JP2015167519A - Food material sterilizing method, and food product - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable exchanging a sterilization liquid in a food material sterilizing step without stopping the whole step.SOLUTION: A sterilization container 110 accommodating a food material conveyance bucket 100 is conveyed in a food material sterilization conveyance path 3 and discharged in a discharge part. Thereafter, the food material conveyance bucket 100 is moved to a food material cleaning conveyance path 4 together with an accommodated food material, and the sterilization container 110 is moved to a container conveyance path 2. The food material conveyance bucket 100 is conveyed to a discharge part of the food material cleaning conveyance path 4 while being cleaned in a rinse tank, the sterilized food material is discharged in a food material discharge part 6 and moved to the next step, and the empty food material conveyance bucket 100 is again moved to a food material charging part 5. On the other hand, the sterilization container 110 is conveyed in the container conveyance path 2, discharged in the discharge part, and again moved to an introduction part 33 of the food material sterilization conveyance path 3.

Description

  The present invention relates to a food sterilization method and a food using the sterilized food, and more specifically, a food sterilization treatment method and sterilization for sterilizing foods such as vegetables, fruits and seafood with a sterilization solution such as sodium hypochlorite solution. It relates to foods using finished foods.

  Conventionally, when processing processed foods such as sliced onions and shredded cabbage vegetables, seafood, etc. or used as cooking materials, the sterilization of the ingredients due to the need for hygiene management Processing is in progress. As a method for sterilizing foods, for example, a method of sterilizing foods by immersing them in a sterilizing solution such as sodium hypochlorite solution having a predetermined concentration and then washing with water (Patent Document 1) is adopted. .

  For example, as shown in FIG. 6, a facility that employs such a sterilization treatment method includes a facility in which a sterilization tank 83 storing a sterilizing liquid and a water rinsing tank 93 storing water for rinsing are provided. It has been devised. Ingredients are stored in the bucket 100 ′ for transporting ingredients that can move in these tanks, and after sterilizing the ingredients by passing the buckets 100 ′ one after another through the sterilization tank 83, the buckets 100 ′ are sequentially washed in the washing tank 93. The food is washed with water by passing through the washing tank 93. The bucket 100 'is a casing through which a sterilizing liquid and water can pass, and is formed of a casing made of a resin such as polypropylene or polyethylene, for example.

JP-A-6-46812

  However, when the sterilizing liquid in the sterilizing tank 83 is replaced in the conventional food sterilizing equipment 7, the process needs to be stopped until the replacement of the sterilizing liquid is completed. Therefore, there existed a problem that the process of the whole foodstuff sterilization process will become slow. In particular, when using a sterilizing solution that has a weak sterilizing effect due to circumstances such as a decrease in concentration over time, such as sodium hypochlorite solution, it is necessary to change the sterilizing solution after a certain period of time. The above problem was remarkable.

  This invention is made | formed in view of such a subject, and it aims at enabling it to replace | exchange sterilization liquid, without stopping the whole process in a foodstuff sterilization process.

  In order to achieve the above object, a food sterilization method according to the present invention is a food sterilization method using a food sterilization facility including a sterilization container circulation unit for circulating and transporting a plurality of sterilization containers in which a sterilizing liquid is stored, In the first place on the sterilization container circulation part, the sterilization start step of accommodating the housing containing the foodstuff in the sterilization container, and in the second place on the sterilization container circulation part, the container was accommodated in the sterilization container. And a sterilization end step for removing the casing.

  According to the present invention, since the sterilizing liquid can be replaced for each sterilizing container, it is not necessary to stop the entire process when replacing the sterilizing liquid.

It is a top view which shows the whole image of the foodstuff sterilization equipment. It is the (a) top view of the container conveyance path 2 which comprises the foodstuff sterilization equipment 1, and (b) A-A 'sectional view taken on the line. It is the (a) top view of the foodstuff sterilization conveyance path 3 which comprises the foodstuff sterilization equipment 1, and (b) B-B 'sectional view taken on the line. It is the (a) top view, (b) C-C 'sectional view, and (c) D-D' sectional view of the food cleaning conveyance path 4 which comprises the foodstuff sterilization equipment 1. FIG. It is a figure which shows (a) container 110 for sterilization, and (b) bucket 100 for foodstuff conveyance. It is a top view which shows the whole image of the conventional foodstuff sterilization equipment.

  Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a top view showing an overall image of a food sterilization facility 1 used in an embodiment to which the present invention is applied. The food sterilization facility 1 includes a container transport path 2, a food sterilization transport path 3, a food cleaning transport path 4, a food material input unit 5, and a food material discharge unit 6. In FIG. 1, the movement of the sterilization container 110 is indicated by a black thick arrow, and the movement of the food conveying bucket 100 is indicated by a white thick arrow.

  Here, the outline | summary of the foodstuff sterilization method using the foodstuff sterilization equipment 1 is demonstrated. First, in the food input unit 5, the food to be sterilized is stored in an empty food transfer bucket 100 moved from the food discharge unit 6.

  Next, the food material transport bucket 100 is accommodated in the sterilization container 110 in which the sterilizing liquid is stored, and the sterilization of the food material is started. The sterilization container 110 in which the food material transport bucket 100 is accommodated is placed in the introduction part 33 of the food material sterilization transport path 3, transported through the transport part 32, and discharged from the discharge part 31.

  Then, the bucket 100 for food conveyance is moved to the introduction part 431 of the food cleaning conveyance path 4 together with the contained food, and the sterilization container 110 is moved to the introduction part 21 of the container conveyance path 2. The food transport bucket 100 is transported to the discharge section 432 of the food cleaning transport path 4 while being washed in the water washing tank 43, and the sterilized food is discharged to the next process in the food discharge section 6 and emptied. The food conveying bucket 100 is moved again to the food charging unit 5.

  On the other hand, the sterilization container 110 is transported through the transport unit 22 of the container transport path 2, discharged by the discharge unit 23, and moved again to the introduction unit 33 of the food sterilization transport path 3.

  By repeating the above steps, the ingredients are sequentially sterilized.

  2A and 2B are views showing the container conveyance path 2 constituting the food sterilization facility 1, wherein FIG. 2A is a top view and FIG. 2B is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A '.

  The container transport path 2 includes an introduction unit 21, a transport unit 22, and a discharge unit 23. The container conveyance path 2 is a conveyance direction of the sterilization container 110 in the sterilization container 110 among the sterilization containers 110 on which the food conveyance buckets 100 containing the food discharged to the discharge unit 31 of the food sterilization conveyance path 3 are mounted. Is for transporting in the opposite direction and discharging to the vicinity of the introduction portion 33 of the food sterilization transport unit 3.

  The introduction part 21 is a part for introducing the placed sterilization container 110 into the transport part 22, and a plurality of roller conveyors 211 are attached thereto. The roller conveyor 211 is a free roller conveyor that does not have a power source. When the sterilization container 110 is placed, the roller conveyor 211 comes into direct contact. When an external force is applied, the placed sterilization container 110 can be transported with a smaller force to the rotation of the roller conveyor 211.

  The transport unit 22 is a part for transporting the sterilization container 110 introduced from the introduction unit 21 to the discharge unit 23, and includes a conveyor rotation shaft 221 and a chain conveyor 222. When the sterilization container 110 is placed on the transport unit 22, the chain conveyor 222 comes into direct contact. The conveyor rotation shaft 221 can be rotated by a power source (not shown). As the conveyor rotation shaft 221 rotates, the chain conveyor 222 is interlocked and the sterilization container 110 that is in contact with the chain conveyor 222 is conveyed.

  The discharge part 23 is a part for discharging the sterilization container 110 conveyed by the conveyance part 22, and a plurality of roller conveyors 231 are attached thereto. The roller conveyor 231 is a free roller conveyor that does not have a power source, similarly to the roller conveyor 211, and thus the placed sterilization container 110 can be conveyed with a small force.

  FIGS. 3A and 3B are views showing the food sterilization conveyance path 3 constituting the food sterilization equipment 1, wherein FIG. 3A is a top view and FIG. 3B is a cross-sectional view taken along line B-B ′. The food sterilization conveyance path 3 includes an introduction unit 33, a conveyance unit 32, and a discharge unit 31.

  The food material sterilization conveyance path 3 sterilizes the foodstuff sterilization container 110 loaded with the food conveyance bucket 100 loaded with the food material in the food material loading section 5 on the sterilization container 110 discharged to the discharge section 23 of the container conveyance path 2. It is for conveying and discharging to the vicinity of the introduction part 21 of the container conveyance path 2 and the introduction part 431 of the food cleaning and conveyance path 4.

  The introduction part 33 is a part for introducing the placed sterilization container 110 into the transport part 32, and a plurality of roller conveyors 331 are attached thereto. The roller conveyor 331 is a free roller conveyor that does not have a power source. When the sterilization container 110 is placed, the roller conveyor 331 directly abuts. The placed sterilization container 110 can be transferred with a smaller force to the rotation of the roller conveyor 331 when an external force is applied.

  The conveyance unit 32 is a part for conveying the sterilization container 110 introduced from the introduction unit 33 to the discharge unit 31, and includes a conveyor rotation shaft 321 and a chain conveyor 322. When the sterilization container 110 is placed on the transport unit 32, the chain conveyor 322 directly contacts. The conveyor rotation shaft 321 can be rotated by a power source (not shown). As the conveyor rotation shaft 321 rotates, the chain conveyor 322 is interlocked, and the sterilization container 110 that is in contact with the chain conveyor 322 is conveyed.

  The discharge unit 31 is a part for discharging the sterilization container 110 conveyed by the conveyance unit 32, and a plurality of roller conveyors 311 are attached thereto. The roller conveyor 311 is a free roller conveyor that does not have a power source, similarly to the roller conveyor 331, and thus the placed sterilization container 110 can be conveyed with a small force.

  4A and 4B are diagrams showing the food cleaning and conveying path 4 constituting the food sterilization equipment 1, wherein FIG. 4A is a top view, FIG. 4B is a cross-sectional view taken along the line CC ′, and FIG. 4C is DD ′. It is line sectional drawing. The food cleaning / conveying path 4 includes a conveyor rotating shaft 41, a chain conveyor 42, and a water washing tank 43. The food cleaning transport path 4 is for washing the food transport bucket 100 containing ingredients out of the sterilization container 110 having the food transport bucket 100 loaded with the ingredients discharged to the discharge section 31 of the food sterilization transport path 3. It is for conveying and discharging to the food material discharge part 6 vicinity.

  The conveyor rotation shaft 41 can be rotated by a power source (not shown). As the conveyor rotation shaft 41 rotates, the chain conveyor 42 is interlocked. The chain conveyor 42 is a part where the hooking portion 101 is locked when the food conveying bucket 100 is placed in the washing tank 43. The water washing tank 43 is a water tank for washing away the sterilizing liquid adhering to the food material, and stores washing water. In the washing tank 43, a place where the food conveying bucket 100 is put and the conveyance is started is called an introduction part 431, and a place where the conveyance is finished and taken out is called a discharge part 432 for convenience.

  In the rinsing tank 43, it is preferable that drainage is simultaneously performed while new water is continuously supplied in order to prevent contamination of water for washing. In order to prevent the contaminated water from staying in a part of the washing tank 43, it is preferable that the entire washing water in the washing tank 43 is circulated.

  Furthermore, a water flow is applied from the bottom side of the food conveying bucket 100 where water is showered from the top of the food conveying bucket 100 so that the food in the food conveying bucket 100 placed in the washing tank 43 can be evenly washed. It is preferable to prevent the sterilizing liquid from remaining in the food after being transported through the washing tank 43 by, for example, sending air toward the bottom of the food transport bucket 100 and enhancing the cleaning effect by the effect of the bubbles. .

  At the time of the food sterilization process, when the food conveying bucket 100 is put into the introduction part 431 of the washing tank 43, the hooking part 101 is locked to the chain conveyor 42. As the conveyor rotation shaft 41 rotates, the chain conveyor 42 is interlocked and the food conveying bucket 100 is conveyed. When the food conveying bucket 100 reaches the discharge unit 432, the food conveying bucket 100 is pulled up by the operator and carried to the food discharging unit 6.

  FIGS. 5A and 5B are diagrams showing the food conveying bucket 100 and the sterilizing container 110, where FIG. 5A shows the food conveying bucket 100 and FIG. 5B shows the sterilizing container 110. FIG.

  The food conveying bucket 100 is for conveying the input food, and has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape with an open top surface, and the side and bottom surfaces can pass liquids such as sterilizing liquid and washing water and can hold the food. Consists of a mesh body. The material transport bucket 100 may be appropriately selected from materials that do not hinder the food sterilization / cleaning process, and is made of, for example, a resin such as polypropylene or polyethylene. In addition, hook portions 101 extending outward are provided near the center of two opposing sides of the upper surface of the food conveying bucket 100.

  The sterilization container 110 includes a container main body 111 and a container lid 112. The container main body 111 is a container for storing a sterilizing liquid, and has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape with an upper surface opened. The container lid 112 can be placed on the container main body 111 so as to cover the opening of the container main body 111, and each has a notch near the center of two opposing sides. The sterilization container 110 may be appropriately selected from materials that do not hinder the food sterilization process, and is made of, for example, a resin such as polypropylene or polyethylene.

  The food conveying bucket 100 can be stored in the sterilization container 110. That is, since the outer diameter of the food conveying bucket 100 is smaller than the inner diameter of the container main body 111, the food conveying bucket 100 is stored inside the container main body 111. At this time, the hooking portion 101 protrudes from the opening of the container main body 111 to the outside. When the container lid 112 is placed, the cutout portion of the container lid 112 comes to the position of the hooking portion 101. Therefore, the container lid 112 can be placed while the food conveying bucket 100 is stored.

  When the food conveying bucket 100 containing the food is stored in the sterilizing container 110 in which the sterilizing liquid is stored, the sterilizing liquid reaches the food conveying bucket 100 and the food can be sterilized.

  Based on the structure demonstrated above, the foodstuff sterilization method using the foodstuff sterilization equipment 1 is demonstrated in detail later on in order.

  An empty food transport bucket 100 is moved from the food material discharge unit 6 to the food material input unit 5 by an operator. In the food material input unit 5, the food material to be sterilized is input to the food material transport bucket 100 by the operator.

  On the other hand, the sterilization container 110 in which the sterilizing liquid is stored is moved from the carry-out unit 23 of the container conveyance path 2 to the introduction unit 33 of the food sterilization conveyance path 3 by the operator. The container lid 112 of the sterilization container 110 is removed, and the food transport bucket 100 that has been filled with the food is housed in the container main body 111 by the operator, and the container lid 112 is put on again. Thus, the sterilization of the food material starts.

  When the sterilization containers 110 that have undergone the same process are placed one after another, or when a force is applied in the direction of the transport unit 32 by being pushed by an operator, the sterilization container 110 moves to the transport unit 32 and moves into the transport unit 32. Is conveyed by the chain conveyor 322 and discharged by the discharge unit 31.

  Thereafter, the sterilization container 110 discharged from the discharge unit 31 is introduced to the introduction unit 431 of the food material cleaning conveyance path 4 together with the food material containing the food conveyance bucket 100, and the sterilization container 110 is introduced to the introduction part 21 of the container conveyance path 2. To be moved by the operator.

  The food transport bucket 100 is transported to the discharge section 432 of the food cleaning transport path 4 while being cleaned in the water washing tank 43, and the sterilized food is discharged from the food discharge section 6. The emptied food conveying bucket 100 is moved again to the food charging unit 5. On the other hand, the sterilization container 110 is transported through the transport unit 22 of the container transport path 2, discharged by the discharge unit 23, and moved again to the introduction unit 33 of the food sterilization transport path 3. By repeating the above steps, the ingredients are sequentially sterilized.

  When the sterilizing liquid stored in the sterilizing container 110 is a sterilizing liquid whose sterilizing effect is weakened due to circumstances such as a decrease in concentration over time, such as sodium hypochlorite solution, etc. It is necessary to change the sterilizing solution. Even without such circumstances, the sterilizing solution may need to be replaced for reasons such as dirt. In this case, when the food sterilization equipment 1 is used, the sterilization that requires replacement of the sterilization liquid in any process from the time when the food sterilization transport path 3 is discharged to the discharge unit 31 to the time when the food sterilization transport path 3 is moved to the introduction unit 33. The sterilizing liquid may be replaced for each container 110, or may be replaced with the sterilizing container 110 filled with the sterilizing liquid in advance. Therefore, since it is not necessary to stop the other sterilization container 110 during that time, the sterilizing liquid can be exchanged without stopping the entire process.

  Moreover, according to the foodstuff sterilization method using the foodstuff sterilization equipment 1, when the quantity of the foodstuffs which flow through a line changes, the bucket 100 for food conveyance can be increased / decreased according to the quantity of the foodstuffs at that time. Therefore, the amount of sterilizing liquid used can be saved according to the amount of food to be sterilized.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention in the implementation stage. Further, the embodiments include inventions at various stages, and various inventions can be extracted by appropriately combining a plurality of disclosed constituent elements. For example, even if some constituent requirements are deleted from all the constituent requirements shown in the embodiment or some constituent requirements are combined in different forms, the problems described in the column of the problem to be solved by the invention are not solved. When the effects described in the column “Effects of the Invention” can be obtained, a configuration in which these constituent requirements are deleted or combined can be extracted as an invention.

  For example, in the food sterilization facility 1, the roller conveyor is used at a plurality of locations, but a chain conveyor or the like may be used instead.

  In addition, the movement between the transport paths is performed by an operator, but may be automatically moved by mechanical control or the like.

  Furthermore, the bucket 100 for food conveyance and the container 110 for sterilization are not limited to the shape and material as described above. The food conveying bucket 100 only needs to have a portion through which liquid can pass and can hold the food, and the sterilization container 110 only needs to be able to store the sterilizing liquid. Further, the container lid 112 of the sterilization container 110 is not always necessary.

  In addition, the sterilization container 110 and the food conveying bucket 100 do not have to correspond one-to-one, and a plurality of food conveying buckets 100 may be accommodated in one sterilizing container 110.

In addition, the container conveyance path 2 and the food cleaning conveyance path 4 do not need to be located on opposite sides of the food sterilization conveyance path 3, and may be located on the same side with respect to the food sterilization conveyance path 3.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Food sterilization equipment 2 Container conveyance path 21 Introduction part 211 Roller conveyor 22 Conveyance part 221 Conveyor rotating shaft 222 Chain conveyor 23 Discharge part 231 Roller conveyor 3 Food sterilization conveyance path 31 Discharge part 311 Roller conveyor 32 Conveyance part 321 Conveyor rotation axis 322 Chain Conveyor 33 Introduction unit 331 Roller conveyor 4 Food cleaning transport path 41 Conveyor rotating shaft 42 Chain conveyor
43 Water washing tank 431 Introduction part 432 Discharge part 5 Food input part 6 Food discharge part 7 Conventional food sterilization equipment 8 Conventional food sterilization conveyance path 81 Conveyor rotation shaft 82 Chain conveyor 83 Sterilization tank 9 Conventional food washing conveyance path 91 Conveyor rotation Shaft 92 Chain conveyor 93 Flush tank 100 Food conveying bucket 101 Hook part 110 Sterilization container 111 Container main body 112 Container lid

Claims (5)

It is a food sterilization method using a food sterilization equipment provided with a sterilization container circulation unit for circulating and transporting a plurality of sterilization containers in which a sterilization liquid is stored,
In the first place on the sterilization container circulation unit, a sterilization start step of storing the housing containing the food in the sterilization container,
In the second part on the sterilization container circulation part, a sterilization end step of taking out the housing accommodated in the sterilization container,
A method for sterilizing food ingredients.   The food sterilization method according to claim 1, wherein the casing can be accommodated one by one for the sterilization container. The food sterilization equipment is
Further comprising a chassis patrol unit that cyclically conveys the plurality of chassis,
The chassis patrol unit has a water washing tank on the path from the second location to the first location,
A washing start step of putting the casing taken out in the sterilization end step into the water washing tank;
A washing end step of taking out the housing from the washing tank;
Taking out food from the housing and storing the new food in the housing;
The foodstuff sterilization method of Claim 1 or Claim 2 containing this.   The sterilization liquid stored in the sterilization container is a sodium hypochlorite solution, The food sterilization method according to any one of claims 1 to 3.   The foodstuff using the sterilized foodstuff obtained by the foodstuff sterilization method of Claim 1.

Images