Abstract
This chapter considers various heat processing technologies that are generally used in food industries. The primary objectives of heat processing are to prepare different varieties of food and to achieve a prolonged storage life of food. An understanding of the thermal characteristics of food is important as these influence the overall efficiency of heat transfer. Generally used heat transfer systems use heat transfer fluids, which are found to be one of the main causes of poor performance of the heat processing equipment. The introduction of nanofluids as an alternative to the conventional fluids could solve this problem as they have the ability to enhance the overall heat transfer coefficient. This reduces the processing time which in turn improves the quality of food. The common heat treatments that have been used in food industries are pasteurization, sterilization, ultra-high temperature treatment, and drying. Blanching is a mild heat treatment and its primary purpose is to inactivate enzymes. Contrarily, these methods have a detrimental effect on the nutritional value of food since they cause nutrient degradation. There are new heat processing technologies that can minimize nutrient loss while ensuring extended shelf-life. Some of them include radio-frequency heating, microwave heating, ohmic heating, infrared heating, and novel drying methods.
Published Version
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