Читать книгу Essentials of Thermal Processing - Gary Tucker S., Gary S. Tucker - Страница 11

The application of high temperatures is one of the most commonly used methods to kill or control the numbers of micro‐organisms present within foods and on packaging surfaces. Evidence for its importance in today's food industry can be seen in the percentage of shelf space taken up in any retailer by foods preserved by heat. Along with low temperature storage (e.g. refrigeration and freezing) and dried foods, thermal processing remains of key importance to the worldwide food industry. There have been many attempts to introduce foods preserved by new technologies (e.g. ultra high pressure, pulsed electric fields) into retail food markets, but their significance is still relatively minor in comparison with thermal processing.

Thermal processing is a general term that describes all forms of heat treatments in which micro‐organism numbers are controlled by heat. This includes heat processed container types such as metal cans, plastic trays, pouches, glass jars, and even cartons. It also includes continuous thermal processes that take place outside of the package and are usually linked with aseptic or hot filling. Nowadays, the terms ‘canning’ and ‘thermal processing’ are often used interchangeably; however, as most of the original work was done in cans, thermally processed foods that are in other packaging formats are still often referred to as ‘canned’.