104 1.92

12 − 0 12
𝐷= ⇒𝐷= = 𝟒. 𝟏𝟏
log 106 − log 1.2 × 103 2.92

8−4 4
𝐷= ⇒𝐷= = 𝟒. 𝟏𝟔
log 1.1 × 105 − log 1.2 × 104 0.962 19
 ✓ Arrhenius equation is used to describe the influence of temperature on the rate constant.

𝑘 = 𝑘0 𝑒 −𝐸Τ𝑅𝑇

𝐸
⇒ ln 𝑘 = ln 𝑘0 −
𝑅𝑇

20

Effect of temperature on survival curve

 • Z value is defined as the increase in temperature necessary to cause a 90 % reduction (1 log cycle or
10-fold reduction) in the decimal reduction time D.
• Unit of Z is temperature. Plot Log (D value) vs temperature
At T1 At T2 At T3 At T4
Population time Population time Population time Population time

D value at T1 D value at T2 D value at T3 D value at T4

90 % reduction in D value
𝐼𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝐷 value = 𝐷𝑇1
Z value = T2 – T1
90 𝐷𝑇1
𝐴𝑓𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑟𝑒𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝐷𝑇2 = 𝐷𝑇1 − 𝐷𝑇1 × = 0.1𝐷𝑇1 = 10
100 𝐷𝑇2 21

Thermal resistance (Z value)

 𝒕𝟐 − 𝒕𝟏 𝑻𝟐 − 𝑻𝟏
𝑫= 𝐙=
𝐥𝐨𝐠 𝑵𝐚𝐭 𝒕𝟏 − 𝐥𝐨𝐠 𝑵𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝟐 𝐥𝐨𝐠 𝑫𝐚𝐭 𝑻𝟏 − 𝐥𝐨𝐠 𝑫𝒂𝒕 𝑻𝟐
22
▪ The decimal reduction times D for a spore suspension were measured at several temperatures,

D (min) 27.5 14.5 7.5 4

Temperature (0C) 104 107 110 113

𝑻𝟐 − 𝑻𝟏 107 − 104
𝐙= Z= ⇒ Z = 𝟏𝟎. 𝟕𝟗
𝐥𝐨𝐠 𝑫𝐚𝐭 𝑻𝟏 − 𝐥𝐨𝐠 𝑫𝒂𝒕 𝑻𝟐 log 27.5 − log 14.5

110 − 104
Z= ⇒ Z = 𝟏𝟎. 𝟔𝟑
log 27.5 − log 7.5

113 − 107
Z= ⇒ Z = 𝟏𝟎. 𝟕𝟑
log 14.5 − log 4

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 𝑻𝟐 − 𝑻𝟏
𝐙=
𝐥𝐨𝐠 𝑫𝐚𝐭 𝑻𝟏 − 𝐥𝐨𝐠 𝑫𝒂𝒕 𝑻𝟐

𝐷𝑇1 𝑇2 − 𝑇1 𝑇2 −𝑇1
log = ⇒ 𝐷𝑇1 = 𝐷𝑇2 10 𝑍
𝐷𝑇2 𝑍

Suppose T1 = reference temp. and T2 = T,

𝐓−𝑻𝐫𝐞𝐟
𝑫𝑻𝒓𝒆𝒇. = 𝑫𝑻 𝟏𝟎 𝒁

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 • F value is defined as the total time required to accomplish a stated reduction in a population of
microorganism.
• It is generally expressed as a multiple of D values.
𝑵 = 𝑵𝟎 𝟏𝟎−𝒕Τ𝑫
Taking Log both sides,
𝑁 𝑁 𝑡 𝑁0 𝑡 𝑁0
log = log 10−𝑡Τ𝐷 ⇒ log =− ⇒ log = ⇒ F = D log
𝑁
𝑁0 𝑁0 𝐷 𝑁 𝐷
• A typical thermal death time in thermal processing of shelf-stable foods is F = 12 D
• Find value of F at temperature T1 & T2
𝑁0 𝑁0 𝑭𝑻𝟏 𝑫𝑻𝟏
𝐹𝑇1 = 𝐷𝑇1 log ; 𝐹𝑇2 = 𝐷𝑇2 log ⇒ =
𝑁 𝑁 𝑭𝑻𝟐 𝑫𝑻𝟐
Suppose T1 = reference temp. and T2 = T,
𝑭𝑻𝒓𝒆𝒇. 𝑫𝑻𝒓𝒆𝒇. 𝐓−𝑻𝐫𝐞𝐟
⇒ = 𝑭𝑻𝒓𝒆𝒇. = 𝑭𝑻 𝟏𝟎 𝒁
𝑭𝑻 𝑫𝑻 25

Thermal death/lethal time or process time (F value)

• F is donated as 𝐹𝑇𝑍
• It represents the time for a given reduction in population of a microorganism with a Z value at
temperature T

▪ Time required to get desired reduction in population of microorganism is 1 minute at 121.1 oC.
Thermal resistance is 10 0C. Estimate required time to get same reduction at 111.1 0C

10
𝐹121.1 =1
T−𝑇ref
𝐹𝑇𝑟𝑒𝑓. = 𝐹𝑇 10 𝑍
111.1−121.1
1= 𝐹𝑇 10 10

𝐹𝑇 = 10 𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑢𝑡𝑒

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 • The spoilage probability is used to estimate the number of spoiled containers within a total batch of
processed product.
𝒕
• We know, ⇒𝑫=
𝐥𝐨𝐠 𝑵𝟎 − 𝐥𝐨𝐠 𝑵
𝑭
• Suppose N is desired microbial population for a thermal death time of F ⇒𝑫=
𝐥𝐨𝐠 𝑵𝟎 − 𝐥𝐨𝐠 𝑵
• Suppose, No. of containers exposed to the preservation process = r
• Initial population of spoilage microorganisms in each container = N0
• So, the total microbial load at the beginning of the process is rN0
𝑭
⇒𝑫=
𝐥𝐨𝐠 𝒓𝑵𝟎 − 𝐥𝐨𝐠 𝒓𝑵
• Goal of the preservation process is to achieve a probability of one survivor

𝑭 𝑭 𝟏 𝑵𝟎
⇒𝑫= ⇒𝑫= ⇒ = 𝑭Τ𝑫
𝐥𝐨𝐠 𝒓𝑵𝟎 − 𝐥𝐨𝐠 𝟏 𝐥𝐨𝐠 𝒓𝑵𝟎 𝒓 𝟏𝟎
27

Spoilage probability
▪ Estimate the spoilage probability of a 50-minute process at 113°C when D113 = 4 minutes
and the initial microbial population is 104 per container.

1 𝑁0 𝟏 𝟏𝟎𝟒
= 𝐹Τ𝐷 ⇒ = 𝟓𝟎Τ𝟒
𝑟 10 𝒓 𝟏𝟎

𝑟 = 3.16 × 108

• Spoilage of one container in 3.16×108 can be expected

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 • Principle:
• At low temperature molecular mobility is depressed and consequently chemical reactions and
biological processes are slowed down.
• Low temperature reduces microbial growth. It does not destroy microorganisms. So, refrigeration is
not a method of permanent preservation.
• At low temperature free moisture becomes unavailable to support microbial growth.
• Psychrophilic spoilage bacteria can grow at low temperature.
• Refrigeration must often be combined with other preservation processes.
• So, cook-chill & cook-freeze products should be cooled within 90 minutes.
• Fruit and vegetables are normally blanched before freezing.

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Low Temperature Preservation

 Low Temperature Processing

Freezing Pasteurization Chilling

✓ Storage temperature (-18 to -30 0C) ✓ Storage temperature (-1 to -8 0C)

✓ Provides longer shelf-life ✓ Used prior to consumption.
✓ Shelf-life of meat (3-6 months @ -12 0C) ✓ It has no effect on the nutritional
✓ Shelf-life of meat (15-24 months @ -24 0C) content of food.
✓ It has little effect on the nutritional value of
frozen foods. So, high quality raw material
should be selected for freezing.

• Overall, the quality and nutrient content of food depends upon the quality of the original raw
material, the length of storage and the storage conditions.
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 • Freezing Curve: (3 stages)
• Stage 1: The removal of sensible heat from the food
between the initial temperature and the freezing
temperature
• Stage 2: The removal of the latent heat of fusion leading to a
change of state and the formation of ice crystals.
• Stage 3: The removal of sensible heat down to required
storage temperature.
• Freezing Point:
• There is no clear freezing point of a food material unlike that
of a pure compound.

• So, there is a freezing range normally between 0 to -3 oC

• The freezing point is usually defined as the highest temperature at which ice crystals are found to be
stable.
• The formation of ice crystals may be considered to be the start of the freezing period.
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Freezing curve & freezing point

• Heat load/enthalpy change during freezing
•
∆ℎ = 𝑐𝑝,𝑢𝑛𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑧𝑒𝑛 𝑓𝑜𝑜𝑑 𝑇𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑙 − 𝑇𝑓𝑟𝑒𝑒𝑧𝑖𝑛𝑔 + ℎ𝑓𝑢𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛 + 𝑐𝑝,𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑧𝑒𝑛 𝑓𝑜𝑜𝑑 𝑇𝑓𝑟𝑒𝑒𝑧𝑖𝑛𝑔 − 𝑇𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑙

▪ Calculate the heat load involved in freezing a fish

block, initially at a temperature of 10 ◦C, to a final
temperature of −25 ◦C. The freezing temperature,
the latent heat of fusion and the heat capacities of
the frozen and unfrozen fish may be assumed to be
−2 ◦C, 280 kJ/kg, 1.9 kJ/kg.K and 3.6 kJ/kg.K,
respectively.

32
 • The rate of freezing has an important effect on the quality of frozen foods.
• The rate of freezing affects the size of ice crystals.
• Slow freezing rate
• It produces limited no. of large nuclei. These nuclei grow into larger crystals.
• These crystals are formed in the spaces between cells.
• So, large crystals with sharp edges may break cell walls and contribute to texture deterioration in cellular
foods.
• It has a destructive effect on the functionality of proteins.
• As water begins to form ice, there is an increased concentration of enzymes in the remaining water. These
enzymes denature the proteins.
• As water forms ice, the build up of salt concentration in the remaining water causes protein denaturation.

33

Freezing rate
• High freezing rate
• High rate of heat removal results in a high nucleation rate.
• It produces large number of small nuclei. These nuclei grow into smaller crystals.
• These small crystals grow both within and outside cells and consequently the cells maintain their integrity.

34
 • Density
• The density of frozen water is less than that of liquid water.
• At 0 0C water has a density of 999.8 kg m−3 and this falls to
about 920 kg m−3 .
• Therefore as the proportion of frozen water increases
during freezing, the density of frozen food falls.
• However, these changes (10-15 %) in density are relatively
small.

35

Physical properties of Frozen foods

• Heat Capacity
• There is a sudden decrease in the heat
capacity of water as it enters the frozen
state.

36
37
38
• Thermal conductivity
• The thermal conductivity of foods increases on
freezing.
• Thermal conductivity falls sharply as the
temperature increases from frozen storage
temperatures but remains approximately constant
at temperatures just above freezing.

39
• Thermal diffusivity
• The dependence of thermal diffusivity on
temperature combines the effects on
density, heat capacity and thermal
conductivity.
• Above the freezing temperature thermal
diffusivity remains approximately
independent of temperature but at the
freezing point there is a clear discontinuity
and as the temperature continues to fall
thermal diffusivity increases steeply.

40
 ❑ A constant low temperature should be maintained during cold store.
• Fluctuations in freezer temperature give rise to the thawing and subsequent recrystallisation of ice.
• As the temperature rises small ice crystals will melt but on re-freezing the crystal size increases resulting
in disruption to cell walls and a loss of texture.
• Commercial cold stores are held at about −25◦C and domestic freezers normally operate at −18◦C.
• Maintenance of these temperatures depends on many factors.
• Design of the equipment
• Thickness of insulation.
• How frequently the doors are opened and closed.
• The temperature of incoming material.
• All these factors may affect the performance of the refrigeration circuit.

41

Food quality during frozen state

❑ A high humidity should be maintained within a cold store.
• A decrease in humidity creates a difference in the partial pressure of water vapor between the air
immediately above the surface of frozen food and the bulk air within the storage compartment.
• This concentration difference gives rise to the sublimation of ice on the food surface and a loss of weight.
• Sublimation tends to dry out the food surface which results in discoloration and the denaturation of
proteins and has an adverse effect on texture.
• This phenomenon is usually referred to as freezer burn and is more likely to occur with food pieces which
have a high surface area to volume ratio.

42
❑ Precaution to be taken
• The relative humidity should be kept above 90%
• The opening and closing of cold store doors is kept to a minimum.
• Frozen food should be glazed. A glaze is a layer of water or aqueous solution applied to the food surface,
which turns to ice in the initial stages of freezing.
• It is applied by a spray or by immersion, prior to freezing, and protects the food during storage by
subliming preferentially from the surface.
• It may be necessary to re-apply glazes during long-term storage.
• The use of appropriate packaging has a beneficial effect by preventing freezer burn.

43
 ❑ Plate Freeze
• It consists of a series of parallel, hollow extruded aluminum plates through
which a refrigerant circulates at temperatures down to −40◦C.
• Food blocks are placed between the plates which are then moved
together hydraulically and a slight pressure is exerted on the food to be
frozen.
• The principal heat transfer mechanism is conduction.
• The overall thermal resistance includes both that of the plate and the
packaging material.
• It is important to achieve good contact between the food and the plate
and to exclude air.
• It is a very efficient method of freezing food with relatively high rates of
heat transfer.
• However, this technique is inevitably limited to flat foods. It is used for fish
blocks and convenience foods in rectangular shaped packs.
• The freezing time is dependent upon the pack thickness. 44

Freezing equipment
45
❑ Blast Freezer/Shock Freezer
• It is used for rapid freezing.
• Chilled air is blown over the surface of the food using blowers.
• The cabinet is designed to move air evenly at equal velocity.
• The great advantage of the blast freezer is its ability to
accommodate foods of all shapes and sizes.

46
❑ Fluidized Bed Freezer
• It is a modification of air blast freezer. It consists of vibrating conveyer and a moving perforated belt
distributer plate.
• Food particulates are lifted off the belt by cold air. Velocity of air (generally 2 to 5 m/s) is adjusted to lift
the product off the belt.
• Solid foods are fluidized by refrigerated air at temperature of −30◦C or below.
• The particles are frozen independently and very rapidly i.e. individual quick freezing.
• Rapid freezing rates lead to relatively little loss of moisture.
• Frozen foods have better quality.
• Frozen foods have an attractive appearance because water on the surface of the particle is frozen giving
the food a glazed appearance.
• The distribution of air in a fluidized bed is independent of the freezer loading. So, there will be no
channeling if the bed is only partially loaded.
• Excellent convective heat transfer (30 to 60 W/m2.K) between air and product.
• They are generally operated in continuous mode. Commonly used foods are strawberries, peas, French 47
fries. Sticky foods can also be used.
48
❑ Scraped Surface Freezer
• It is used for liquid and semi-liquid foods where a uniform product with a consistently smooth texture is
required. For example ice-cream, margarine, chocolate etc.
• A rotor with the scraper blade is enclosed inside the cylindrical chamber.
• The product is enclosed in a cylindrical chamber.
• Inside the chamber, the rotor rotates continuously. It also helps to incorporate air into the product
giving the desired light texture.

49
❑ Cryogenic and immersion Freezing
• Food is placed in direct contact with a
refrigerant.
• Commonly used refrigerants are liquid
nitrogen (boiling point -196 oC), solid CO2.
• Freezing of the food is done by spraying the
refrigerant directly onto the food.
• In immersion freezing, the food is immersed
directly in a liquid refrigerant.
• However, the immersion of the food product in
the liquid refrigerant is undesirable because of
the risk of thermal shock.

50
 ❑ Using Plank’s equation
• The most widely used equations to predict freezing time.
• It was proposed by Plank in 1913.
• This equation describes only the phase change period of the freezing process.
• Assumptions:
• Heat transfer is one dimensional (infinite slab approximation).
• Initial temperature of food is uniform.
• Freezing air temperature is constant.
• Latent heat is removed at constant temperature.
• Properties of food above and below freezing point are different but constant.
• Only conduction is the mode of heat transfer inside the food.
• Heat transfer is sufficiently slow that it approximates to a steady-state process.

51

Prediction of freezing time

❑ Derivation
• Consider an infinite slab of thickness a.
• This method ignores the pre-freezing step.
• Assume the initial freezing point is TF.
• The slab is exposed to a freezing medium.
• Assume the temperature of freezing medium (air) is Ta.
• The heat transfer is one-dimensional.
• After some duration of time, there will be three layers: two frozen layers
each of thickness x and a middle unfrozen layer.
• A moving front inside the slab separates the frozen from the unfrozen region.
• As water is converted into ice at the moving front, latent heat of fusion, L, is generated.
• This latent heat of fusion from the moving front must be transferred through the frozen layer to the
outside freezing medium.
• The convective heat transfer coefficient at the surface of the slab is h.
• The temperature of the unfrozen region remains at TF until the freezing front moves all the way to the 52

center plane of the slab.

✓ Consider a thin layer of thickness dx which freezes in a time dt.
✓ The volume of this frozen layer is then Adx
✓ The mass of the layer is ρfAdx
✓ The latent heat of fusion is L then the heat removed in time dt is
✓ (ρfAdx) L.
✓ The rate of removal of this heat is

53
✓ More general expression

✓ Lf is the change in the latent heat of the food (kJ/kg),

✓ Constants P and R are used to account for the influence of product shape

• Limitations:
• Density values for frozen foods are difficult to locate or measure.
• The thermal conductivity k should be for the frozen product, and accurate values are not readily
available for most foods. 54
▪ A spherical food product is being frozen in an air-blast freezer. The initial product
temperature is 10°C and the cold air -40°C. The product has a 7 cm diameter with density of
1000 kg/m3, the initial freezing temperature is -1.25°C, the thermal conductivity of the
frozen product is 1.2 W/(m K), and the latent heat of fusion is 250 kJ/kg. Compute the
freezing time.

55
❑ Nagaoka’s equation
• It takes into account the time required to reduce the temperature from an initial temperature Ti above
the freezing point.
• It contains an empirical correction factor
• The latent heat of fusion is replaced by the total enthalpy change which includes the sensible heat.

𝝆𝒇 ∆𝒉 𝑷′ 𝒂 𝑹 ′ 𝒂𝟐
𝒕= 𝟏 + 𝟎. 𝟎𝟎𝟖 𝑻𝒊 − 𝑻𝒇 +
𝑻𝒇 − 𝑻𝒂 𝒉 𝒌𝒇

56
▪ A factory which works two 8-h shifts produces burgers at a rate of 5 ton in a 16 h period. The
burgers enter a high-velocity blast freezer at a temperature of 18◦C and are frozen down to
−15◦C. The following physical property data are available: Calculate the necessary rate of
heat removal during production. The burgers, which are 20 mm thick, are to be frozen using
air at −25◦C. If the heat transfer coefficient is 200 W m−2 K−1, estimate the freezing time.

𝝆𝒇 ∆𝒉 𝑷′ 𝒂 𝑹 ′ 𝒂 𝟐
𝒕= 𝟏 + 𝟎. 𝟎𝟎𝟖 𝑻𝒊 − 𝑻𝒇 +
𝑻𝒇 − 𝑻𝒂 𝒉 𝒌𝒇
57
 ❑ Ohmic heating
• Alternating current is passed directly through a
conductive food, which causes heat generation within
the food.
• Due to internal heat generation, the heating is rapid
and more uniform than traditional systems used for
heating foods where heat must travel from the
outside surface to the inside of the food.
• The rapid and uniform heating of a food is
advantageous in retaining many quality
characteristics such as color, flavor, and texture.
• The efficiency of ohmic heating is dependent upon
how well the electric current can pass through the
food, as determined by its electrical conductivity.
• Therefore, the knowledge of electrical conductivity of
foods is important in designing processes and
equipment involving ohmic heating. 58

Ohmic heating
 ❑ Microwave (300 MHz to 300 GHz) heating
• The electromagnetic spectrum between frequencies of 300MHz and 300GHz is represented by
microwaves.
• Since microwaves are used in radar, navigational equipment, and communication equipment, their use is
regulated by governmental agencies.
• In the United States, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has set aside two frequencies for
industrial, scientific, and medical (ISM) apparatus in the microwave range, namely 915∓13MHz, and
2450∓50MHz.
• Microwaves generate heat due to their interactions with the food materials.
• Microwave cause molecules in the food to vibrate. This create heat that cooks the food.
• Depending on the dielectric properties of a material, they may be reflected or absorbed by the material

59

Microwave heating
❑ Mechanism of heating
• The absorption of microwaves by a dielectric material results in the microwaves giving up their energy to
the material, with a consequential rise in temperature.
• The two important mechanisms that explain heat generation in a material placed in a microwave field are
ionic polarization and dipole rotation.
❖ Ionic polarization
• When an electrical field is applied to food solutions containing ions, the ions orientate themselves in the
field, undergo acceleration and increase their kinetic energy.
• Kinetic energy is then converted to heat when ions collide with one another.
• When the field is reversed, the number of collisions increases as ions rapidly change their direction
• A solution with a high concentration of ions would have more frequent ionic collisions and therefore
exhibit an increase in temperature.
• In foods the presence of sodium, potassium or calcium in salts will generate cations whilst chlorine will
produce anions.
• In gases the spacing between molecules is too great for significant collisions
60
❖ Dipole rotation
• Food materials contain polar molecules such as water.
These molecules generally have a random
orientation.
• When an electrical field is applied, the molecules
orient themselves according to the polarity of the
field.
• In a microwave field, the polarity alternates rapidly.
• For e.g. , at the microwave frequency of 2450 MHz, the polarity changes at 2.45×109 cycles per second).
• The polar molecules rotate to maintain alignment with the rapidly changing polarity.
• Such rotation of molecules leads to friction with the surrounding medium, and heat is generated.
• With increasing temperatures, the molecules try to align more rapidly with the applied field.
• Several factors influence the microwave heating of a material, including the size, shape, state (e.g., water
or ice), and properties of the material, and the processing equipment.
• For example ice is less susceptible to microwave heating because the water molecules are less able to
move than when in the liquid state. 61

• Dipole rotation is far more significant than ionic polarization, except for foods with a very high salt
• content.
 ❑ High pressure (300 to 800 MPa) preservation
• Used for the inactivation of microbial populations. Food is placed in a container. The system vessel is filled
with the transmitting medium.
• Pressure is increased by high pressure pumps for the transmitting liquid or by activating a piston to reduce
the volume of the medium surrounding the product.
• After the desired pressure is reached in the vessel, the pressure is maintained for the period of time
needed to accomplish the required reduction in microbial population in the product. At the end of the
holding period, the pressure is released and the process is completed.

62

High pressure processing

 ❑ Gamma sterilization
• Sterilization by radiation is known as cold sterilization. or electronic pasteurization
• Because ionizing the food does not heat the food to high temperatures during the process, and the effect
is similar to heat pasteurization.
• All industrial radiation processing facilities employ Cobalt-60 as the gamma radiation source.
• It’s a suitable sterilization method for heat sensitive items.
• Gamma irradiation does not rely on humidity, temperature or pressure and can be applied to packaged
goods.
• It kills bacteria by breaking down bacterial DNA, inhibiting bacterial division.
• Energy of gamma rays passes through the equipment, disrupting the pathogens that cause
contamination.
• These changes at the molecular level cause the death of contaminating organisms or render such
organisms incapable of reproduction.
• The gamma irradiation process does not create residuals or impart radioactivity in the processed items.
Complete penetration can be achieved depending on the thickness of the material.
63

Sterilization by radiation or cold sterilization

❑ Advantages
• Heat and moisture sensitive foods can be sterilized.
• Gamma rays have a high penetration power so materials can be sterilized after filling them in the final
container.
• The method is suitable for all types of materials such as dry, moist and even frozen items.
• The method is considered to be reliable and can be accurately controlled.
❑ Disadvantages
• There is some risk involved since exposure to radiation may be harmful to workers
• It can produce undesirable changes in medicine such as color, solubility and texture of the product
• It can actually damage the material it’s meant to sterilize
• It’s expensive.

64
 ❑ Pulsed electric field heating (PEF)
• It uses very short pulses of high-voltage direct electric current, rather than a continuous flow of current,
applied to a liquid food/semi-solid food placed between two electrodes.
• The intention is not to heat the food, as in ohmic heating. There is very little heating of the food.
• Micro-organisms are inactivated via the effect of the electric field on cell membranes.
• It can be used as a replacement for thermal pasteurization.
• PEF heating cannot destroy spores and therefore cannot be used for sterilization.
• Spores are involved in reproduction. Certain bacteria make spores as a way to defend themselves. Spores
have thick walls. They can resist high temperatures, humidity, and other environmental conditions.
• An electric field strength of the order of 10-80 kV/cm is applied for a few microseconds (up to 100 μs).
• Processing time = no. of pulses*effective pulse duration
• Distance between electrodes is termed as the treatment gap of the PEF chamber.
• After the treatment food is packaged and stored under refrigeration.

65

Pulsed electric field heating

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