Pressure-Assisted Thermal Sterilization of Low-Acid, Shelf-Stable Foods

摘要

Consumers today are more focused on health and wellness, and they desire convenient food products with fresh-like quality attributes. In response to increased consumer demand for minimally processed products with fewer preservatives, the food industry is looking for alternative technologies for the sterilization of low-acid, shelf-stable foods. Many traditional low-acid, shelf-stable foods found on supermarket shelves are thermally processed using retorts. While thermal processing has a proven track record of microbial safety, a common disadvantage of this process is the long time it takes for the product to reach the desired processing temperature by slow conduction and convection heat transfer. Long processing time is necessary to ensure killing of harmful pathogenic spores of Clostridium botulinum and other species that cause spoilage in canned foods, but prolonged thermal exposure also degrades many consumer-desired quality attributes, such as texture, color, and flavor. Further, harsh thermal treatment can also destroy vitamins, nutrients, and other heat-sensitive phytochemicals important for health.