Sterilization process for canned tomatoes

Thermal treatment by sterilization is one of the most important steps in th e processing of canned foods. A proper selection of the process parameters is important to achieve two conflicting objectives: maximum destruction of the microorganisms and minimum loss of organoleptic Value of the product wi th a minimum consumption of energy in the process. In both cases it is fund amental the knowledge of the temperature history of the product. To this en d, this work was addressed to develop a computationally efficient procedure for describing the heat transfer mechanism in canned peeled tomatoes as a function of the operating variables and For predicting thermal responses an d lethality effect to be used for the better conduction of the sterilizatio n process. An empirical correlation for the hear transfer coefficient that take into account the influence of the head space in the container and the velocity of rotation of the cans, is presented. The equation was derived fr om experimental data on the sterilization effect taken from an industrial p lant and obtained by recording the temperature Values at the geometric cent re of the food containers.