Continuous Low-Temperature Food Pasteurization System
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Solution Overview
Problem
Commercial cooking methods for meat products often result in dry and tough textures due to high-temperature cooking, which compromises the quality and flavor, while sous vide cooking at low temperatures is inefficient and costly, requiring long times and expensive vacuum packaging.
Innovation Solution
A continuous low-temperature pasteurization system that uses a conveyor belt and pasteurization chamber with controlled temperature and humidity to kill pathogens without fully cooking the meat, utilizing heated air and collected juices to maintain moisture and flavor, allowing for efficient and cost-effective processing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If high-temperature cooking is used to kill pathogens, then food safety is improved, but the food becomes dry and tough
Solution Approach 1:
The cooking process is divided into two separate stages: first, low-temperature pasteurization to kill pathogens while preserving moisture; second, high-temperature searing to improve appearance and flavor. This segmentation allows each stage to optimize for its specific purpose without compromising the other.
Solution Approach 2:
The pasteurization step is performed as a preliminary action before final cooking or serving. By eliminating pathogens in advance at low temperature, the subsequent cooking can focus solely on improving sensory qualities without the constraint of needing to reach high internal temperatures for safety.
2Ease of manufacture
If sous vide cooking is used to maintain tenderness and flavor, then food quality is improved, but cooking time increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The invention changes the temperature parameter from the traditional sous vide range (50-60°C) to a higher pasteurization range (73.9°C or 165°F). This parameter change reduces the required processing time from several hours to a much shorter duration while still maintaining the moisture-preserving benefits of low-temperature cooking.
3Reliability
If sous vide cooking is used to kill bacteria at low temperatures, then food safety is improved, but the process becomes complex and expensive
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the vacuum sealing step from the process, eliminating the need for specialized vacuum packaging equipment and materials. The pasteurization is performed on unpackaged or simply packaged food, removing the complexity and cost associated with vacuum sealing while maintaining food safety through controlled temperature processing.
4Reliability
If conventional precooking is used to eliminate pathogens, then food safety is improved, but juices and fats are driven out
Solution Approach 1:
The invention changes the dimension of the cooking approach by using controlled humidity environments and alternative heating methods (such as microwave or radio frequency heating) that penetrate the food interior without requiring high surface temperatures. This dimensional change in the heating approach allows pathogen elimination while preserving internal moisture and fat content.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system effectively pasteurizes meat while maintaining its tenderness and flavor, reducing cooking time and costs by using controlled heat and humidity to achieve a safe and edible product without the need for extensive vacuum sealing.
Implementation Method 1
a pasteurization chamber (40) in which a pasteurization medium is supplied to pasteurize the food product
Implementation Method 2
A system (70) is provided for collecting the liquid or juices rendered from the food product and either using such collected juices to augment the pasteurization process
Implementation Method 3
a conveyor system (20) for conveying food products FP through the pasteurization system (10), including through a pasteurization chamber (40)
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2~3
Figure 4~5
AI summary
A continuous low temperature food pasteurization system (10) includes a conveyor system (20) for conveying food products (FP) through a pasteurization chamber (40). A pre heater (140) may be located upstream from the pasteurization chamber, and an optional post heater (160) may be located downstream from the pasteurization chamber. A chiller and/or freezer (100) rapidly chills and/or freezes the food product after pasteurization as the conveyor system conveys the food product through the freezer. A control system (250) controls the operation of the pasteurization system to ensure that a desired percentage of pathogenic microorganisms present on the surface and/or within the interior of the food product are killed.