IMPROVING CANNED FOOD QUALITY WITH VARIABLE RETORT TEMPERATURE PROCESSES

Although technological advances such as aseptic packaging and agitated retort processing have dramatically improved the quality and economy of many heat-treated foods, those canned foods in which heat transfer is dominated by conduction have not benefited substantially. Variable retort temperature (VRT) processing can provide a means of increasing product quality and the energy efficiency of the process by improving the uniformity of heat penetration within the product. Computer simula tion and systematic optimization routines are essential for efficient VRT process development.