JPH0322964A - Sterilization of food - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent reduction and change of qualities and to hygienically sterilize liquid foods such as juice by storing a bag having a sealed food in a pressure container and pressurizing the bag under extremely high pressure. CONSTITUTION:A food is sealed in an expandable and contractible bag consisting of an elastic material, the bag having the sealed food is stored in a pressure container and the bag is compressed by a piston to be airtightly inserted into the pressure container. The piston is extracted from the pressure container, the compressed bag is taken out from the pressure container and the taken bag is sealed in a vessel for product to sterilize the food. For example, preferably the bag is compressed to high pressure of about 2,000-4,000kg/cm<2> and pressurized.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a method for sterilizing food, and further includes a process of continuously packing banok after sterilization to produce a product. The present invention relates to a method for sterilizing food containing foods.

[Conventional Technology] As is well known, food sterilization is most commonly carried out by heating, and liquid foods such as juice and milk are packed into product containers such as packs or bottles. After being heat sterilized, it is packed into product containers and manufactured into products.

[Problems to be solved by the invention] In order for such heat sterilization to be carried out completely, the heating temperature and heating time must be strictly controlled, and sometimes sufficient sterilization is not achieved or the food is There is a risk that quality and flavor may deteriorate or change, and depending on the type of food, components such as vitamins may change. Moreover, when the food is packed into product containers after sterilization, it is conceivable that bacteria may be mixed in and the food may be turned into a product as is.

The present invention has been made in view of these circumstances, and is therefore a method of sterilizing food that can be effectively sterilized without heating the food, and that can be commercialized by sealing the food in a product container while maintaining that state. The purpose is to provide a processing method.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The present invention has been made to achieve the above object, and includes a step of sealing a food in an expandable and contractible bag made of an elastic material, a step of storing the bag body into a pressure vessel; a step of compressing and pressurizing the bag body with a piston airtightly inserted into the pressure vessel; and a step of compressing and pressurizing the bag body with a piston inserted into the pressure vessel; It is characterized by comprising the steps of extracting the compressed bag from inside the pressure vessel, and enclosing the bag taken out from the pressure vessel into a product container.

[Function] The food sterilization method of the present invention focuses on the fact that when food is pressurized to extremely high pressure, bacteria in the food die before they can survive. Not only are the effects obtained, but there is no deterioration or change in the quality or flavor of the food, and there is no change in components such as vitamins depending on the type.

Moreover, since the food is sterilized under pressure while being sealed in the bag and then sealed in the product container as it is, it is possible to produce the product in a sanitary manner without causing contamination.

[Example] Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

The whole of FIG. 1 shows the process of turning liquid foods such as juice and milk into products, and the process progresses from left to right in the figure.

Hereinafter, the steps will be explained in order according to this figure.

-Step I First, the liquid food 1 is filled from the tank 2 in which the liquid food 1 is stored into an expandable and deflated bag 3 made of an elastic material such as vinyl or rubber, and then sealed.

-Step (2) Next, the bag 3 in which the liquid food l is sealed is placed in the pressure vessel 4.

As shown in FIG. 2, the pressure vessel 4 consists of a cylindrical vessel body 5 and a bottom part 6. A piston 7 fitted with a sealing material 7a is inserted into the interior of the vessel body 5 from an upper opening. It is designed to be inserted airtight. In addition, an extrusion rod 8 for extruding and taking out the bag body 3 after pressure treatment, which will be described later, from the upper opening is passed through the bottom part 6 in an airtight manner. This extrusion rod 8 and piston 7 are driven by a drive source (not shown).

・Process ■ The piston 7 is pushed into the pressure vessel 4 and several thousand kg/
The bag 3, that is, the food 1, is compressed and pressurized until a high pressure of about 2000 to 4000 kg/cm' is reached.

By maintaining this pressurized state for a predetermined period of time, the bacteria in the food 1 are killed before they can survive, and sterilization is carried out.

-Step (2) Next, the piston 7 is pulled out from inside the pressure vessel 4 to return the food l inside the bag 3 to normal pressure, and the push rod 8 is extended to push out the bag 3 from inside the pressure vessel 4 and take it out.

・Process ■ The bag body 3 taken out from the pressure vessel 4 after the pressure sterilization process is completed is enclosed in a paper pack 9 which is a product container.

The liquid food 1 enclosed in a paper pack 9 is manufactured into a product and shipped.

The above steps (1) to (V) are carried out in a continuous assembly line.

According to the above method, when sterilizing the liquid food 1, not only can a sufficient sterilization effect be obtained, but also the liquid food 1 can be sterilized.
Unlike when sterilizing food by heating, there is no deterioration or change in quality or flavor, and the content of vitamins etc. does not change depending on the type of liquid food 1.

Moreover, since the liquid food 1 is sterilized under pressure while being sealed in the bag body 3 and then sealed in the paper pack 9 as it is, the product can be manufactured in a hygienic manner without contamination.

In addition, although the above embodiment is an example in which the present invention is applied to liquid foods such as juice and milk, the food is not limited to this. It is also applicable to solid foods such as pickles.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, according to the food sterilization method of the present invention, when food is sterilized, there is no possibility that the quality or flavor will deteriorate or change, or that components such as vitamins will change. In addition, since the food is sterilized under pressure while being sealed in the bag and then sealed in the product container, it is possible to produce the product in a sanitary manner without causing contamination. It produces such effects.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a process diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a side sectional view showing a state in which a bag inside a pressure vessel is pressurized by a piston. 1...Liquid food, 3...Bag body, 4...
...Pressure vessel, 7...Piston, 9...
...Paper pack (product container).

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] A step of sealing food in an inflatable and deflated bag made of an elastic material, a step of storing the bag with the food sealed inside a pressure vessel, and an airtight container in the pressure vessel. a step of compressing and pressurizing the bag body with a piston inserted into the pressure vessel; a step of extracting the piston inserted into the pressure vessel from the pressure vessel and taking out the compressed bag body from the pressure vessel; A food sterilization method comprising the step of sealing a bag taken out from a container into a product container.