Journal of Food Engineering 77 (2006) 835–843

www.elsevier.com/locate/jfoodeng

The influence of processing and product factors on the quality

of microwave pre-cooked bacon
Christian James *, Kerry E. Barlow, Stephen J. James, Mark J. Swain
Food Refrigeration and Process Engineering Research Centre (FRPERC), University of Bristol, Churchill Building, Langford, Bristol BS40 5DU, UK

Received 15 March 2005; accepted 2 August 2005

Available online 21 September 2005

Abstract

A selection of the main factors influencing the quality of microwave pre-cooked streaky and back bacon were investigated. Processing
parameters were initially investigated using a domestic microwave oven. It was found that the power-output, heating time and position
within the oven had a greater influence on the resulting product, in terms of weight loss, than the composition of the bacon. Positioning
the bacon 43 mm above the turntable of the oven and heating streaky at 1000 W for 3 min and back at 500 W for 5 min achieved the best
results. This resulted in a mean weight loss of 64.1% and 55.2% for streaky and back respectively. The temperatures reached during cook-
ing (100–145 °C) were sufficient to pasteurise the bacon.
Further trials were carried out using a pilot-scale industrial microwave-cooking tunnel. The optimum processing condition for both
types of bacon was found to be 6 kW for 115 s. This condition provided more uniform heating and resulted in lower weight losses (51.9%
streaky, 38.3% back) than were found in the domestic oven whilst producing bacon of similar organoleptic quality. Storage trials showed
that bacon produced under this condition had a shelf life of between 11 and 14 days when stored in vacuum packs at 4 °C.
Ó 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Bacon; Microwave cooking; Microwave processing

1. Introduction (MLC, 2000) has shown that every fourth sandwich in

In recent years, the bacon market in the UK has seen
many changes. The decline in popularity of the Ôgreat Brit-
ish breakfastÕ caused by changing lifestyles and a growing
awareness of healthy eating has seen the household con-
sumption of bacon drop from 257,000 tonnes in 1990 to
an estimated total of 209,000 tonnes in 1999 (Meat & Live-
stock Commission, 2000), although catering use has ex-
panded with the rise of the Ôall day breakfastÕ. Faced with
the current downward trend in bacon consumption figures
the bacon industry has diversified into new markets. One
such market is pre-cooked bacon for sandwich, prepared
meal and fast food markets. This has been particularly
spurred on by the rise of the sandwich market; research
*
Corresponding author. Tel.: +44 117 928 9239; fax: +44 117 928 9314.
E-mail address: chris.james@bristol.ac.uk (C. James).
URL: http://www.frperc.bris.ac.uk (C. James).
the UK is a BLT (bacon, lettuce and tomato). The UK
market for pre-cooked bacon is divided into two different
products; Ôcrispy baconÕ, which is used in the sandwich
market, and Ôflat baconÕ, which is usually re-heated to be
used in products such as burgers, ready meals and airline
meals. Predominantly streaky bacon (sliced cured belly
pork), or back (sliced cured pork loin), is used.
Conventional methods of cooking include oil frying, di-
rect flame and infra-red (Smith, 1977). However, from the
manufacturerÕs point of view, there are many advantages to
cooking bacon with microwaves, including lower energy
consumption, a greater control of product shrink, as well
as a general improvement in overall colour, appearance
and taste (Decareau, 1985, 1986; Smith, 1980). Microwave
cooking limits the maximum surface temperature experi-
enced by the bacon thus limiting the loss of volatiles and
the formation of nitrosamines (Smith, 1977). An additional
advantage is the recovery of rendered fat, which in the

0260-8774/$ - see front matter Ó 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.jfoodeng.2005.08.010
836 C. James et al. / Journal of Food Engineering 77 (2006) 835–843
USA has found a ready market as a food-flavouring addi-
tive (Decareau, 1985, 1986).
What little data that has been published on the produc-
tion of pre-cooked bacon using microwave heating has
been in reference to US-styles of bacon (Decareau, 1985,
1986; Smith, 1977, 1980), which are different to that con-
sumed in the UK, and contain no details on processing
parameters. No publications have been located on the
cooking of UK-style bacon. The primary aim of this work
was to establish the processing and product parameters
that would give an adequate cooked product for the UK
market. Since industrial scale/specification microwave
ovens are both relatively expensive and scarce, initial trials
were carried out using a domestic microwave oven, before
being scaled-up to an industrial pilot-scale continuous
oven.
2. Materials and methods
2.1. Specifications of bacon
Two cuts, back and streaky, of unsmoked rindless pre-
sliced bacon (Harris Pork and Bacon Group, UK) were
used. Both types of bacon were supplied in two batches
from the manufacturer (20 kg per batch per type of bacon).
The first batch was used for the domestic trials, the second
for the pilot-scale industrial trials. The bacon was supplied
already sliced and vacuum packaged, and was stored at
0 ± 1 °C prior to use, all bacon was used within 2 weeks
of delivery. Mean rasher (slice) weights were approximately
20 g for streaky bacon and approximately 25 g for back ba-
con. Limited trials were also carried out using smoked back
bacon.
Uncooked samples of the bacon were analysed using
standard methods in order to assess the composition of
the bacon. Samples were analysed for moisture content
(Helrich, 1990), extractable fat (British Standards, 1970)
and sodium chloride (Watson, 1994).
2.2. Specifications of domestic microwave oven
The domestic microwave oven used in the preliminary
trials was a Sharp Model R-10R50(B) Combination Inver-
ter-Micro 1000 W (Sharp Electronics (Europe) GmbH,
Hamburg, Germany). It operated at a microwave fre-
quency of 2450 MHz, had a stainless steel interior cavity
with a volume of 36.7 l, a metal turntable and was supplied
with a high and a low level circular metal food support
rack. This particular oven was chosen because it had con-
tinuously variable rather than on–off power control thus
reflecting the control method used by industrial ovens. In
addition, previous work (Phillips, Swain, Foster, & James,
1994) had shown that the power-output of this oven was
more stable in response to size of load or length of opera-
tion in comparison with other domestic ovens.
All experiments using the domestic oven were carried
out in an environmentally controlled room with a constant
temperature of 20 ± 1 °C. The power was supplied to the
ovens via a voltage stabiliser (VTR-2500, Claude Lyons,
Hoddesdon, Herts, UK) providing an input voltage of
240 V ± 1%. A voltage stabiliser was used as variations in
voltage have been shown to effect the power of domestic
microwave ovens (James et al., 1994).
2.3. Characterisation of domestic microwave oven
The following tests were carried out to assess the heating
characteristics of the domestic microwave oven.
2.3.1. IEC 705 power rating
Water load tests to measure the power-output of the
oven were carried out in accordance with IEC 705 (Interna-
tional Electrotechnical Committee, 1988). The method for
calculating power-output is calculated using the time the
magnetron is producing a full power-output. Filament
warm-up time (the time for the magnetron to attain full
power, as determined by the flicker of the lamp in the oven
cavity and a stable reading on a power analyser) was taken
to be 3 s as determined in previous work carried out using
this oven (Phillips et al., 1994).
2.3.2. Effect of load size and warming on power-output
To determine the effect of load size and warming, tests
were adapted from the method described in IEC 705 (Inter-
national Electrotechnical Committee, 1988). In addition to
the standard water load of 1000 g trials were also carried
out with water loads of 350 g, 250 g, 150 g, 100 g, 50 g
and 25 g. In all cases the oven was pre-warmed by heating
1000 g water loads for three consecutive 10-min periods.
This procedure was carried out because research (James
et al., 1994) has shown that there is a drop in power-output
associated with time in use, however after 30 min of semi-
continuous use there is no further drop in power-output.
The trials were then repeated but with the oven set on half
power (500 W). In all cases five replicated trials were
carried out.
2.4. Trials using domestic microwave oven
2.4.1. Cooking trials
In all of the cooking trials the oven was pre-heated using
the standard method already outlined (heating a water load
for three consecutive periods of 10 min).
Rashers of bacon were heated on a ceramic plate placed
directly upon the microwave turntable, and were covered
using a piece of paper towel, according to the recom-
mended method in the ovenÕs instruction manual. A bacon
load of 100 ± 12 g (approximately five streaky or four back
bacon rashers) was used in each trial, the rashers were
placed side by side on the plate. Trials were carried out
for 3 min at 1000 W, 3 min at 800 W and 5 min at 500 W.
In addition, the effect of the height of the bacon within
the oven was investigated. This involved elevating the plate
within the oven cavity using standard microwave oven
 C. James et al. / Journal of Food Engineering 77 (2006) 835–843
metal racks. Trials were carried out at heights of 0 mm (i.e.
directly on the turntable), 43 mm and 99 mm.
After cooking, the bacon was examined and tasted, and
subjective observations recorded by an informal taste panel
of at least five people. The panellists were directed to con-
sider the degree of doneness, crispiness, severity of drying,
and uniformity of the cooking.
Trials were also carried out using the domestic oven with
both dummy packs (see Section 2.6.2) and the packs with
rashers (see Section 2.6.1), developed for the industrial trials.
2.4.2. Temperature measurement
Temperatures were monitored during heating using a
four channel fibre-optic system (Fibre-optic Thermometer
FT1110C, Takaoka Electric MFG Company Limited, To-
kyo, Japan). The fibre-optic cables were threaded through
a 4 mm hole in the roof of the microwave oven. In order
that the fibre-optic cables did not become damaged during
the rotation of the turntable inside the oven, the oven was
placed upon a specially developed turntable system (Model
21035, Food Refrigeration and Process Engineering Re-
search Centre (FRPERC), University of Bristol, UK). This
rotated the oven in the opposite direction to the turntable
inside the oven, thus holding the food still in space so that
temperature measurements could be made without damag-
ing the fibre-optic cables (Phippen & Burfoot, 1990). No
visible movement of the fibre-optic probes was detected
during the cooking process.
In order that the cables could be easily inserted, a wide
bore (0.5 mm) hypodermic needle was used to create a
channel in the bacon through which the fibre-optic cable
could be threaded. Probes were inserted into four specific
areas within the bacon: (1) the fat on a rasher of bacon
at the edge of the plate; (2) the lean on a rasher of
bacon at the edge of the plate; (3) the fat on a rasher of
bacon in the middle of the plate; (4) the lean on a rasher
of bacon in the middle of the plate.
Temperatures were logged at 10 s intervals using a com-
puter-controlled data logging system (Magus, Measure-
ment Systems Limited, Newbury, Berkshire, UK).
2.5. Specifications of pilot scale industrial cooker
The pilot scale industrial cooker was constructed by
APV Magnetronics (Burfoot, Griffin, & James, 1988,
1989; Self, Burfoot, Wilkins, & James, 1990) with a 6 kW
power-output provided by four 1.5 kW magnetrons. The
cooker operated at 2450 MHz, and was capable of process-
ing 0–50 kg of product/hour with a product depth of up to
50 mm. The speed of the conveyer belt could be changed to
alter the heating time in the cavity.
2.6. Pilot-scale industrial trials
Trials carried out in the domestic oven showed that a
large amount of juices came out of the bacon during cook-
ing. If these juices were not drained away during heating,
837
the bacon ÔboiledÕ and would not crisp. Since the pilot-scale
industrial unit had a solid belt a package had to be devel-
oped to allow the juices to be drained from the bacon while
it was cooked.
2.6.1. Construction of a package for use in the industrial
microwave
Packages (similar to those used by James, Swain, James,
& Swain, 2002) were constructed using a standard PET
ready meal tray (BXL plastics 1182, Kunstaffwerke GmbH,
Werk, Dietenheim, Germany), containing a grid con-
structed from 3 mm thick PTFE plastic strips and a cover
made from the cutoff base from another, slightly larger,
PET tray. PTFE was selected for its ability to withstand
boiling temperatures and its low dielectric loss properties.
Each grid was manufactured using friction fitting without
glue, which could affect the microwave field. This grid
raised the bacon 38 mm above the base of the tray, there-
fore allowing the juices rendered from the bacon during
cooking to drain away. These trays were sufficiently large
for a load of 100 g of bacon to be cooked provided they
were placed in a shingled (overlapping) arrangement.
2.6.2. Cooking trials
In order for the industrial oven to operate it was essen-
tial that it was fully loaded at all times as it contained a
safety mechanism that switched the magnetrons off when
there was no load within the cavity. Dummy loads were
therefore developed that would act in a similar way to
the bacon, as utilised by Burfoot et al. (1988). The load
consisted of a PET ready meal tray containing 20 g of
absorbent paper and 80 g of 5.7% brine solution (the con-
centration of the brine solution being calculated on the ba-
sis of the salt and moisture content of the bacon). Using
these proportions of brine to paper, the paper completely
absorbed the brine solution present whilst still retaining a
wet surface, similar to that found with bacon.
Trials were carried out using packs with dummy loads in
the domestic oven and the weight loss under different heat-
ing conditions determined and related to the results ob-
tained with bacon rashers. Trials were then carried out
using the dummy packs in the industrial pilot plant to iden-
tify conditions that produced similar weight losses. This
provided a guideline to find a suitable cooking procedure
for the bacon using the industrial oven.
Once an optimum cooking procedure had been found, a
total of 22 loads of streaky bacon (each load was
100 ± 12 g, approximately five rashers) and 38 loads of
back bacon (each load was 100 ± 12 g, approximately four
rashers) were cooked and the weight losses recorded. The
cooked bacon rashers were then separated from their shin-
gled arrangement, two rashers randomly selected from each
pack and vacuum-packed.
2.6.3. Shelf-life of the microwave pre-cooked bacon
The vacuum packed samples were stored at 4 ± 1 °C for
18 days. The main factor determining the shelf life of
838 C. James et al. / Journal of Food Engineering 77 (2006) 835–843

cooked bacon is the rate at which oxidation of the lipids
take place causing the bacon to become rancid. Tests for
rancidity development were therefore carried out at regular
intervals (day 1, 3, 4, 7, 11, 14, 16 and 18) during storage
using the thiobarbituric acid (TBA) method (Tarladgis,
Watts, Younathan, & Dugan, 1960; Zipser & Watts, 1962).
2.7. Trials using smoked bacon
In order to determine if there were any significant
differences in the effects of microwave cooking on plain
or smoked bacon, heating trials were carried out using
smoked back bacon in the domestic microwave oven. The
smoked back bacon used was rindless and pre-sliced and
a load of 100 g consisted of approximately four rashers.
The temperature trials were carried out using a plate ele-
vated 43 mm above the floor of the oven and subjecting the
bacon to 500 W for 5 min, and also in the industrial cook-
ing container using 500 W for 4 min. The same method was
used as described previously.
2.8. Statistical analysis
8.24%; p < 0.01) and a higher sodium chloride content
(4.2% compared with 3.6%; p < 0.01).
A statistical comparison of the two batches of bacon
was carried out in order to assess if there were any signifi-
cant differences. The comparison of the two streaky bacon
batches showed no significant differences between %mois-
ture (p = 0.79), or %fat (p = 0.83); there was however a sig-
nificant difference between the %sodium chloride
(p < 0.001), with the second batch of streaky bacon show-
ing the greater content. The comparison of the two batches
of back bacon showed that there was no significant differ-
ence between the %moisture (p = 0.13). The %fat was sig-
nificantly greater (p < 0.05) in the second batch of back
bacon, and the %sodium chloride was significantly greater
(p < 0.001) in the first batch of back bacon.
The variation in fat content between batches of bacon is
explainable with pigs coming in from different suppliers,
being fed different diets and being killed at different ages.
The variation in salt content is in line with the variations
reported by James and Bailey (1987), who reported that
the within batch variability in mean salt content from 10
UK suppliers was between 0.7% and 2.4%.

Results were analysed using the data analysis package
for Microsoft Excel (Microsoft Excel X for Mac, Microsoft
Corporation, Redmond, USA). A single factor ANOVA
was used in all instances.
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Analysis of bacon
3.2. Characterisation of domestic microwave oven
3.2.1. IEC 705 power rating
The mean (n = 5) measured IEC 705 power rating of the
Sharp Inverter-Micro 1000 oven was 1133.7 W. The IEC
705 power rating is rounded to the nearest 50 W, so the
power-output stated by the manufacturer should have been
1150 W, rather than the 1000 W they quoted.

The composition of the batches of streaky and back ba- 3.2.2. Effect of load size on power-output
con are shown in Table 1. Significant differences were As noted by James et al. (1994) a slight decline in power-
found between the composition of streaky and back bacon. output was found when using the oven in a pre-warmed
Back bacon contained significantly more moisture than the state. The mean (n = 5) power-output into a 1000 g load
streaky (68.8% compared with 65.7%; p < 0.05). Streaky from the oven with a warmed up magnetron at the
bacon had both a higher fat content (12.7% compared with 1000 W setting was approximately 1001 W. At a full
(1000 W) or half power (500 W) setting the measured
power-output into water loads of different sizes declined
Table 1 as the load size declined (Fig. 1). The mean (n = 5) mea-
Composition of uncooked streaky and back bacon sured power-output into a 100 g water load was 468 W at
%Moisture %Fat %NaCl full power and 337 W at half power.
Streaky-raw As previously known, the power-output of a domestic
Batch 1 microwave oven into a water load is very dependent on
Mean (n = 5) 65.9 12.9 3.8 the size of the load and declines as the size is reduced
SD 3.6 4.3 0.3
(James et al., 2002). The power delivered into the 100 g
Batch 2 water load is likely to be more representative of that deliv-
Mean (n = 5) 65.5 12.5 4.7 ered into the bacon load than the IEC rated power-output
SD 1.4 1.6 0.3
which is based on a 1000 g water load. With the specific
Back-raw oven used, the power-output delivered was approximately
Batch 1 half of that delivered under the standard IEC test. How-
Mean (n = 5) 70.1 5.8 3.9 ever, the dielectric properties of a product such as bacon,
SD 1.2 1.6 0.2 which contains significant amounts of fat and salt, will be
Batch 2 different to water. Also during the cooking process, mean
Mean (n = 5) 67.6 10.7 3.2 weight losses of up to 64.1% were measured which will sub-
SD 3.0 3.9 0.2
stantially change the dielectric and thermal properties of
 C. James et al. / Journal of Food Engineering 77 (2006) 835–843 839

1000 W 500 W set to 1000 W produced the best results, the overall repeat-
1000 ability being best with the bacon positioned 43 mm above
Measured power-output (W)

900
the turntable. The mean weight loss of 64.1% measured
800
with this treatment was not significantly different to that
700
measured at a height of 99 mm (Table 3).
600
500
With back rashers all treatments carried out at 1000 W
400
resulted in dried muscle areas (Table 4). At 800 W excessive
300 drying of the edges of the bacon occurred. Using a cooking
200 treatment of 5 min with the power-output set to 500 W
100 produced the best results, the overall repeatability being
0 best with the bacon positioned 43 mm above the turntable.
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000
The mean weight loss of 55.2% measured with this treat-
Load size (g)
ment was not significantly different to that measured at a
Fig. 1. Relationship between measured power-output and load size in the height of 99 mm (Table 5).
domestic microwave oven. The results showed that elevating the plate above the
floor of the oven using a metal rack made a significant
the bacon. The lost mass will consist of evaporating water difference to the subjective quality and uniformity of
and melting fat. Therefore, it is not possible to accurately the cooked product. This was most likely due to the
estimate the microwave energy input into the bacon during microwaves being reflected off the turntable and being
the cooking process. transmitted through the plate, and absorbed through the

3.3. Trials using domestic microwave oven Table 3

Statistical analysis of weight losses (mean of five samples) of streaky bacon
cooked in Sharp domestic microwave oven
The preliminary trials showed that processing factors
(i.e. power-output and cooking time) had a greater influ- S8 NS
S7 NS NS
ence on the quality of the cooked product than product S6 NS *
NS
factors (i.e. type of bacon, chemical composition). S5 NS NS NS NS
*
S4 NS NS NS NS
*** *** *** *** ** *
3.3.1. Bacon cooking S3
*** *** *** *** ** *
All cooking treatments carried out at an oven setting of S2 NS
* *
S1 NS NS NS NS NS NS
500 W resulted in very dry, blackened edges to the streaky
rashers (Table 2). This is most likely due to drying out and Treatments S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9
overheating of the exposed edges caused by the relatively NS = not significant.
*
long heat process. At 800 W edge effects were also apparent p < 0.05.
**
and in most cases the rashers appeared undercooked. p < 0.01.
***
p < 0.001.
Using a cooking treatment of 3 min with the power-output

Table 2 Table 4
Effect of treatment on weight loss (mean of five samples) and appearance Effect of treatment on weight loss (mean of four samples) and appearance
of streaky bacon cooked in Sharp domestic microwave oven of back bacon cooked in Sharp domestic microwave oven
Treatment Mean weight Comments Treatment Mean weight Comments
loss (%) loss (%)
S1: 1000 W, 3 min, 0 mm 55.1 Bacon crispy and brown B1: 1000 W, 3 min, 0 mm 54.8 Slight edge effects, some
but with slight edge effects areas of the muscle
S2: 1000 W, 3 min, 43 mm 64.1 All rashers brown and dried out
crispy—no edge effects B2: 1000 W, 3 min, 43 mm 59.4 Severe drying of muscle
S3: 1000 W, 3 min, 99 mm 61.7 All rashers brown and B3: 1000 W, 3 min, 99 mm 59.1 Severe drying of muscle
crispy—no edge effects B4: 800 W, 3 min, 0 mm 52.8 Marked edge effects, some
S4: 800 W, 3 min, 0 mm 45.1 Some areas crispy, drying out of the muscle
slight edge effects B5: 800 W, 3 min, 43 mm 52.2 Edge effects, centre
S5: 800 W, 3 min, 43 mm 49.9 Edge effects—middle pieces uncooked,
rashers look uncooked edge pieces dried out
S6: 800 W, 3 min, 99 mm 49.3 Edge effects—middle B6: 800 W, 3 min, 99 mm 50.7 Edge effects, centre pieces
rashers look uncooked uncooked,
S7: 500 W, 5 min, 0 mm 48.6 Severe edge effects—outer edge pieces dried out
rashers very dry, centre B7: 500 W, 5 min, 0 mm 52.1 Crispy, slight edge effects,
rasher underdone no drying out
S8: 500 W, 5 min, 43 mm 53.3 Severe edge effects B8: 500 W, 5 min, 43 mm 55.2 Crispy, no edge effects
S9: 500 W, 5 min, 99 mm 52.7 Severe edge effects B9: 500 W, 5 min, 99 mm 55.6 Crispy, no edge effects
840 C. James et al. / Journal of Food Engineering 77 (2006) 835–843

Table 5 160
Statistical analysis of weight losses (mean of four samples) of back bacon
cooked in Sharp domestic microwave oven
140
B8 NS
*
B7 NS 120
*
B6 NS NS
B5 NS NS NS NS

Temperature (°C)
B4 NS NS NS NS NS 100
** ** ** ** *
B3 NS
** ** ** ** *
B2 NS NS 80
B1 NS NS NS NS NS NS NS NS
Treatments B2 B3 B4 B5 B6 B7 B8 B9 60

NS = not significant.
*
p < 0.05. 40 Edge Fat
** Edge Muscle
p < 0.01.
*** Middle Fat
p < 0.001. 20
Middle Muscle

bottom of the food (Knutson, Marth, & Wagner, 1987), 0

since the turntable of this particular oven was metal. How-
ever, it was interesting to note that although elevation af-
fected the results compared to placing the plate on the
turntable at the base of the oven, the height of elevation
did not have a significant effect. Therefore, although it
was important to elevate bacon when cooking in this par-
ticular oven (with a metal turntable) the height was rela-
tively unimportant.
3.3.2. Bacon temperature during cooking
Temperatures measured during heating in streaky and
back rashers under the two preferred treatments identified
in Section 3.3.1 are shown in Figs. 2 and 3, respectively. In
both cases the edge of the fat showed the highest rate of
temperature rise. At the end of the cooking period temper-
atures measured in the streaky rashers were higher (range
in mean from 122 to 145 °C) than those measured in the
back rashers (range in mean from 105 to 120 °C). The
160
140
120
Temperature (°C)
0 50 100 150 200 250 300
Time (s)
Fig. 3. Mean (n = 3) temperatures in 100 g loads of back bacon
positioned 43 mm above the oven turntable during cooking for 5 min at
500 W in the domestic microwave oven (error bars indicate ±1 SD).
mean temperature at all the measured points was above
100 °C after 100 s in the streaky rashers and after approx-
imately 200 s in the back rashers.
Temperatures at the edge of the rashers, especially in the
fat, tended to rise faster than at other positions but due to
the variability between rashers, as shown by the large over-
lapping standard deviations on the heating curves, there
was no significant effect of measurement position. The final
temperatures reached by the bacon (between 100 and
145 °C) were likely to be sufficient to destroy any bacteria
that may have been present on the bacon.
Work carried out by Lee, Gray, and Pearson (1983)
showed that in conventional cooking of bacon the adipose
tissue shows an increased rise in temperature over that
found in the muscle tissue (165 °C compared to 145 °C).
This is because with conventional cooking methods the
low water content and low specific heat of fat generally re-
sults in more rapid heating of the adipose tissue than the
lean. Fats also have a low dielectric loss and this combined

100
with the properties described above means that fats are
inefficient at converting microwave energy into heat (Lyng,
80
Zhang, & Brunton, 2005). However, once heat has been
generated conventional heat transfer mechanisms apply.
60
Fats can reach very high temperatures above the 100 °C
40
limit of water due to their higher boiling points, and since
Edge Fat
Edge Muscle fats have a much lower specific heat capacity than water
20 Middle Fat they can heat faster in a microwave (Ohlsson, 1983). This
Middle Muscle would explain why streaky bacon showed more even heat-
0 ing than back bacon. The temperature rises experienced in
0 50 100 150 200 the middle rashers of bacon within the load were signifi-
Time (s) cantly higher in the streaky compared to the back bacon.
Fig. 2. Mean (n = 3) temperatures in 100 g loads of streaky bacon This could be due to the proportions of fat to muscle
positioned 43 mm above the oven turntable during cooking for 3 min at and their distribution within the rasher. Streaky bacon
1000 W in the domestic microwave oven (error bars indicate ±1 SD). has an almost ÔstripedÕ arrangement of fat to lean tissue,
 C. James et al. / Journal of Food Engineering 77 (2006) 835–843 841

with only small areas of each type of tissue. Therefore, if 160

the fat in a rasher of streaky bacon heats very rapidly this
increase in temperature would very quickly become equili- 140
brated across the plate. However, back bacon has very little
fat located at the edge of the rashers and so large increases 120
in the temperature of this would not be so easily conducted

Temperature (°C)
throughout the bacon rasher. This phenomenon would ex- 100

plain the high incidence of edge effects when cooking back

80
bacon in a microwave oven, particularly when high power-
output levels are used for a short time. Therefore, cooking
60
back bacon at a lower power-output level for a longer per-
iod of time actually gives a longer equilibration time for the
40 Edge Fat
bacon, and thus results in a more acceptable product. Edge Muscle
Middle Fat
20
3.3.3. Trials in domestic microwave oven using container Middle Muscle
designed for industrial cooker 0
Higher weight losses were measured in both back and 0 50 100 150 200
streaky bacon placed in open industrial packs and then Time (s)
cooked in the domestic oven (Table 6) in comparison to Fig. 4. Mean (n = 3) temperatures measured in 100 g loads of streaky
those recorded when cooking on the plate. Using a lid on bacon when cooked for 2 min with 1000 W in the industrial container in
the pack made little difference to the weight loss (Table the domestic microwave oven (error bars indicate ±1 SD).
6). Reducing the heating time by 1 min with both types
of bacon produced cooked bacon with a similar appear-
ance to that previously identified and a lower weight loss. 160
Temperatures measured during heating in streaky and
back rashers under the two preferred treatments are shown 140
in Figs. 4 and 5 respectively. In both cases the edge of the
rasher showed the highest rate of temperature rise. At the 120
end of the cooking period mean temperatures measured
Temperature (°C)

in the streaky rashers range from 109 to 124 °C and those 100
measured in the back rashers from 104 to 139 °C. The
mean temperature at all the measured points was above 80

100 °C after 68 s in the streaky rashers and after approxi-

60
mately 170 s in the back rashers.
Mean weight loss in the dummy packs was 36% after
40 Edge Fat
4 min at 500 W and 35.6% after 1000 W for 2 min. Edge Muscle
The container in which the bacon was cooked had a sub- Middle Fat
20
stantial effect on both the weight loss and length of time re- Middle Muscle
quired to achieve the desired degree of cooking. This is
0
possibly due to the container influencing the microwave 0 50 100 150 200 250 300
field intensity within the oven cavity. With back bacon, Time (s)
the presence of the pack reduced the cooking time by
Fig. 5. Mean (n = 3) temperatures in 100 g loads of back bacon when
1 min (25%) and in the streaky by 1 min (20%). The combi- cooked for 4 min with 500 W whilst in the industrial container in the
nation of the pack and the shorter cooking time reduced domestic microwave oven (error bars indicate ±1 SD).
the mean weight loss from 64.1% to 57% for streaky
rashers and from 55.2% to 50.6% for back rashers. the bacon were similar with and without the use of the pack
Subjectively, the degree of cooking and the crispness of when the time was reduced to compensate for its presence.
Table 6
Weight loss found for various treatments in the domestic microwave oven 3.4. Trials using pilot-scale industrial microwave cooker
using the industrial container
Treatment Mean % weight loss A series of trials using dummy packs and different con-
veyer speeds in the industrial pilot plant showed that a
Streaky bacon, 1000 W, 3 min, no lid 72.4
Streaky bacon, 1000 W, 3 min, using lid 69.7 115 s heating time in the microwave cavity with a total in-
Streaky bacon, 1000 W, 2 min, using lid 57.0 put power of 6 kW resulted in a mean weight loss of
Back bacon, 500 W, 5 min, no lid 59.2 approximately 36%. Streaky and back bacon rashers
Back bacon, 500 W, 5 min, using lid 59.1 heated under these conditions had the desired appearance
Back bacon, 500 W, 4 min, using lid 50.6
and crispness. The mean weight loss from 22 packs of
842 C. James et al. / Journal of Food Engineering 77 (2006) 835–843

streaky bacon and 38 packs of back after heating for 115 s
at 6 kW was 51.9% (Standard Deviation 4.6) and 38.3%
(SD 4.8), respectively.
Subjectively, the degree of cooking and crispness ap-
peared more uniform after cooking in the industrial system
than that observed in the domestic heating trials. Since the
bacon is conveyed through the microwave field in the
industrial system, the effect of any areas of high or low field
intensity will be reduced thus producing more even cook-
ing. The different position of the magnetrons may also have
an influence. In the domestic oven, the single magnetron
was at the side compared to the top and bottom magne-
trons in the industrial oven. Cooking the bacon in the
the floor of the oven using 500 W for 5 min was not signif-
icantly different to unsmoked back bacon. When cooked in
the industrial pack the mean weight loss of 63.3% (SD 1.1)
was significantly higher (p < 0.01) than that from un-
smoked back under the same conditions.
The measured rate of temperature rise and final temper-
atures produced in the smoked back bacon was similar to
that in unsmoked back bacon under similar processing
conditions (Figs. 6 and 7).
160

industrial oven produced an acceptable crispy bacon, suit-

able for use as a sandwich filling, with less weight loss than 140

experienced in the domestic oven. It was also interesting to

120
note that the shingled bacon rashers that had been cooked
in the industrial oven were easier to separate than those

Temperature (°C)
100
cooked in the domestic oven. This was probably again
due to the more even cooking produced by the industrial
80
oven.
60
3.4.1. Shelf-life of the bacon
Mean TBA values rose to 0.74 and 1.308 mg malonial-
40 Edge Fat
dehyde (MDA) per kg of sample in streaky and back ras- Edge Muscle
hers respectively after 18 days storage at 4 °C (Table 7). 20
Middle Fat
The results of the shelf-life tests showed no differences in Middle Muscle
shelf-life between the two types of bacon. The threshold be- 0
low which consumers are unlikely to detect off-flavours is 0 50 100 150 200 250 300
considered to be about 0.5 mg MDA kg 1 sample (Gray Time (s)
& Pearson, 1987; Sheard et al., 2000). Using this value, a
Fig. 6. Mean (n = 3) temperatures measured in rashers of smoked back
shelf-life of between 11 and 14 days for both types of bacon bacon when cooked for 5 min at 500 W whilst raised 43 mm above the
can be safely concluded based on maximum TBA values. floor of the domestic microwave oven (error bars indicate ±1 SD).
This shelf-life is slightly less than those quoted by some
manufacturers (>18 days).

160
3.5. Trials using smoked back bacon
140
The mean weight loss of 54.5% (SD 3.0) from smoked
back bacon when cooked on a plate raised 43 mm above
120

Table 7
Temperature (°C)

Change in cooked vacuum packaged bacon rasher TBA values (mg MDA 100
per kg of sample) with storage time
Sample Days at 4 °C 80

1 3 4 7 11 14 16 18
60
Streaky
1 0.103 0.105 0.177 0.229 0.231 0.727 0.441 0.931
40 Edge Fat
2 0.191 0.191 0.162 0.259 0.277 0.372 0.274 0.731
3 0.074 0.132 0.118 0.29 0.231 0.372 0.365 0.558 Edge Muscle
20 Middle Fat
Mean 0.123 0.143 0.152 0.259 0.246 0.490 0.360 0.740
Middle Muscle
SD 0.061 0.044 0.031 0.031 0.027 0.205 0.084 0.187
0
Back
0 50 100 150 200 250 300
1 0.044 0.118 0.162 0.229 0.354 0.388 0.395 1.489
2 0.044 0.118 0.147 0.229 0.324 0.453 0.426 1.132 Time (s)
3 0.059 0.147 0.147 0.168 0.339 0.598 0.654 1.303
Fig. 7. Mean (n = 3) temperatures measured in rashers of smoked back
Mean 0.049 0.128 0.152 0.209 0.339 0.480 0.492 1.308
bacon when cooked for 4 min with 500 W using the industrial container in
SD 0.009 0.017 0.009 0.035 0.015 0.108 0.141 0.179
the domestic microwave oven (error bars indicate ±1 SD).
 C. James et al. / Journal of Food Engineering 77 (2006) 835–843
4. Conclusion
From the results obtained using the two different ovens,
it is obvious that the industrial oven produced a better and
possibly more economic (in terms of decreased weight loss)
product than the domestic oven. In a domestic microwave
oven the power delivered into the bacon is substantially ef-
fected by its size and composition. A small change in the
weight of the product making a substantial difference to
the power absorbed. The industrial ovens are designed to
provide a more constant power-output irrespective of
changes in the load. In conclusion, it would probably be
more profitable when developing an industrial microwave
process to carry out all practical work in a pilot plant
microwave unit, such as the unit used for this project, as
the results are very different from those in a domestic oven.
This would mean, however, that substantial financial
investment would need to be made to carry out such a pro-
ject, as large amounts of raw materials would be necessary.
The most effective cooking settings in the domestic oven
were 1000 W for 3 min elevated 43 mm above the turntable
of the oven for streaky bacon, and 500 W for 5 min ele-
vated 43 mm above the turntable of the oven for back ba-
con. For the particular industrial microwave oven used, the
most effective cooking regime was the use of 6 kW for 115 s
for both the streaky and the back bacon. Operating the pi-
lot plant used in these experiments to these specifications
would allow the production of 5.9 kg of cooked streaky ba-
con (approximately 600 rashers), or 8.6 kg of cooked back
bacon (approximately 500 rashers) per hour. Bacon pro-
duced under this condition can be expected to have a
shelf-life of at least 11 days (when stored vacuum packed
at 0–4 °C).
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank the Harris Pork and
Bacon Group who sponsored this project, and in particular
Clive Davis and Hannah Bendon at Harris Ipswich for pro-
cessing the bacon orders.
In addition, we would like to thank Rose Ball for carry-
ing out the bacon analysis and Ben Hewett for his assis-
tance in carrying out the TBA tests. Lastly we would like
to thank Michelle Hibbard, Jenny Thorpe and Laurence
Ketteringham for their assistance.
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