Review on computerized prediction of nutrients in thermally processed canned food.

Basic principles are briefly discussed for mathematical evaluation of nutrient concentration in thermally processed food. This evaluation is based on the use of equations for predicting the temperature of food subjected to a thermal process and for evaluating the rates of thermal degradation of a nutrient at different temperatures. Several computer programs were prepared by various researchers to minimize manual calculations required for estimating nutrient retention in thermally processed food. The computational characteristics of these programs are critically examined.