Heating Rates in Flexible Packages Containing Entrapped Air During Overpressure Processing |
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| Authors: | SARA E WEINTRAUB HOSAHALLI S RAMASWAMY MARVIN A TUNG |
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| Affiliation: | All authors were affiliated with the Dept. of Food Science, Univ. of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, V6T 2A2, Canada. Author Weintraub is now with British Columbia Packers Ltd., Vancouver, BC, and author Ramaswamy is with the Dept. of Food Science &Agricultural Chemistry, Macdonald College of McGill University, Ste. Anne-de-Bellevue, PQ. Author Tung is with the Dept. of Food Science &Technology, Technical Univ. of Nova Scotia, P.O. Box 1000, Halifax, NS, B3J 2X4, Canada. Inquiries should be addressed to Dr. Tung. |
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| Abstract: | Experiments were performed in two steam/air retorts and one water immersion retort to test the influence of included air on heating rate index (fh) values at the center of thin plastic bricks packaged in retort pouches and processed under various temperature and overpressure conditions. In general, high air overpressures (>80 kPa) allowed up to 30 mL air to be included with no detrimental effect on heating rates; however, even small amounts of entrapped air (<5 mL) degraded heat transfer when processed at low air overpressures (<40 kPa). Processing medium and retort type were important factors in the sensitivity of heating rate to increases of air volumes beyond a threshold value. |
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