JIMMA UNIVERSITY

JIMMA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

SCHOOL OF
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING

CHAPTER 4
Lecture 1

Food preservation
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• Food preservation
 Food preservation Can be defined as the process by witch any
food material like fruit or vegetable are prevented from getting
spoilt retain quality, preserve texture flavor and nutritional
value for longer period of time
 Objectives for food preservations
There are 3 main objectives in food preservations
1.Prevantion of contamination of foods from damaging agent
 Insect
Animal
Mechanical cause
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2. Delay or prevention microbial decomposition

 by keeping out microorganisms (Asepsis)
( natural or artificial protective covering)
 by removal of microorganisms ( in this
method filtration is used for removal of
organisms)
 by hindering the growth and activity of
microorganism ( this may be done by lowering
temperature, drying or anaerobic condition)
By killing microorganism through thermal
destruction ( using gamma ray or electronic
ionization radiation)
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3. Delay of enzymatic spoilage, self decomposition of food by
natural occurring enzyme with in food , this done by
 by destruction or inactivation of
enzyme ,blanching or boiling process
By prevention of chemical reaction , in food like
fat and oil can be rancid become unfit to eat
because of oxidation
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• Importance of food preservation
1. Increases the shelf life of food thus increase the supply so
many perishable foods can be preserved for long time
2. Making the seasonal food available though out the year
3. Adding varieties of the diet
4. Saving time by reducing preparation time the energy as the
foods has already being partially process.
5. Stabilizing price of food as there less scope of shortage of
supply and demands.
6. Decrease wastage of foods by preventing decay or spoliage of
foods.
7. Improving nutrition
 Spoilage of foods
 Food spoilage is defined as a microbiological, chemical, or physical changes in food
items which renders a product undesirable or unacceptable to the consumer for
consumption.
 In other words, food spoilage can be defined as any visible or invisible change which
can makes food or product unacceptable for human consumption.
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• Major cause of Food spoilage

 Microbiological food spoilage is produced by the growth
and action of microorganism in food. It is because of the
production of objectionable end products of the
biochemical activity of microbial chemical processes.
 Chemical spoilage may be caused by the non-microbial
enzymic action, oxidation or because of some processing
problem like non-enzymic browning. Spoilage may also
be observed because of different components of food
react with each other or with some component added or
mixed during manufacturing process which alter the
food’s sensory characteristics.
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Types of food on basis of there spoilage
• Perishable foods ----Readily spoilt and require special
preservation and storage conditions for use-milk, fruits,
vegetables, fish etc.
• Semi perishable foods --- Require proper storage---for a long
duration e.g. potatoes.
• Non-perishable foods --- Remain in good form for long
duration unless handled improperly sugar, flour etc
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Microbial contamination at stages of food production
Microorganisms in Food
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• Thermal processing in food preservation
 Thermal process is very common in food preservation.
 It can be achieved by vitiate of technique using
a. Hot water or steam
 Cooking,
 Blanching
 Pasteurization
 Sterilization
 Evaporation and
 extrusion
b. Hot air
 Backing
 Roasting
 Drying
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c. Hot oil
 frying
d. irradiated energy
 Microwave
 Infrared radiation
 Ionization and non ionization radiation
Commercially heat preservation method commonly
pasteurization , sterilization and blanching
process
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• Pasteurization process
 The most recognized of these processes is pasteurization is ba
thermal process used to eliminate specific pathogenic
microorganisms
from a food.
 Blanching is a similar thermal process used to inactivate
enzymes in foods and prevent the deterioration reactions in the
product.
 Both processes accomplish the desired result without using the
high temperatures normally associated with commercial
sterilization
 Most pasteurization systems are designed for liquid foods, and
with
specific attention to achieving a specific time–temperature process.
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• Method of pasteurization
 HTST (High Temperature Short Time)
 LTLT(Low Temperature long time)
 UHT(Ultra High Temperature)
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 HTST (High Temperature Short Time
• HTST) pasteurized milk typically has a refrigerated shelf of
two to three weeks (HTST) cause less damage to the nutrient
composition and sensory characteristics of foods than do the
low-temperature, long-time treatments.
• HTST plate pasteurizer from 72°C (162°F) to 95°C (203°F)
For 15 seconds..
 LTLT(Low Temperature long time)

The batch or low-temp-long-time or holder pasteurization (LTLT) process is the

traditional method of pasteurizing milk.
In the vat the milk is heated to 62.8 C and held for 30 minutes followed by rapid
cooling.
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 Ultra-high temperature processing (UHT) food by heating it
above 95 °C (275 °F).
• the temperature required to kill spores in milk for 1 to 2 seconds.
• UHT is most commonly used in milk production, but the process
is also used for fruit juices, cream, soy milk, yogurt, wine, soups,
honey, and stews.
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Sterilization
 Sterilization is the complete destruction or elimination of all
viable organisms in/on a food product being sterilized.
 Sterilization destroys yeasts, molds, vegetative bacteria, and
spore formers and allows the food processor to store and distribute
the products at ambient temperatures, with extended shelf life.
 The sterilization process consists of four distinct stages. First, the
product must be heated to a temperature of 110 to 125°C to ensure
sterilization.
 After this, the product requires a few minutes to equilibrate, since
the surface will be hotter than the central portion of the container
causing a temperature gradient.
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 The equilibration stage allows a reduction in the
temperature gradient.
 Next, the product must be held at this temperature for a
certain period of time to ensure a predetermined
sterilization value designated by Fo.
 Finally, the product has to be cooled, mainly to arrest
further heat treatment and to avoid overcooking.
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• Basic principles in sterilization process
• the processed product must be free from microorganisms
which cause food spoilage during product shelf life, until it is
consumed.
• Clostridium botulinum spores are capable of growing in low-
acid (pH >4.6) products during storage and hence must be heat
treated to the equivalent of at least 121.1°C for 3 minutes (an
Fo value of 3) to achieve a 12-decimal reduction of the
microorganism.
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• Blanching process
 Blanching is a unit operation prior to freezing, canning, or drying in which
fruits of vegetables are heated for the purpose of inactivating
natural/endogenous enzymes; modifying texture; preserving color, flavor,
and nutritional value
 Objectives:
1. Inactivate enzymes
A. Metabolic
B. Maintain color
C. Texture
D. Flavor
2. Lower microbial load (about 90%)
3. Aids in packaging – wilts vegetables and removes respiratory gases
4. Removes dirt, leaves, etc.
5. Aids in peeling
 Thermal characteristics of microorganisms
• Microbial survivor curve
 During preservation processes for foods, an external agent is
used to reduce the population of microorganisms present in the
food.
 The population of vegetative cells such as E. coli, Salmonella,
or Listeria monocytogenes will decrease exponentially.
 The population of microbial spores will decrease in a similar
manner, but after an initial lag period. These curves are
referred to as microbial survivor curves.
 Although the shape of these curves is often described by a
first-order model, there is increasing evidence that alternate
models are more appropriate when the application is the
design of a preservation process.
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Microbial survival curve

A general model for description of the microbial curve would be:

………………………………..(1)

where k is the rate constant and n is the order of the model. This
general model describes the reduction in the microbial population
( N) as a function of time.
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• where n is 1, the order becomes a first-order kinetic model.
• This is basic model has been used to describe survivor curves
obtained when microbial populations are exposed to elevated
temperatures.
 D – value ( decimal reduction time)
 The slope of the straight line is the first-order rate constant ( k ), and
is inversely related to the decimal reduction time, D .
 The decimal reduction time D is defined as the time necessary for
90% reduction in the microbial population.
 Alternatively, the D value is the time required for a one log-cycle
reduction in the population of microorganisms.
 Based on the definition of decimal reduction time, the following
equation would describe the survivor curve:
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……………………………(2)

……………………………(3)

…………………………………....(4)
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A solution to Equation (1), when the initial population is N0 and
the final population is N at time t, would be:

……………………(5)

By comparison of Equations (4) and, (5), it is evident that:

 The kinetics of a chemical reaction are more often described by

Equation (1), and the rates of change in chemical components are
expressed by first-order rate constants ( k). In many situations, the
changes in quality attributes of food products during a preservation
process are described in terms of first-order rate constants ( k ).
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• Example 1
Calculate the d value of an organisms show 30 survivor
from an initial inoculums of 5x10*6spores after 10
min at 121 oC also calculate reaction rate constant
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• Example 2
The result of thermal experiment give D- value 7.5 min at 110oC
if there were 4.9x104 survivor at 10 min determine the
following
i. Initial population of microorganisms
ii. Reaction rate constant
iii. Ratio of N/No for 5,15,20 min
iv. Final population of survivor at 5, 15,20 min
v. Plot microbial survivor curve
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• influence of external agent
 The survivor curves for microbial populations are influenced
by external agents. .
 As the magnitude of preservation agents such as temperature,
pressure, and pulsed electric fields increase, the rate of the
microbial population reduction increases.
 Exposure of a microbial population to an array of higher
temperatures results in an increasing slope for the first-order
curves.
• In chemical kinetics, we use the Arrhenius equation to
describe the influence of temperature on the rate constant.
Thus,
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• Z- value
Plot of decimal reduction time against temperature on a semi log
scale gives straight line over the range of temperature used in
sterilization
Z – value can be defined as number of ways
 it represent temperature range necessary to cause a
90% reduction in decimal reduction time
It represent the range of temperature which result in 10
fold change in d- value
The number of degree required for one lo cycle change
in d- value in thermal resistance curve
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• Arrhenius equation and Z-value model
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• The concept of Q10
 The value of reaction often used for reporting the temperature
dependence of biological reaction .
 It defined as the number of times reaction rate change with
10 oc change (either increases or decrease)
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• Example 3
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• Thermal death time F

 The thermal death time F is the total time required to
accomplish a stated reduction in a population of vegetative
cells or spores.
 This time can be expressed as a multiple of D values, as long
as the survivor curve follows a first-order model.
 For example, a 99.99% reduction in microbial population
would be equivalent to four log-cycle reductions or F = 4D.
 A typical thermal death time in thermal processing of shelf-
stable foods is F=12D, with the D value for Clostridium
botulinum.
 When there is uncertainty about the shape of the survivor
curve, end-point data are needed to confirm the adequacy of
the thermal death time.
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• 12-D concepts
It is the minimum time required to reduce the number of
microorganisms ( spores)by a factor of 10*12
Some important feature of these process
I. It is mathematical concept which has been found empirically
to give effective sterilization
II. It is some what arbitrary but universal use as measure of
safety
III. It is based on probability of survivor cl. Botulinun spore of
one 10*12
IV. It is also 99.9999% inactivation of microorganisms.
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Where Fo and Do are thermal death time and decimal

reduction time at reference temperature , F T and DT at any
temperature. Log No/N is called sterilizing value (SV) .
Example if logNo/N = 6 means ,probability of spoilage is 1
in 10*6.
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• Lethality concept
Lethality is the measure of heat treatment or sterilization process.
in order to compare the relative sterilizing capacities of heat
process.

The effect of different but successive sterilization process in

a given material are additive. Hence for several different
temperature stage T1,T2 and so non each having time t1, t2
…the value for each stage added to arrive to total lethality
value.
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Example 4

And also calculate time t in min at temperature

62.8 0C of pasteurization process.
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• Example 5
The temperature at lowest lethality heating location for a liquid
food as follows

The thermal process being applied to microbial population with

D121.1 of 1.1 min and z value =11oC, estimate lethality F 121.1 for
thermal process.
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• SPOILAGE PROBABILITY
 When considering shelf-stable food products, we can
design the preservation process to eliminate spoilage in
addition to ensuring microbial safety.
 The spoilage probability is used to estimate the number of
spoiled containers within a total batch of processed
product.
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•Then, if r is the number of containers exposed to the preservation process, and

N0 is the initial population of spoilage microorganisms in each container, the
total microbial load at the beginning of the process is rN0, and

•If the goal of the preservation process is to achieve a probability of one survivor
from the microbial population for all containers processed, then
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 The ratio on the left side of Equation represents the total
number of containers processed ( r) and resulting in one
container with spoilage.
 The expression can be used to estimate the thermal death time
required to accomplish a stated spoilage probability, based on
knowledge of the initial population and the decimal reduction
time, D, for the microbial population.
 It should be noted that the spoilage probability expression
does assume that the survivor curve for the spoilage
microorganism follows a first-order model.
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• Example 6
Estimate the spoilage probability of a 50-minute process
at 113°C when D113 4 minutes and the initial
microbial population is 10 *4 per container.