FTECH 115 LECTURE: THERMAL PROCESSING

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

1.1 Thermal Processing as a Food Preservation Method

Thermal Processing is the application of heat to any food material. The main objective of thermal processing is to destroy the microorganisms in the food system while its secondary objective is to inactivate the enzymes present in the food system. When a food is sealed in a container and is subjected to a thermal process, the common term known as Canning is used. Canning is a method of food preservation wherein a food and its container are rendered commercially sterile by the application of heat, alone or in combination with pH and/or water activity or other chemicals. The hermetically sealed container maintains the sterility of the food.

Commercial sterility, which is synonymous with shelf stability, means the destruction of all viable microorganisms of public health significance as well as those capable of reproducing under normal non-refrigerated conditions of storage and distribution. History began with NICHOLAS APPERT (1810) LOUIS PATEUR (1860) showed that certain microorganisms are responsible for fermentation and decay A.K. SHRIVER (1874) invented the closed-kettle the 1st retort system which uses steam under pressure for processing food at high temperature

THERMAL PROCESSING is the application of heat to food or food materials Objectives: a) destruction of microorganisms dependent on the severity of heat treatment and the use of hermetic containers b) inactivation of enzymes

1.2 Methods of Establishing Thermal Processes

There are different methods of establishing the thermal process of a food product: A. Trial and Error Procedure Involves experimentation with a series of batches of food Subjected to different combinations of processing time and temperature Adequacy is assessed in terms of the presence or absence of spoilage microorganisms and the enzyme activity

Limitations: Tedious Time consuming Could produce results which maybe valid if extrapolated to commercial scale production B. Inoculated Pack Test A test consists of several series of containers, usually 100 cans in a series, are inoculated with a known amount of spores of a chosen spoilage microorganism Processed at different time-temperature combination, allow spoilage to occur and spoilage level is noted Advantage: a) spoilage levels in an inoculated pack maybe approximate that in the commercial operation Limitations: a) labor b) cost c) incubation time C. Process Calculation Method dependent on two sets of information that must be established empirically, namely (i) the heat penetration characteristics of the product, and (ii) the thermal resistance of the microorganism or enzyme Advantages: a) less fraught with inaccuracies b) results can be easily translated from one set of operating conditions to another Steps in Establishing the Process Calculation Method: 1) Conduct heat penetration studies 2) Choose the reference organism or enzyme on which the processs will be based 3) Determine the thermal resistance characteristics of the reference biological entity in the food material 4) Calculate the process based on thermal death time of the reference organism or enzyme the heating characteristics of the food 5) Check the calculated process 1.3 Classification of Foods according to acidity Low acid foods any foods, other than alcoholic beverages, with a finished equilibrium value greater than 4.6 and a water activity greater than 0.85 Clostridium botulinum- microorganism of concern Acidified foods low acid foods to which acid(s) or acid food(s) is added to produce a product that has a finished equilibrium pH of 4.6 or less and a Aw greater than 0.85 2

 Acid foods products with a naturally occurring pH below 4.6 Control of Botulism BOTULISM A food intoxication caused by the facultative anaerobe Clostridium botulinum a microorganism of public health significance for low acid foods

Requirements for Low Acid Foods Establishment of Minimum Thermal process for low-acid foods is based on the destruction of Cl. Botulinum Defined as the application of heat to food either before or after sealing in a hermetically sealed container for a period of time and at a temp. scientifically determined to be adequate to ensure destruction of microorganisms of public health significance Could be less severe than the scheduled process
Minimum thermal process Establishment for low acid foods is based on the destruction of Clostridium botulinum Defined as the application of heat to food either before or after sealing in a hermetically sealed container for a period of time and at a temp. scientifically determined to be adequate to ensure destruction of microorganisms of public health significance Could be less severe than the scheduled process

Scheduled process A process applied in commercial operations A process considered by the processor as adequate under the conditions of manufacture for a given product to achieve commercial sterility Aim is to render the product safe and to effectively extend its shelf-life Maybe based on any spoilage organism or enzyme provided such process will likewise bring the destruction of Cl. botulinum

Commercial sterility - A condition in which the thermally processed foods is free of viable forms of microorganisms of public health significance, as well as any microorganism of non-health significance capable of reproducing in the food under normal non-refrigerated conditions of storage and distribution

CHAPTER 2: REFERENCE ORGANISM OR ENZYME FOR ESTABLISHING PROCESSES Important biological entities when establishing thermal processes:

Microorganism- organism which are too small to be seen by naked eye - may cause poisoning or spoilage in food

Enzyme a biological catalyst that hasten up a chemical reaction - implicated in the deterioration in food

Things to consider in a food when establishing a thermal process: pH Equilibrium Aw Composition (I.e. fats, proteins, carbohydrates, etc.)

2.1Spoilage microorganisms - Sources include are soil & H2O, raw matl. & ingredients, utensils & equipment, food handlers, air and dust Categories of food products when establishing a thermal process: Low acid food pH > 4.6 Medium acid 4.0-4.6 High acid pH < 4.0

Note: pH range of bacteria is much narrower than that for yeasts and molds

2.1.1. Foods with pH > 4.6 2.1.1.1 Microflora of unprocessed foods with pH > 4.6 A. Meats pH > 5 Microflora: Comminuted meat - Pseudomonas, Achromobacter, Proteus, Microcoocus, Flavobacterium, Aeromonas, Streptococcus, and Alcaligenes

Beef molds: Thamnidium, Mucor, Rhizopus, Cladosporium, Penicillium, and Sporotrichum; Yeasts: Candida, Torulopsis, and Rhodotorula

PorK Staph. Aureus, Staph. Epidermis, Micrococcus spp. Strep. Faecalis, Bacillus cereus, Klebsiella aerogenes, E. coli, Achromobacter spp., Pseudomonas spp.

B. Fish and shellfish pH > 4.8 Microflora:

Spoiled fish Pseudomonas, Achromobacter Ocean and freshwater fish Cl. Botulinum

Type E most prevalent

C. Vegetables- high moisture ; capable of supporting the growth of yeasts, molds and bacteria Molds: Botrytis, Geotrichum, Collelotrichum, Phytophora, Fusarium, Alternaria and Penicillium Bacteria: Erwinia

2.1.1.2 Microflora of Thermally processed foods with pH > 4.6 microorganisms of concern are the spore-forming bacteria Two types: a. Bacillus spp.- facultative anaerobe b. Cl. botulinum obligate anaerobes B. stearothermophilus causes flat-sour type of spoilage; produces acid but little or no gas; affected cans do not manifest any swelling or bulging

- a thermophile and grows best at temperatures from about 49C to 55C; source is mainly soil but may also come from ingredients such as sugar, starch and flour B. coagulans another causes of flat-sour type of spoilage in canned cream style corn; has a much lower heat resistance than Clostridium botulinum

2.1.2 Foods with pH 4.0-4.6 2.1.2.1 Fresh fruits (e.g mangoes, tomatoes) Tomatoes market disease is anthracnose (most-serious market disease) caused by Collelotrichum phomoides Other fungi: Helminthosporium spp., Phoma destructiva, Alternaria tenuis, etc.

2.1.2.2Thermally processed products Canned mango slices yeasts Canned mango juice mesophilic, gram +, and spore-forming similar to B. cereus Underprocessed canned tomatoes- Cl. pasteurianum or Cl. butyricum

2.1.3 Foods with pH, 4.0 2.1.3.1 Microflora of Fresh Fruits with pH < 4.0 2.1.3.2 Microflora of Thermally-processed fruit products with pH < 4.0

2.2 Enzymes implicated in the deterioration of thermally processed foods Polyphenoloxidase (PPO), catalase, and peroxidase common enzymes causing color changes

Catalase and peroxidase most heat-resistant enzymes in plant material Peroxidase indicator of enzyme destruction in the processed food - also implicated in the bleaching of anthocyanins

Two types of PPO:

Form I has a molecular wt. of 130000g/mol Form II - molecular wt. is 32000 g/mol

Note: - both forms exhibit a broad pH optimum between 4.5-7.5 and both denature rapidly at 55C - chlorogenic acid specific substrate and is present in significant amounts in sugarcane

Endogenous enzymes in plant materials.continuation 2.2.1.2 Enzymes from microorganisms Genus Bacillus (B. mesentericus fuscus, B. vulgatus) produces pectinolytic enzymes which causes cucumber softening

Fungi causes softening in salt-stock cucumbers, brined cherries, and canned apricots

A. niger secrete an active exopolygalacturonase responsible for green mango softening

- has a pH optimum of 4.0 and a temp. optimum of 37C - the enzyme has the ability to soulbilize green mango pectins at pH 2.5 and 4.0

2.2.2 Enzymes of food materials of animal origin Lysozyme, ribonuclease, acid phosphatase, and phospholipase extremely thermostable