Can small-volume but fine-grained thermal processing equipment change the way food is processed? Although the food industry still uses autoclaves as the main processing equipment, the industry has been experimenting with continuous flow thermal processing equipment a few years ago. Although pharmaceutical companies are close behind, they still encounter many problems.

Food disinfection or sterilization standards are usually controlled by national food safety agencies, such as the US Department of Agriculture and the UK Food Standards Agency. However, the standards for medicines are controlled under the US Food Administration and the UK Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Authority.

The autoclave was born in 1879 and was invented by Charles Chamberland to sterilize the product with high pressure steam at 121 ° C or higher. Today, continuous flow thermal processing is gradually replacing autoclaves in the food processing sector. This new processing method does not adversely affect the taste and quality of foods like autoclaves.

The pasteurization method used in continuous heat flow technology can effectively inhibit the growth of microorganisms. It was first invented in 1864 by French chemist and microbiologist Louis Pasteur, which was used to prevent wine and beer from becoming sour.

The sterilization of food was first completed by autoclave. However, with the birth of continuous heat sterilization flow technology, the manufacturer found that instead of heating the product in the autoclave for a long time, it is better to use a series of heat exchange equipment to raise the temperature of the product. To be higher. In practice, manufacturers have further discovered that if the temperature is increased, the time required to heat the product can be greatly reduced.

“The biggest advantage of continuous flow technology is that when your product enters a range of heat exchange equipment, all parts of the product are evenly heated. All products in the same batch or products between batches remain completely Consistency. On a continuous flow basis, the heating time can be greatly shortened."

Technical bottleneck of autoclave

The food industry continues to use autoclave technology because of its obvious advantages, that is, the amount of processing per batch is less, and can be placed in the reactor at the same time to verify the safety of the product.

Despite this, autoclaves have certain limitations. For example, when you put some vials into the autoclave, the bottle in the middle position is definitely less heated than in the corners. The bottle in the corner may be heated three to four times higher than the middle, so there must be differences in quality and function.

Not only that, if the number of bottles placed in the same batch is reduced, the bottle in the middle will be different from the one in the middle when the original bottle is not reduced. Even in the same batch, the quality of the product varies depending on the degree of heat or the difference between the bottles placed in the same batch. The bottom line for processors is that all of these products are safe, with very subtle differences in quality and functionality.

Insufficient heat will definitely affect the quality of the product. For example, the autoclave requires a 20 minute heating time followed by a 20 minute holding time and finally a 20 minute cooling time. In other words, the product has a total heating time of one hour, while in continuous flow thermal processing, the heating time may only take 0.2 minutes.

Scale up

It is these limitations of the autoclave that have been seen, and the food processing industry has begun to use continuous flow thermal processing equipment.

In continuous flow thermal technology, the product is placed in one or several heat exchange equipment and then sent to an insulated test tube for a period of high temperature to complete the sterilization process and finally into a cooled heat exchange unit. Naturally cooled. In order to extend the shelf life, different thermal processing techniques can be used.

“Over the years, the food industry has fully recognized the efficiency of thermal processing technology, and this technology is becoming more and more secure,” said David Miles, vice president of MicroThermics. “If you look at the continuous flow model, you can produce hundreds of them in a day. Ten thousand packages, and the error rate is zero, which is a strong proof of the reliability of this technology."

Many government agencies are very concerned about the safety of products, not nutrients. Manufacturers using thermal processing technology maximize product safety, maintain taste and quality, and have a longer shelf life.

The biggest advantage of continuous flow technology is that when the product enters a series of heat exchange equipment, all parts of the product are uniformly heated. All products in the same batch or products between batches are fully consistent. On the basis of continuous flow, the heating time can be greatly shortened. Therefore, foods treated with continuous flow thermal processing technology are not only very safe, but also perform well in terms of quality and function.