Thermal Preservation Techniques

Thermal Preservation
• Heat kills microorganisms by changing the physical and chemical properties of their
proteins. When heat is used to preserve foods, the number of microorganisms present,
the microbial load , is an important consideration.
• Various types of microorganisms must also be considered because different levels of
resistance exist.
• For example, bacterial spores are much more difficult to kill than vegetative bacilli. In
addition, increasing acidity enhances the killing process in food preservation.

• High Temperature
• Three basic heat treatments are used in food preservation: pasteurization, in
which foods are treated at about 62°C for 30 minutes or 72°C for 15 to 17 s; hot
filling, in which liquid foods and juices are boiled before being placed into
containers; and steam treatment under pressure, such as used in the canning
method.
• The heat resistance of microorganisms is usually expressed as the thermal
death time, the time necessary at a certain temperature to kill a stated number
of particular microorganisms under specified conditions
 Thermal Preservation
Pasteurization
• It is the process of heating a food-usually a liquid-to or below its boiling point
for a defined period of time.
• The purpose is to destroy all pathogens, reduce the number of bacteria,
inactivate enzymes and extend the shelf life of a food product.
• Pasteurization treatment is able to kill most heat resistant non spore forming
organisms like Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Coxiella burnetti.
• Foods with a pH of less than 12.6, such as milk and spaghetti sauce, can be
pasteurized.
• Permanent stability that is, shelf life of about two years is obtained with foods
that can withstand prolonged heating, such as bottled juices.
• There is a greater loss of flavour from foods that are exposed to a longer
time-temperature relationship. Therefore, temporary stability (that is, limited
shelf life) is only obtained with some foods where prolonged heating would
destroy its quality.
• These foods, such as milk, usually require subsequent refrigeration.
 Thermal Preservation
• "High Temperature Short Time" (HTST) and "Ultra High Temperature" (UHT)
processes have been developed to retain a food's texture and flavour quality
parameters.
• Pasteurization is not intended to kill all microorganisms in the food. Instead
pasteurization aims to reduce the number of viable pathogens so that they are
unlikely to cause disease.
• Pasteurization involves a comparatively low order of heat treatment, generally
at temperature below the boiling point of water.
• Products are immediately cooled.
• Desired pasteurization can be achieved by a combination of time and
temperature such as heating food to a low temperature and maintain for a
long time i.e. LTLT -62.8°C for 30 minute or by heating food to a high temp and
maintain for a short time: HTST-71.7°C for 15 second.
• Pasteurization is used when more rigorous heat treatment might harm the
quality of the food product, as the market milk and for the main spoilage
organisms which are not heat resistant, such as yeast in fruit juice. It also kills
the pathogens .
 Thermal Preservation
Ultra heat pasteurization
• In this process milk is heated to 120-138°C for 2-4 seconds and followed
by rapid cooling. This treatment kills all the spoilage microorganisms.
• UHT pasteurized milk is packaged aseptically resulting in a shelf stable
product that does not require refrigeration until opened.
 Thermal Preservation
Heat Resistance of Microorganisms and Their Spores
• It is expressed in terms of their thermal death time (TDT).
Thermal death time (TDT)
• It is the time taken to kill a given number of microorganisms or spores at a certain
temperature under specified conditions.
Thermal death point
• It is the temperature necessary to kill all the organisms in ten minutes.
• Heat resistance of different microorganisms is different.
• Microorganisms are more heat resistant than their spores.
• Heat resistance of vegetative yeast is 50-58°C in 10-15 min and the ascospores is 60°C
for 10-15 min.
• However, yeast and spores are killed by pasteurization.
Heat Resistance of Microorganisms
• Heat resistance of mold is 60°C in 5 to 10 min and asexual spores are more heat
resistance than the ordinary mycelium and require a temperature 5-10°C
higher for their destruction.
• Aspergillus, Muco, ,Penicillium are more resistant than yeast. Heat resistance of bacteria
and bacterial spores is different.
• Cells high in lipid content and capsule containing bacteria are harder to kill. Higher the
optimal and maximal temperature for growth , the greater the resistance to killing.
 Thermal Preservation
Heat Resistance of Enzymes
• Most of the food and microbial enzymes are destroyed at 79.4°C . Some
hydrolases will retain a substantial levels of activity after an ultra high
temperature treatment.
• Bovine phosphatase, if present, in processed milk indicates that the milk was
not properly pasteurized.
Effect of Pasteurization
• The positive effects of pasteurization are the destruction of pathogenic
microorganisms to increase the safety of market milk for human consumption,
improved keeping quality and inactivation of certain naturally occurring
enzymes.
• The negative effects are: certain preformed products of microbial origin are not
inactivated during pasteurization, e.g. Staphylococcal toxins and aflatoxins.
• There is small loss of native aroma particularly in case of fruit juices.
• In case of milk, it destroys the natural microbicidal property of milk by
inactivating different natural occuring antimicrobial substances and the rennet
coagulation time also increases.
 Thermal Preservation
Blanching
• It is a kind of pasteurization generally applied to fruits and
vegetables , primarily to inactive natural food enzymes.
• It is a common practice when such food products are to be
frozen, since frozen storage itself would not completely
arrest enzyme activity.
• Peroxidase and catalase are the most heat resistant
enzymes; the activity of these enzymes is used to evaluate
the effectiveness of a blanching treatment.
• If both are inactivated then it can be assumed that other
significant enzymes also are inactivated.
• The heating time depends on the type of fruit or vegetable,
method of heating, the size of fruits or vegetable or the
temperature of the heating medium.
 Thermal Preservation
• Rapid changes in colour, flavor and nutritive value
occur as a result of enzyme activity. Blanching is a
slight heat treatment, using hot water or steam, that
is applied mostly to vegetables before canning or
freezing.
• The main objectives of blanching are to inactivate
enzymes, to remove the tissue gases, to clean the
tissue, to increase the temperature of the food.
• Blanching is also used before canning for different
reasons, because enzymes will inevitably be
destroyed during canning.
• Blanching induces a vacuum in canned goods, and it
is also used to control the fill into containers (for
example, spinach).
 Sterilization (Retorting)
• Sterilization destroys all pathogenic and spoilage microorganisms in
foods and inactivates enzymes by heating.
• All canned foods are sterilized in a retort (a large pressure cooker)
and called commercial sterilization which indicates that no viable
organisms are present.
• This process enables food to have a shelf life of more than two
years. Foods that have a pH of more than 4.6, such as meat and
most vegetables must undergo severe heating conditions to destroy
all pathogens.
• These foods are heated under pressure to 121°C for varying times.
Severe conditions are applied primarly to ensure that Clostridium
botulinum spores are destroyed during processing.
• These spores produce the deadly botulinum toxin under anaerobic
conditions (that is, where there's no oxygen).
• The spores are destroyed by heat or are inhibited at pH values of
less than 4.6 Therefore, a food with a pH of less than 4.6 that is
packaged anaerobically, such as spaghetti sauce, doesn't need to
undergo such a severe heat treatment.
• The destruction of vegetative and sporeforming organism and
pathogens is secondary objective of commercially sterilized foods.
 Thermal Preservation
• The food product is washed, sorted, and graded and then
subjected to steam for three to five minutes. This last process
called blanching, destroys many enzymes in the food product
and prevents further cellular metabolism.
• The food is then peeled and cored, and diseased portions are
removed.
• For canning, containers are evacuated and placed in a
pressurised steam steriliser, similar to an autoclave at 121°C.
• This removes especially Bacillus and Clostridium spores. If
canning is defective, foods may become contaminated by
anaerobic, bacteria which produce gas.
• These are species of Clostridium, and coliform bacteria (a
group of Gram-negative non spore-forming rods which ferment
lactose to acid and gas at 32°C in 48 hours).
 Thermal Preservation
• Canning cooking fruits or vegetables, sealing them in sterile cans or jars, and boiling
the containers to kill or weaken any remaining bacteria as a form of pasteurization.
• High-acid fruits like strawberries require no preservatives to can and holding for only
a short boiling cycle, whereas marginal fruits such as tomatoes require longer boiling
and addition of other acidic elements.
• Many vegetables require pressure canning. Food preserved by canning or bottling is
at immediate risk of spoilage once the can or bottle has been opened.
• Lack of quality control in the canning process may allow ingress of water or
micro-organisms.
• Clostridium botulinum produces an acute toxin within the food and may lead to
severe illness or death. This organism produces no gas or obvious taste and remains
undetected by taste or smell.
• Food contaminated in this way include Corn, beef and Tuna.
• In canning process heat is applied to food that is sealed in a jar in order to destroy any
microorganisms that can cause food spoilage.
• Proper canning techniques stop this spoilage by heating the food for a specific period
of time and killing these unwanted microorganisms. During the canning process, air is
driven from the jar and a vacuum is formed as the jar cools and seals.
 Thermal Preservation
Water-Bath Canning
• This method sometimes referred to as hot water canning, uses a large kettle of boiling
water.
• Filled jars are submerged in the water and heated to an internal temperature of 212°F
for a specific period of time.
• This method is used for processing high-acid foods, such as fruit, items made from
fruit, pickles, pickled food, and tomatoes.
Pressure Canning
• Pressure canning uses a large kettle that produces steam in a locked
compartment.
• The filled jars in the kettle reach an internal temperature of -240 °C under a
specific pressure (stated in pounds) that is measured with a dial gauge or
weighted gauge on the pressure-canner cover.
• A pressure canner should be used for processing vegetables and other low-acid
foods, such as meat, poultry and fish.
 Cold Temperature Preservation Techniques
Cold (cool) storage, refrigeration, and frozen storage are methods of food
preservation and processing that differ primarily in temperature and time.
Various methods are used to take food to temperatures necessary for cold storage
or frozen storage.
REFRIGERATION VERSUS FREEZING

• Cool storage is considered any temperature from 16 °C to -2 °C.

• Refrigerator temperatures range from 4.5 °C to 7 °C; frozen storage
temperatures range from 0 °C to -18 °C.
• Microbes grow more rapidly at temperatures above 10 °C.
• Some growth occurs at subfreezing temperatures as long as water is
available. Little growth occurs below 15 °F (-9.5 °C).
 REFRIGERATION AND COOL STORAGE
• Cool storage is the gentlest of all food-preservation methods. It affects taste,
texture, nutritive value, and color the least, but it is only a short-time preservation
method.
• Refrigeration is also a gentle method of food preservation.
• It has minimal effects on the taste, texture, and nutritional value of foods.
Refrigeration has a limited contribution toward preserving food, however.
• For most foods, refrigeration extends the shelf life by a few days or week. In many
cases, refrigeration is not the sole means of preserving the food.
• Refrigeration slows down but does not stop the spoilage of food. A good example is
milk.
• This liquid is first heat processed (pasteurized) and then refrigerated destroys the
pathogenic microorganisms. reduces the total microbial load, and inactivates the
enzymes in the milk.
• Refrigeration will keep the spoilage reactions (microbial or enzymatic) to a
minimum. Refrigeration does not kill microorganisms or inactivate enzymes, but it
does slow down their deteriorative effects.
 REFRIGERATION AND COOL STORAGE
• Refrigeration temperature is a key factor in predicting the length of storage time.
• For example, meat will last 6 to 10 days at 32 °F (0 °C), one day at 72 °F (22 °C), and
less than one day at 100 °F (38 °C).
• Household refrigerators usually run at 40.5 °F to 44.6 °F (4.7 °C to 7 °C).
• Commercial refrigerators operate at slightly lower temperatures.
• A group of microorganisms called psychrophilics will grow at refrigeration
temperatures.
• When cooling is used as a preserving technique, the food must be maintained at the
proper cold temperature during manufacturing, transport, display, and home
storage. Signs of spoilage in refrigerated foods vary with the food product.
• In fruits and vegetables, loss of firmness or crispness takes place. Red meat will
change in color; fish will get softer and how noticeable drippage.
• Refrigerated food will last longer if it is cleaned and properly packaged before
refrigeration and, of course, maintained at the proper temperature with minimum
exposure to surrounding temperatures.
REFRIGERATION AND COOL STORAGE
• The timelines of refrigeration and food processing require that
heat be rapidly removed from foods at harvest or slaughter.
• To do this, such methods as moving air, hydrocooling (water),
vacuum cooling, and liquid nitrogen are used.
• Because refrigeration is an energy-demanding process that
must be maintained throughout the life of the product,
refrigerated foods tend to cost more than nonrefrigerated
foods.
• Today's consumer is buying more refrigerated foods because
of their fresh quality. When attempting to preserve the high
quality of refrigerated foods, the consumer needs to keep cold
food at temperatures between 33 °F and 45 °F.
 Requirements of Refrigerated Storage
• Refrigerated storage requires low temperatures, air circulation, humidity control
(80% to 95%), and modified gas atmosphere. Insulation, frequency of door opening,
quantity of hot product added daily, and the respiration rate of the food product
can affect the requirements.
• In controlled atmosphere storage, standard cold-storage temperatures and
humidity are maintained, but the oxygen levels are reduced and the carbon dioxide
levels are elevated to reduce respiration in the food product.
• Some controlled atmosphere storage units are hypobaric, meaning the pressure is
also reduced. This reduces the availability of oxygen.

Changes in Food During Refrigerated Storage

• During refrigerated storage, foods can experience chill injury, flavor (odor)
absorption, and loss of firmness, color, flavor, and sugar.
• Refrigeration is not good for every food.
• For example, bananas turn black when they are chilled. Packaging is also important
for refrigeration.
• Proper packaging can reduce odor absorption. This is one reason why many home
refrigerators have different compartments to separate foods for better storage.
 FREEZING AND FROZEN STORAGE
• Freezing can be thought of as a continuation of refrigeration.
• The freezing point for pure water is 32 °F (0 °C). For food, however, the
freezing point is below that.
• Chemistry and physics teach that the presence of solutes in water will lower
its freezing point.
• The addition of one mole (molecular weight in grams) of any nonionic
substance (solute) to one liter of water lowers the freezing point by 1.885
degrees C.
• Water contained in foods has many solutes, although these are mainly salts
and sugars.
• Freezing is similar to refrigeration because it will not destroy
microorganisms or inactivate enzymes but only slow their deteriorative
effect.
• In some cases, it will completely inhibit the activity of microorganisms,
even though they will still be alive.
• Enzymes, on the other hand, will maintain a certain level of activity during
freezing.
• For this reason, food processors blanch vegetables prior to freezing them.
Blanching is a mild heat treatment designed to inactivate enzyme
 FREEZING AND FROZEN STORAGE
• Freezing has been a key technology in bringing convenience
foods to homes and restaurants.
• It causes minimal changes in the quality of food in terms of
size, shape, texture, color, flavor, and microbial load. This
assumes, of course, that the freezing process is carried out
properly and that a food can be frozen.
• Food processors freeze foods to an internal temperature of 0 °
F (-18 °C). The food must be maintained at this temperature or
slightly lower during transport and storage. Many fruits and
vegetables will retain good quality at the above temperature
for as long as 12 months and even longer. The expected frozen
storage will vary with temperature.
• For example, frozen orange juice will last 27 months at 0 °F
(-18 °C), 10 months at 10 °F (-12 °C), and only 4 months at 20 °
F (-6.7 °C).
 Chemical Changes During Freezing
Enzymes in fruits and vegetables are slowed down but not destroyed during
freezing.
If not inactivated, these enzymes can cause color and flavor changes as well as
loss of nutrients.
Enzymes in Vegetables -
• Blanching-the exposure of a vegetable to boiling water or steam for a brief
period of time-inactivates enzymes in vegetables.
• The vegetable must then be rapidly cooled in ice water to prevent further
cooking. Contrary to statements in some publications on home freezing,
blanching is essential for top-quality frozen vegetables.
• Blanching also helps destroy microorganisms on the surface of the vegetables.
• It makes vegetables such as broccoli and spinach more compact, so they do
not take up as much room in the freezer.
• Overblanching results in a cooked product and a loss of flavor, color, and
nutrients.
• Underblanching stimulates enzyme activity and is worse than no blanching at
all.
 Chemical Changes During Freezing

Enzymes in Fruits.
• Enzymes in fruits can cause browning and loss of vitamin C.
• Because fruits are usually served raw and people like their uncooked texture, they are
not usually blanched.
• Instead, the use of chemical compounds controls enzymes in frozen fruits.
• The most common control chemical is ascorbic acid (vitamin C).
• Ascorbic acid may be used in its pure form or in commercial mixtures of ascorbic acid and
other compounds.
• Some directions for freezing fruits also include temporary measures to control browning.
Such temporary measures include placing the fruit in citric acid or lemon juice solutions or
in a sugar syrup.
• These methods do not prevent browning as effectively as treatment with ascorbic acid.
 Chemical Changes During Freezing
Rancidity in Foods.
• Another type of chemical change that can take place in frozen products is the
development of rancid off flavors.
• This can occur when fat, such as that found in meat, is exposed to air over a period of
time.
• Using a wrapping material that does not permit air to reach the product can control
rancidity.
• Removing as much air as possible from the freezer container reduces the amount of
air in contact with the product.
 Textural Changes During Freezing
• Freezing actually consists of freezing the water contained in the food.
• When the water freezes, it expands and the resulting ice crystals cause the cell walls
to rupture.
• Consequently, the texture of the product will be much softer when the product
thaws. These textural changes are more noticeable in fruits and vegetables that have
a higher water content and those that are usually eaten raw.
• For example, when a frozen tomato is thawed, it turns into mush and liquid. This
explains why celery, lettuce, and tomatoes are not usually frozen.
• For this reason, frozen fruits, usually consumed raw, are best served before they
have completely thawed. In the partially thawed state, the effect of freezing on the
fruit tissue is less noticeable
• Textural changes caused by freezing are not as apparent in products that are cooked
before eating because cooking also softens cell walls.
• These changes are less noticeable in high-starch vegetables such as peas, corn, and
lima beans.
 Rate of Freezing.
• Freezing products as quickly as possible can control the extent of cell wall rupture. In rapid
freezing, a large number of small ice crystals are formed.
• These small ice crystals cause less cell wall rupture than slow freezing, which produces
only a few large ice crystals.
• This is why some home freezer manuals recommend that the temperature of the freezer
be set at the coldest setting several hours before foods will be placed in the freezer.
Changes Caused by Fluctuating Temperatures.
• Storing frozen foods at temperatures higher than O °F increases the rate at which
deterioration can take place and can shorten the shelf life of frozen foods.
• For example, the same loss of quality in frozen beans stored at O °F for 1 year will occur in
3 months at 10 °F, in 3 weeks at 20 °F, and in 5 days at 30 °F.
• Fluctuating temperatures can cause the ice in the foods to thaw slightly and then refreeze.
Each time this happens, the smaller ice crystals form larger ones, further damaging cells
and creating a mushier product.
• Fluctuating temperatures can also cause water to migrate from the product. This defect
may also be seen in commercially frozen foods that have been handled improperly.
 Moisture Loss.
• Moisture loss-or ice crystals evaporating from the surface area of a product
produces freezer burn, a grainy, brownish spot where the tissues become dry
and tough.
• Freezer burn is caused by ice evaporating out of a frozen food product. This
surface freeze-dried area typically develops off flavors, but it will not cause
illness. Once the food loses moisture, it cannot be regained. Packaging in
heavyweight, moisture resistant wrap will prevent freezer burn.
• Airtight packaging can also limit freezer burn.
• Avoiding thawing and refreezing can also reduce the chance of freezer burn.
 Microbial Growth in the Freezer
• The freezing process does not destroy micro organisms that may
be present on fruits and vegetables.
• Although blanching destroys some of them and there is a gradual
decline in the total number of microorganisms during freezer
storage, sufficient numbers remain to multiply and cause
spoilage of the product when it thaws.
• For this reason, it is necessary to carefully inspect any frozen
products that have accidentally thawed by the freezer losing
power or the freezer door being left open.
• Clostridium botulinum, the microorganism that causes the
greatest problem in canning lowacid foods, does not grow and
produce toxin at 0 °F. Therefore, freezing provides a safe and
easy alternative to pressure canning low-acid foods.