Effects of different objective functions on optimal decision variables: a study using modified complex method to optimize hamburger cooking

Hamburger patties are prepared from ground beef and cooked to obtain a safe product before consumption. Cooking process eliminates microbial hazards and results in certain quality changes (e.g., cooking loss, textural changes). All these changes can be used as an objective function to achieve an optimum cooking process, but their effects on decision variable (e.g. process temperature profiles) of the optimization should be known. The use of different objective functions (minimization of cooking losses, hardness, chewiness, and shear to work) was compared to see their effects on plate temperature profiles for double-sided contact cooking. Modified Complex Method was applied as the optimization procedure. Lower and higher limits of grill temperatures (177–220°C) were explicit constraints while lethality and temperature at the patties center (F₀?15 s; T_c?71°C) were implicit constraints. The objective functions and implicit constraints were determined using a previously developed numerical heat transfer simulation model. Constant temperature profiles (decision variables) for different objective functions at different processing times (121 and 130 s) were determined. Same decision variables were found regarding the different objective functions (198.3°C and 184.1°C) for the given processing times.