Topic: Pasteurization, Blanching, and Commercial Sterilization Systems

Module 2 – November 23, 2023

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TOPIC OUTLINE

I. Introduction of the three thermal preservation processes

a) Overview of the Pasteurization, Blanching, and Commercial Sterilization processes
b) Importance in food processing for preservation and safety
II. Mechanism of how the process works
III. How it is used in the processing systems
IV. Products processed using the system
V. Conclusion
a) Summarize key points of pasteurization, blanching, and commercial sterilization, &
b) Reinforce their crucial roles in food preservation and safety

Introduction

The safety and storage life of many perishable foods can be enhanced by the use of high temperatures to
inactivate undesirable disease and spoilage-causing microorganisms and to inactivate enzymes in food that can
cause spoilage. Three categories of thermal preservation of foods are:

1) Blanching
2) Pasteurization
3) Commercial Sterilization process

Pasteurization

1. Mechanism of how the process works

- Pasteurization is a thermal processing technique that involves the heat treatment of food products to a
temperature below the boiling point of water which means below 100°C to eliminate harmful pathogens
or reduce the number of spoilage organisms present in the product. In the food processing industry,
pasteurization serves two main purposes: ensuring food safety by eliminating enzymes and
heat-sensitive microorganisms such as non-spore-forming bacteria, yeast, molds, and vegetative
bacteria, and extending the shelf life of products for several months, depending on the type of product
and pasteurization method used.

2. How it is used in the processing system

There are 3 types of pasteurization method use:

A. Batch Pasteurization
- batch pasteurization, as discussed by Dairy Pulse, entails heating products to lower temperatures for
longer durations, striking a balance between microbial safety and preserving organoleptic properties.
The temperature for batch pasteurization typically ranges from 60°C to 85°C (140°F to 185°F) within 15
 seconds to several minutes depending on the product being processed . These pasteurization techniques
are integral to product processing, providing a range of options to meet specific requirements and ensure
the safety and quality of diverse products in the industry.
- uses temperature 62.8°C to 65°C for about 30 minutes pasteurization time
- shelf-life lasts for about 2 to 3 weeks

B. High-Temperature Short Time (HTST)

● Also called flash pasteurization
- Requires a temperature between 72°C to 74°C heating for about 15 seconds
- The HTST pasteurization process heats the product to 72°C and passes it through a holding tube for
the required holding time.
- The process is designed to specifically target harmful bacterial spores that are known to be resistant
to other treatments, specifically Clostridium botulinum.
- Typical shelf-life is two to three weeks

C. Ultra-high Temperature
- Ultra-high temperature (UHT) pasteurization involves rapidly heating products to temperatures
exceeding 135°C for a short period, effectively eliminating harmful microorganisms and extending shelf
life (Dairy Pulse, n.d.). This method is particularly advantageous for liquid products, preserving sensory
and nutritional qualities better than traditional pasteurization methods. UHT pasteurization is well-suited
for products with high viscosity and those requiring aseptic packaging (Steriflow Food and Beverage,
n.d.).
- UHT milk may lasts for about 6 to 9 months
- Eliminate bacterial spores

https://microbenotes.com/pasteurization-types-process/
https://dairypulse.org/blog/article/pasteurization-b61
https://steriflowfoodandbev.com/resource/what-is-uht-and-htst-pasteurization/

Criteria VAT HTST UHT

Process type Batch Continuous Continuous

temperature and 65 °C for 30 min 72 °C for 15–30 s 135–150 °C for a

time few seconds
 Foods preserved Buttermilk and Milk, eggnog, Milk
sour cream frozen dessert
mixes, fruit juices,
etc.

Shelf life increase Several days 2–3 weeks when 6–9 months when
(milk) when refrigerated refrigerated aseptically
packaged

3. Products processed using the system

Dairy products.
Fruit juices.
Other liquid foods.

- Through pasteurization products such as dairy products, fruit juices, canned goods, condiments, etc.
prolong shelf life from their typical shelf life and prevent food products from deteriorating faster. It can
also prevent diseases. These products may harbor harmful bacteria, leading to illness if not pasteurized,
regardless of the plant's sterility. Aside from that, improvements in flavor and scent may arise. The
unpleasant characteristics may improve through this process, as well as its quality.

Blanching

1. Mechanism of how the process works

- Blanching serves as a pre-treatment technique employed in both culinary and food preservation contexts
to deactivate enzymes responsible for inducing alterations in texture, and coloration through browning,
and the development of undesirable flavors. This procedure involves immersing vegetables or fruits in
boiling water for a brief duration, followed by rapid cooling through submersion in ice water or
exposure to cold water to arrest the cooking process. The mechanism of blanching induces physical and
metabolic instability in cellular structures, leading to cellular demise. The consequential impairment of
cytoplasmic and other membranes renders them permeable to water and solutes, a phenomenon
attributed to the heating process, which concurrently results in the degradation of enzymes. A
subsequent decline in turgor pressure emerges as an immediate result. The ingress and egress of water
and solutes across cell membranes contribute to the loss of nutrients from the tissue.

2. How is it used in the processing system

There are two types of blanching processing:

A. Cold branch processing/ cold branching

- Depending on the type of fish, dressed fish can be blanched in a hot or cold brine or cooked in steam
beforehand. Either hot or cold, the fish flesh absorbs enough salt and improves in texture throughout the
blanching process in brine. About 15–30% of the fish's body water is released during heating, such as
when hot blanching or steam cooking. As a result, during heat processing, blanching and pre-cooking
are done to the point where no further water is produced from the fish meat.
 - This procedure is applied to the dressed fish before it is put into cans. The method involves submerging
the fish pieces in a salt solution; the amount of salt and the length of the dip vary based on the kind and
size of the fish. There are two popular techniques for salting fish: brining, which involves submerging
the fish in a salt/water solution, and dry salting, which involves applying salt directly to the fish's
surface. Fish from both the marine and the inland are salted. Before being salted, fish are sliced or salted
whole (if they are small). This procedure gets rid of blood, slime, dirt, and other materials while firming
up the texture and adding a salty flavor to the finished product. Additionally, it lowers the number of
bacteria.
- The kind of salt used and the length of the process have an impact on the salting procedure and the final
product's properties. Depending on the species and salt/moisture content, salted fish can last up to six
months on the shelf. Salted fish is generally sturdy. Depending on the species and salt/moisture content,
salted fish can last up to six months on the shelf. Salted fish is generally sturdy.
- Four factors influence the intake of salt: fish fat content; fish thickness; freshness; and temperature.

B. Hot blanched processing / hot blanching

- Blanching is done in boiling brine for shellfish, such as shrimp and crabs. The shrimp meat shrinks,
coils, and takes on its distinctive red color during this process, making it possible to fill cans to the
proper level. Fish is precooked in steam, under or over pressure, either before or following canning. The
fish is cooked for so long during the heat processing of the cans that no more water comes out of them.
It has been discovered that the amount of fat in sardine affects how long it takes to cook; skinny fish
need longer. This procedure will deactivate the enzymes, eliminate the bacterial population, remove the
cellular gases, and increase the vacuum inside the can. The boiling brine solution is used to blanch the
shrimp. They have a lovely crimson color as a result.

3. Products processed using the system

Some examples of vegetables and fruits:

Vegetable Water Blanching time

Cabbage 90 seconds

Asparagus 3-4 minutes

Okra 3 minutes

Peaches 30 seconds

Canned vegetables undergo the thermal process, called blanching. This helps to lessen the microbial load, clean
the product, and reduce the size of the leafy vegetables by becoming saggy to fit into the containers. The shelf
life of the canned vegetables that will maintain its flavor, color, and nutrition is only upto 12 months. This,
however, depends on the type of vegetables used, and how it was packed.
Fish example: Sliced raw fish with skin

By blanching the raw fish for a short period of time, you can enhance the flavor
and preservation of the fish. This is demonstrated by a sliced raw fish with a skin
constructed in that manner. The process of making sliced raw fish with skin by
blanching entails killing the fish and extracting the blood; scaling the live fish
and preparing a fillet; stripping the raw fish of moisture and covering it with a
cloth; blanching the fish covered in a cloth at 98 degrees Celsius for 5 to 20
seconds using boiling water or vapor; quickly chilling the fish treated by
blanching in cold water; and stripping the fish of moisture after removing the cloth (오광수 et al., 2007).

Commercial Sterilization Systems

Commercial sterilization is defined as the destruction of all pathogenic and spoilage organisms that can
grow in food under normal storage and handling conditions. This includes both vegetative (metabolically active
growing and reproducing) cells and their non-vegetative (metabolically inactive) spores.

Commercial sterilization is a more intense thermal process to reduce the population of all
microorganisms in the product and leads to shelf stable products in cans and similar containers. The purpose of
these processes is the reduction of microbial populations by sufficient magnitudes to create shelf stable food,
without refrigerators.

The systems used for commercial sterilization are in 3 categories: batch, continuous, and aseptic.

Things to consider:

Batch and continuous: accomplish thermal treatment after the product is place in the container or package
Aseptic: process is accomplished before the product is placed in the container or package, and the container or
package requires a separate process.

1. Mechanism of how the process works

The use of a thermal process to achieve a shelf-stable food product is referred to as commercial sterilization.
The commercial sterilization criterion was arbitrarily established (12D concept).
This criterion states that the minimum thermal process should reduce the initial
microorganism’s concentration by 1012 times.

This is the well-known 12D concept (also referred to as a “botulinum cook”).

In commercial practice, actual processes normally go far beyond 12D. This
is because of additional considerations:
* Safety margins
* Cooking requirements
* Prevention of the growth of thermophilic microorganisms that cause spoilage
•Currently, a common treatment for Clostridium botulinum (is a highly heat-resistant, rod-shaped,
spore-forming, anaerobic pathogen that produces the botulism toxin) is 6–8 min at 250 °F.

Two typical forms of sterilized product are:

 • In package sterilized, in which product is packed into containers and the container
of product is then sterilized e.g. canning, some bottled products, retort pouches

• UHTor Aseptically processed products in which the product and the package is sterilised
separately then the package is filled with the sterile product and sealed under
specific conditions es.gs. long life milk, tetrapack or combibloc fruit juices and soups etc.

2. How it is used in the processing system

Batch

● A steel retort vessel is designed to expose the product to temperatures above the boiling point of
water. The vessel must maintain pressures up to 475 kPA or the pressures needed to maintain
temperatures as high as 135 degrees Celsius to 150 degrees Celsius.

● The control system is designed to allow the environment (temperature and pressure) within the
vessel to be increased to some desired level for a specified time, held at the desired condition for
a specified time, and then returned to ambient pressure and temperature conditions.

● For these systems, this product is introduced into the vessel after being placed into a container or
package and sealed.

Continuous Retort Systems

● Various systems have been developed to allow commercial sterilization to be accomplished in a

retort and continuous manner.

● The hydrostatic system uses a tower and two columns of water to maintain a high pressure steam
environment for the product containers to move through.
 ● The height of the water columns is sufficient to maintain the desired steam pressure and
temperature.

● The product conveyor carries the containers through the system in a continuous manner.

● The product containers enter the system through a column of hot water and heating of the
product is initiated.

● The heating of the product is completed as the product is conveyed through the steam
environment.

● The final stage of the process is accomplished as the product containers are conveyed through a
column of cold water.
● The residence time for products within the system is a function of the conveyor speed.

● Ultimately, the desired process for the product is a function of the steam temperature and the
time required for a product to be conveyed through the system.

Aseptic Processing Systems

● The unique aspect of the aseptic processing systems is that the product is thermally processed
prior to being placed in a container.

● The systems require independent sterilization of the container, and placement of the product into
the container while in an aseptic environment.

● These systems are limited to products that can be pumped through a heat exchanger for both
heating and cooling.
 3. Products processed using the system

Retorts

Modern retort machines have the capability to thermally process jars, cans, pouches, cartons, trays, and bowls.
The heat treatment is commercial sterilization, which begins with the heating phase, progresses to the holding
phase, and ends with the cooling phase. Commercial sterilization requires a certain amount of time at a specific
temperature (e.g., 121°C) to kill the target microorganisms. The amount of time and temperature required to
process the product depends on many factors, including heat resistance of the target microorganism, heating
characteristics of the food product, and method of thermal processing.

Example:

Retort Processing System

● Canned foods - Conventional canning, also known as retort processing, is the process in which food is
hermetically sealed in a container, often a tin canister or glass jar, which is then commercially sterilized
to effectively kill spoilage and pathogenic microorganisms and to preserve nutrition and quality of
foods. Commercial sterilization is defined as the use of thermal means to destroy all microorganisms and
thus their ability to grow during storage. Aseptic processing differs in that sterilization of food and
packaging are separate prior to filling and sealing under sterile conditions.

Canned foods have a shelf life of at least 6 months. Most commercially sterile food products that we
find in the market have a shelf life of 2 years or even more. And if the product deteriorates, it is due to
textural and/or flavor change that occur over time, not due to microbial growth.

UHT

● Boiled milk- In these processes, the milk is heated to 135-150°C for a few seconds, generally in a plate
or tubular heat-exchanger. The milk, which is then almost sterile, has to be filled into containers for
distributions; the filling has to be done aseptically. Ideally, heating and cooling should be as quick as
possible.

This applies only as long as the product remains under aseptic conditions, so it is necessary to prevent
re-infection by packaging the product in previously sterilized packaging materials under aseptic
conditions after heat treatment. Any intermediate storage between treatment and packaging must take
place under aseptic conditions. This is why UHT processing is also called aseptic processing.

References
 Kumar, A., & Divsion, F. P. (n.d.). Thermal processing of fish. Gov.In. Retrieved November 18, 2023,
from
https://krishi.icar.gov.in/jspui/bitstream/123456789/25128/1/10_Thermal%20processing%20of%
20fish.pdf

Treatments for Blanching of Fish. (n.d.). Kerone.com. Retrieved November 18, 2023, from
https://www.kerone.com/pdf/treatments-for-blanching-of-fish.pdf

Why blanch? (2023). Clemson.edu.

https://www.clemson.edu/extension/food/canning/canning-tips/43why-blanch.html

오광수, 전석수, 김정균, 강정구, 강진영, 박용건, 윤재웅, 육홍주, & 김석무. (2007). Sliced raw fish
meat with skin by blanching and method for making the same (Patent No. KR:100728333:B1).
In Patent (KR:100728333:B1).

https://www.retorts.com/white-papers/commercial-sterilization-defined/

CONCLUSION

Importance in Food processing

Pasteurization, blanching, and commercial sterilization play pivotal roles in food preservation and
safety. Pasteurization, commonly applied to dairy and fruit juices, eradicates harmful microorganisms, ensuring
product safety and extending shelf life (Smart Machine Technologies, 2023). Blanching, through brief exposure
to heat, deactivates enzymes, preserving color, flavor, and nutrition while inhibiting bacterial growth (Science
Direct, 2023). Commercial sterilization, achieved through heat processing, annihilates all viable
microorganisms, including spores, securing prolonged product preservation and reducing the risk of foodborne
illnesses (NCBI, 2022). These processes collectively safeguard the quality and safety of food products,
exemplified by the prevention of spoilage in canned goods subjected to commercial sterilization.

https://www.smartmachine.com/common-questions-about-the-pasteurization-process/

https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/blanching#:~:text=Blanching%20red
uces%20the%20number%20of,color%2C%20and%20nutrients%20during%20storage

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8762312/

https://www.smartmachine.com/6-benefits-pasteurization-food-semi-solids/