A critical analysis of mathematical procedures for the evaluation and design of in-container thermal processes for foods.

Kinetic data on thermal destruction of spoilage and quality factors coupled with the temperature history of a product during a heat sterilization cycle are the basic information needed for the evaluation and the design of thermal processes through a physical-mathematical approach. A critical review on the available physical-mathematical procedures used for thermal process calculations of in-container processed foods is presented. The origin and the limitations of each method are discussed. The equations associated with each method, for internal product temperature predictions, are explicitly given. The relative performance of selected methods under identical processing conditions is illustrated. Several problems associated with thermal process calculations are discussed.