Apparatus for the treatment of food products by ultrasound and method for the treatment of food products using such an apparatus
Patent Information
- Application Number
- EP2023829104
- Authority / Receiving Office
- EP · EP
- Patent Type
- Applications
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Priority Date
- 2022-11-25
- Filing Date
- 2023-11-22
- Publication Date
- 2025-10-01
- Estimated Expiration
- Not applicable · inactive patent
AI Technical Summary
Current ultrasound treatment apparatuses for food products lack effective temperature control, particularly for large-scale industrial use, leading to inefficient energy use and quality deterioration due to inability to manage temperature profiles suited to specific food types and treatments.
An apparatus with a temperature adjustment system comprising hot and cold water reservoirs, a refrigerating unit, and a hydraulic circuit with flow control means to rapidly and precisely adjust the temperature in the ultrasound vessel, allowing for predetermined temperature changes and energy savings.
Enables precise control of ultrasonic treatment conditions, improving food quality by managing energy and duration of treatment, and reducing water consumption while maintaining nutritional and organoleptic properties.
Smart Images
Figure 1.1
Abstract
Description
[0001] APPARATUS FOR THE TREATMENT OF FOOD PRODUCTS BY ULTRASOUND AND METHOD FOR THE TREATMENT OF FOOD PRODUCTS USING SUCH AN APPARATUS
[0002] Technical field of the invention
[0003] The present invention relates generally to the field of food treatment by means of ultrasound. More particularly, the present invention relates to an apparatus for treating food products by ultrasound having a temperature adjustment system conFigured to control, during the treatment process, the temperature of the food products to be treated, as well as a method for the treatment of food products by ultrasound using such an apparatus.
[0004] State of the art
[0005] The food industry still uses methods and techniques for processing and treating food raw materials that cause a reduction in organoleptic and nutritional qualities due to the high volumes produced. Performing chemical treatments, refining treatments and / or high- temperature heat treatments on food raw materials inevitably leads to a deterioration of the chemical and physical properties of the food products, with a consequent reduction in their quality.
[0006] In recent years, food treatment techniques with less negative impact on the quality of the final product are being used. These techniques include, for example, treatment techniques based on the use of ultrasound. However, the ultrasound techniques currently used are intended for the treatment of ready-to-eat food products, and not for the treatment of large volumes of food products at an industrial level. For example, there is a professional machine on the market, produced by the company Next Cooking Generation, called waveco©, which uses ultrasound for the treatment of food products such as meat, fish, vegetables and pastry products. The main advantages of using ultrasound are the reduction in food preparation time, the reduction in cooking temperatures and the lowering of the bacterial load, which increases the shelf life of the final product. However, the application of such a machine is limited to the catering and hotel industry, without the possibility of easily moving on to the production of large volumes intended for large-scale distribution. Furthermore, such a machine, as well as the other machines currently on the market, are not able to effectively control the temperature trend during the ultrasonic treatment so as to adapt it to the specific requirements of the type of food that is being treated. Apparatuses for the treatment of food products using ultrasound are known, which are equipped with traditional resistive coils to heat the feed water inside an ultrasound vessel up to the temperature required for treatment. Such a heating system, however, takes quite a long time, has low energy efficiency and also involves a huge waste of water. The feed water for the ultrasound vessels of these known apparatuses is generally directly supplied from the water mains with temperatures between 14°C and 15°C; the mass of water (generally in the order of 30-50 litres) is brought to temperatures above 70°C, which takes - as already pointed out - quite a long time, and is then completely discharged at the end of the process. These are obviously systems that do not allow effective, rapid and low-cost control of the temperature trend in the vessel in which the food to be treated is placed.
[0007] An example of an apparatus for the treatment of food products using ultrasound provided with a heating system for heating the feed water inside an ultrasound vessel up to the temperature required for the ultrasound treatment is known from CN110771819A. According to this known solution, the heating system comprises a water tank, a thermostat and a control unit which on the one hand is connected to the thermostat and on the other is connected to a temperature sensor placed in the ultrasound vessel to detect the temperature of the water in said vessel. Once the food to be treated has been placed in the ultrasound vessel and the ultrasound generator has been activated, the control unit controls the thermostat to send hot water into the ultrasound vessel until a desired temperature value (for example 40°C, 45°C or 50°C) is reached. If the temperature in the ultrasound vessel exceeds the desired value, the control unit puts the ultrasound vessel in fluid communication with a cooling bath at 2°C so as to cause the temperature in the ultrasound vessel to drop to the aforementioned desired value.
[0008] The heating system of this known apparatus is designed solely to heat the water in the ultrasound vessel to a given temperature value and to keep that temperature value as constant as possible for a given time, but it is not capable of causing sudden temperature changes within the ultrasound vessel to follow a given temperature profile, in particular a temperature profile comprising a low-temperature section followed by a high- temperature section or vice versa, even in a repeated manner.
[0009] Summary of the invention
[0010] It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and a method for the treatment of food products by ultrasound that allows better control, compared to the prior art, of the temperature trend in the vessel in which the food product is placed during the ultrasonic treatment. This and other objects are fully achieved, according to a first aspect of the present invention, by an apparatus as defined in the attached independent claim 1 and, according to a further aspect of the present invention, by a method comprising the steps defined in the attached independent claim 6.
[0011] Further advantageous aspects of the invention are set forth in the dependent claims, the subject-matter of which is to be understood as forming an integral part of the present description.
[0012] In short, the invention is based on the idea of associating to the ultrasound vessel of the treatment apparatus a temperature adjustment system comprising a first reservoir containing hot water, heating means adapted to provide heat to the water contained in said first reservoir, a second reservoir containing cold water, a refrigerating unit in fluid communication with said second reservoir, a hydraulic circuit for bringing the first reservoir and the second reservoir into fluid communication with the ultrasound vessel, and flow control means for controlling the flow of water between each of the two reservoirs and the ultrasound vessel so that the temperature of the water in the ultrasound vessel, and therefore the temperature of the food product to be treated introduced into the ultrasound vessel, follows a predetermined time course. Thanks to such a temperature adjustment system, it is possible to move masses of hot water from the first reservoir to the ultrasound vessel and / or masses of cold water from the second reservoir to the ultrasound vessel in a controlled manner, depending on the temperature to be obtained in the ultrasound vessel, and thus to bring about sudden, even repeated, temperature changes, not only upwards but also downwards, inside the ultrasound vessel. This makes it possible to quickly, precisely and efficiently control the temperature in the ultrasound vessel and thus to obtain a given temperature time course adapted to the type of food product to be treated and / or the type of treatment to be carried out. In this way, therefore, it is possible to manage in a controlled manner not only the energy and duration of the ultrasonic treatment with which the food product is treated, but also the temperature of the water in the vessel in which the food product is contained, which results in a significant improvement in the quality of the treatment that is carried out.
[0013] Brief description of the Figures
[0014] Further features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, which is given purely by way of non-limiting example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
[0015] - Figure 1 is a schematic illustration of an apparatus for the treatment of food products by ultrasound according to the present invention; and - Figure 2 is a graph showing an example of a time course of the temperature of the water in the ultrasound vessel of the apparatus of Figure 1 that can be obtained by appropriately controlling the temperature adjustment system of the apparatus.
[0016] Detailed description
[0017] With reference to Figure 1 , an apparatus for the treatment of food products by ultrasound basically comprises an ultrasound vessel 10 filled with water and intended to receive the food products to be treated, an ultrasound generator 12 arranged to generate ultrasound for treating the food products received in the ultrasound vessel 10, a temperature adjustment system 14 arranged to adjust the temperature of the water in the ultrasound vessel 10 and a control unit 16 arranged to control the ultrasound generator 12 and the temperature adjustment system 14 so as to appropriately adjust, according to predetermined operating logics, in particular depending on the specific type of food product to be treated, the power of the ultrasound generated by the ultrasound generator 12, the duration of the ultrasonic treatment and the time course of the temperature of the water in the ultrasound vessel 10.
[0018] The ultrasound vessel 10 is made, in a per-se-known manner, of a material suitable for contact with food products, for example stainless steel, and is provided with appropriate thermal insulation to minimise heat exchange with the external environment. For example, the ultrasound vessel 10 has a capacity of 60 litres. Furthermore, the ultrasound vessel 10 is provided with immersion transducers (not shown, but of a per- se-known type) operatively connected to the ultrasound generator 12. Advantageously, the ultrasound vessel 10 is provided with a filling level control system, preferably an automatic system (for example, a system operated by the control unit 16), arranged to control the water level inside the ultrasound vessel 10.
[0019] The temperature adjustment system 14 basically comprises a first reservoir 18 containing hot water, a second reservoir 20 containing cold water, a hydraulic circuit designed to put the first reservoir 18 and the second reservoir 20 in fluid communication with the ultrasound vessel 10, and flow control means arranged to control the flow of water between each of the two reservoirs 18, 20 and the ultrasound vessel 10 so that the temperature of the water in the ultrasound vessel 10 follows a predetermined time course.
[0020] The first reservoir 18 is provided with heating means 22 arranged to supply heat to the water contained therein. The heating means 22 comprise, for example, one or more electrical resistors received in the first reservoir 18. The heating means 22 are advantageously controlled by the control unit 16 so as to keep the water contained in the first reservoir 18 at a given temperature, for example at 75°C or 85°C.
[0021] The second reservoir 20 is advantageously connected to a refrigerating unit 24 (of a perse-known type) so as to ensure that the water contained in this reservoir is at a low temperature, for example at 4°C. For this purpose, according to the illustrated embodiment, a supply conduit 26 and a return conduit 28 are provided between the second reservoir 20 and the refrigerating unit 24, and pumping means (per se known and not shown) are associated with these conduits to pump water from the refrigerating unit 24 to the second reservoir 20 via the supply conduit 26 and from the second reservoir 20 to the refrigerating unit 24 via the return conduit 28. The refrigerating unit 24 and / or the pumping means are advantageously controlled by the control unit 16 so as to keep the water contained in the second reservoir 20 at the predetermined temperature, which, as mentioned above, is for example 4°C.
[0022] In the illustrated embodiment, the hydraulic circuit connecting the first reservoir 18 and the second reservoir 20 with the ultrasound vessel 10 comprises a supply conduit 30, which on the one hand is in fluid communication with the ultrasound vessel 10 and on the other is selectively connectable with the first reservoir 18 or the second reservoir 20 to supply hot water or cold water, respectively, to the ultrasound vessel 10, and a discharge conduit 32, which on the one hand is in fluid communication with the ultrasound vessel 10 and on the other is selectively connectable with the first reservoir 18 or the second reservoir 20 to allow the discharge of water from the ultrasound vessel 10 to the first reservoir 18 or the second reservoir 20, respectively. In this case, the flow control means comprise, for example, a flow distribution valve 34 (schematically shown in Figure 1) switchable between a first operating position, in which it connects the supply conduit 30 and the discharge conduit 32 with the first reservoir 18, and a second operating position (shown in Figure 1), in which it connects the supply conduit 30 and the discharge conduit 32 with the second reservoir 20. In addition, pumping means (per se known and not shown), associated for example with the supply conduit 30 and the discharge conduit 32, will be provided to pump the hot water from the first reservoir 18 to the ultrasound vessel 10 and to return the water from the ultrasound vessel 10 to the first reservoir 18 when the flow distribution valve 34 is in the aforementioned first operating position, and to pump cold water from the second reservoir 20 to the ultrasound vessel 10 and to return water from the ultrasound vessel 10 to the second reservoir 20 when the flow distribution valve 34 is in the aforementioned second operating position.
[0023] According to an alternative embodiment (not shown), the hydraulic circuit may comprise, for each of the two reservoirs 18 and 20, a supply conduit and a discharge conduit connecting the respective reservoir with the ultrasound vessel 10. In this case, the flow control means will advantageously be configured to allow the two reservoirs 18 and 20 to supply water to the ultrasound vessel 10 independently of each other, as well as to allow water to be discharged from the ultrasound vessel 10 to the two reservoirs 18 and 20 independently of each other.
[0024] By appropriately controlling the supply of hot water from the first reservoir 18 to the ultrasound vessel 10 and / or the supply of cold water from the second reservoir 20 to the ultrasound vessel 10, the temperature adjustment system 14 is thus able to control the temperature of the water in the ultrasound vessel 10, not only keeping it at a certain value but also varying it according to a given time course.
[0025] In this regard, the graph in Figure 2 shows an example of a time course of the temperature of the water in the ultrasound vessel 10 obtainable by appropriately controlling the temperature adjustment system 14. Therefore, depending on the type of treatment to be performed and / or the type of food product to be treated, the control unit 16 appropriately controls the ultrasound generator 12 so as to generate ultrasound with a given power and for a given time (with the possibility, for example, of varying the power over time according to a given trend) and the temperature adjustment system 14 so as to cause the temperature of the water in the ultrasound vessel 10 to follow a given time trend.
[0026] In particular, the temperature trend of the water contained in the ultrasound vessel 10 comprises an initial cooling phase followed by a heating phase. The cooling phase may for example be performed so as to bring the temperature of the water contained in the ultrasound vessel below 10°C, preferably below 6°C, in particular to 4°C. The heating phase may for example be performed so as to bring the temperature of the water contained in the ultrasound vessel 10 above 50°C, preferably above 70°C, in particular to 75°C or 85°C.
[0027] Referring in particular to Figure 2, in an initial condition (time t = TO), in which the ultrasound vessel 10 is filled with cold water at 4°C (previously supplied by the second reservoir 20), the food product to be treated, contained in a suitable container, is introduced into the ultrasound vessel. The food product, which was initially at room temperature, for example at 25°C, then begins to cool until it reaches at time t = T1 (for example, 15 minutes or less after time TO) the temperature of 4°C, which is the temperature of the water in the ultrasound vessel 10. It is assumed in this case that the food product is not soluble in water and that there is therefore no reaction between the water and the product which could generate heat. At this point, from time t = T1 to time t = T2 the food product is kept at a temperature of 4°C. At time t = T2 the ultrasound vessel 10 is emptied and the cold water previously contained therein is discharged into the second reservoir 20 so that it can be reused later. Once the cold water has been discharged, at time t = T3 the ultrasound vessel 10 is filled with hot water, for example at 75°C, from the first reservoir 18. The filling phase ends at time t = T4, for example a few seconds (or in any case less than 1 minute) after time t = T3. The temperature of the food product then rises abruptly, until it also reaches 75°C. From time t = T4 to time t = T5 the food product is kept in hot water at 75°C. The time interval T4-T5 is, for example, a maximum of 15 minutes. Finally, at time t = T5, the ultrasound vessel 10 is emptied again and the hot water previously contained therein is discharged into the first reservoir 18 for subsequent reuse.
[0028] Preferably, therefore, as described above with reference to Figure 2, the ultrasound vessel 10 is alternatively filled either only with hot water taken from the first reservoir 18 or only with cold water taken from the second reservoir 20, without mixing hot water and cold water, so as to obtain sudden temperature changes, both upwards (increase) and downwards (decrease), in the food product to be treated. Such thermal shocks have beneficial effects in terms of maintaining the nutritional, organoleptic and structural properties of the food product.
[0029] However, it is possible to control the temperature adjustment system 14 so that hot and cold water are mixed in the ultrasound vessel 10.
[0030] In addition to allowing to obtain very fast temperature changes, as explained above, the temperature adjustment system of the apparatus according to the invention ensures significant energy savings, since the hot and cold water reservoirs, once the system is in operation, require very little energy to keep the predetermined temperature. Furthermore, by virtue of the fact that the water discharged from the ultrasound vessel is recovered (in the first or second reservoir depending on whether it is hot water or cold water), the apparatus according to the invention has a reduced water consumption.
[0031] The present invention has been described so far with reference to a preferred embodiment thereof. It is to be understood that other embodiments may be envisaged, which share the same inventive core as the one described herein, as defined by the appended claims.
Claims
CLAIMS1. Apparatus for the treatment of food products by ultrasound, comprising an ultrasound vessel (10) intended to be filled with water and to receive the food products to be treated, an ultrasound generator (12) arranged to generate ultrasound for treating the food products in the ultrasound vessel (10), a temperature adjustment system (14) arranged to adjust the water temperature in the ultrasound vessel (10) and a control unit (16) arranged to control the ultrasound generator (12) and the temperature adjustment system (14) so as to suitably adjust, according to predetermined operating logics, the power of the ultrasound generated by the ultrasound generator (12), the duration of the ultrasonic treatment and the time course of the temperature of the water in the ultrasound vessel (10), wherein the temperature adjustment system (14) comprises a first reservoir (18) containing hot water, a second reservoir (20) containing cold water, a hydraulic circuit (30, 32) designed to put said first reservoir (18) and said second reservoir (20) in fluid communication with the ultrasound vessel (10) and flow control means (34) arranged to control the water flow between each of said first and second reservoir (18, 20) and the ultrasound vessel (10) in such a manner as to cause the water temperature in the ultrasound vessel (10) to follow a given predetermined time course, wherein said first reservoir (18) is provided with heating means (22) for heating the water contained in this reservoir, and wherein the temperature adjustment system (14) further comprises a refrigerating unit (24) in fluid communication (26, 28) with said second reservoir (20).
2. Apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the control unit (16) is configured to control said heating means (22) so as to keep the water contained in said first reservoir (18) at a given temperature.
3. Apparatus according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the control unit (16) is configured to control said refrigerating unit (24) so as to keep the water contained in said second reservoir (20) at a given temperature.
4. Apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said hydraulic circuit (30, 32) comprises a supply conduit (30), which on the one hand is in fluid communication with the ultrasound vessel (10) and on the other is selectively connectable with said first reservoir (18) or said second reservoir (20) to supply the ultrasound vessel (10) with hot water or cold water, respectively, and a discharge conduit (32), which on the one hand is in fluid communication with the ultrasound vessel (10) and on the other is selectively connectable with said first reservoir (18) or said second reservoir (20) to allow discharge of the water from the ultrasound vessel (10) to said first reservoir (18) or said second reservoir (20), respectively.
5. Apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said flow control means (34) comprise a flow distribution valve switchable between a first operating position, in which it connects the supply conduit (30) and the discharge conduit (32) with said first reservoir (18), and a second operating position, in which it connects the supply conduit (30) and the discharge conduit (32) with said second reservoir (20).
6. Method for treating food products by ultrasound with an apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, comprising the steps of: a) inserting the food product to be treated into the ultrasound vessel (10); b) generating ultrasound by means of the ultrasound generator (12) with a given power and for a given time depending on the food product to be treated; and c) adjusting, during the ultrasonic treatment of the food product, the water temperature in the ultrasound vessel (10) by means of the temperature adjustment system (14) so as to cause the water temperature to follow a given time course depending on the food product to be treated.