JPH08154641A - Apparatus for carrying out bacteriostatic treatment of food - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide the subject apparatus having a gas generator for forming aerosol of a liquid bacteriostatic agent and a treating chamber for spraying the resultant aerosol of the bacteriostatic agent together with carbon dioxide and simplified in equipment and capable of simply operating. CONSTITUTION: In this apparatus for carrying out bacteriostatic treatment, a mixed aqueous solution, etc., of ammonium hydrocarbonate with a common salt is used as a liquid bacteriostatic agent 1 and the bacteriostatic agent 1 is formed into an aerosol by carbon dioxide in a gas generator 6. The bacteriostatic agent gasified and mixed with carbon dioxide is fed to a mixer 27, where the agent is pressurized with carbon dioxide and led to a nozzle 33 of the treating chamber 32 and carbon dioxide is fed to nozzles 43 and 44 and sprayed into a food which is put on shelves 45 and 46.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for performing bacteriostatic treatment of food, that is, treatment for suppressing the growth of bacteria in food.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there are methods such as frozen storage and addition of chemicals in order to preserve fresh food such as fresh fish, meat and vegetables for a certain period while maintaining the freshness. However, there are problems in that frozen storage requires a high equipment cost, and that the worker must work at a low temperature, which is severe. In addition, some preservatives used in chemical addition may be restricted or prohibited for safety reasons.

[0003]

According to the present invention, the equipment can be simplified as compared with the case of frozen storage, the operation by the operator is simple, and there is no problem in safety.
An object of the present invention is to provide a novel food bacteriostatic treatment apparatus capable of preventing the growth of bacteria in foods, preventing discoloration, and maintaining freshness.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A food bacteriostatic treatment apparatus of the present invention devised to achieve the above object comprises a gas generator 6 for aerosolizing a liquid bacteriostatic agent 1, and an aerosolized static generator. At least a processing chamber 32 for spraying the fungus agent onto the food together with carbon dioxide is provided.

As the bacteriostatic agent 1 used in this bacteriostatic treatment apparatus, it is desirable to use a mixed aqueous solution of ammonium bicarbonate and sodium chloride.

[0006]

The gas generator 6 for aerosolizing the bacteriostatic agent and the processing chamber 32 for spraying the aerosolized bacteriostatic agent together with the carbon dioxide gas onto the food have a relatively simple structure, and the structure of the entire apparatus is simplified. To do. When the aerosolized bacteriostatic agent is sprayed on the food in the processing chamber 32 together with carbon dioxide, a film of the bacteriostatic agent is formed on the surface of the food, and the action of the bacteriostatic agent suppresses the growth of bacteria, Prevent the invasion of bacteria, and further prevent the oxidation of food. When a mixed aqueous solution of ammonium bicarbonate and sodium chloride is used as the bacteriostatic agent 1, the bacteriostatic agent suppresses bacterial growth by weakening the surface of the food to be alkaline.

[0007]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows an example of a bacteriostatic treatment apparatus, and FIG. 2 shows a connection relationship of each component of the bacteriostatic treatment apparatus.

In FIG. 2, reference numeral 2 is a tank containing a liquid bacteriostatic agent 1. As the bacteriostatic agent 1, a bacteriostatic agent under the trade name “Biocon” developed by the present applicant is used. This "Biocon" is a mixed aqueous solution of ammonium bicarbonate and sodium chloride, and is produced as follows. First,
4 kg of ammonium bicarbonate is mixed with 5 liters of drinking water and supersaturated at 47 ° C. with slow heating. The specific gravity of the liquid at this time is 1.091. When this is naturally cooled to 13 ° C, precipitation of needle-like crystals is observed, but the supernatant liquid (specific gravity 1.085) is gently collected, sealed and stored in a cool and dark place. In addition, the crystalline powder salt 23g 208
Mix and dissolve in 1.5 g of drinking water. This is about 1.15%
Salt water of which the specific gravity is 1.050. Next, one solution amount of the above-mentioned saline solution is mixed with two solution amounts of the saturated solution of ammonium bicarbonate. This completes the bacteriostatic agent "Biocon". This mixture has a specific gravity of 1.083.
And the ionic strength is about 0.5 and the osmotic pressure is 6.89O.
smol / kg. The final composition ratio of ammonium bicarbonate and sodium chloride is 9.66% NH ₄ HCO _{3 and} 0.38% NaCl. However, the saturated dissolution amount of NH ₄ HCO ₃ at 13 ° C. is set to 14.5%. Incidentally, this "Biocon" has cleared the safety and legal problems.

The bacteriostatic agent 1 is sucked into the pipe 4 by the pump 3 and further sent to the gas generator 6 through the pipe 5. Reference numeral 7 is an electromagnetic valve for adjusting the supply amount of the bacteriostatic agent 1. This gas generator 6 is equipped with an electric heater 8 and a temperature controller 9 using a thermostat, and the bacteriostatic agent 1 is heated here and gasified. The gas generator 6 can be degassed to the waste gas treatment device 12 by the solenoid valve 10 and the pipe 11 so that the gas pressure does not rise excessively.

Next, reference numeral 13 is a liquefied carbon dioxide gas cylinder. The warmer 14 and the regulator 15 that come out of this gas cylinder
The carbon dioxide gas that has entered the pipe 16 through the branch pipe 17 enters the carbon dioxide distributor 19 through the solenoid valve 18. The carbon dioxide gas controlled by the electromagnetic valves 20 and 21 in the carbon dioxide gas distributor is discharged from the carbon dioxide gas distributor 19, passes through the control valve 22, the pipe 23, and the electromagnetic valve 24, and enters the gas generator 6 described above. , Mixed with the gasified bacteriostatic agent 1 in the gas generator.

The bacteriostatic agent gasified and mixed with carbon dioxide gas is
It exits the gas generator 6 and is sent to a mixer 27 through a pipe 25 and a solenoid valve 26. On the other hand, the carbon dioxide gas controlled by the electromagnetic valve 28 in the carbon dioxide distributor 19 exits the distributor 19 and the control valve 29 and the pipe 30.
The gasified bacteriostatic agent sent to the mixer 27 is also pressurized. Thus, the bacteriostatic agent is completely aerosolized. The aerosolized bacteriostatic agent and carbon dioxide are guided to the nozzle 33 of the processing chamber 32 through the pipe 31.

On the other hand, the carbon dioxide gas split into the pipe 34 from the branch pipe 17 of the pipe is a pressure gauge 35, a safety valve 36,
And the solenoid valve 37 to enter the carbon dioxide gas storage tank 38. From there, the control valve 3 is divided into two parts.
It is guided to the nozzles 43 and 44 of the processing chamber 32 by the pipes 41 and 42 through 9 and 40.

Inside the processing chamber 32, the nozzle 33,
Net-like shelves 45 and 46 are provided below 43 and 44, and food is placed on the shelves 45 and 46. Nozzle 43,
Carbon dioxide gas is sprayed from 44, and the aerosolized bacteriostatic agent is further sprayed from the nozzle 33 to be bathed in the food and subjected to bacteriostatic treatment.

An air curtain 49 is formed inside the opening / closing door 47 of the processing chamber 32 by the air sent from the blower 48. The air curtain 49 shields the odor of the processing chamber 32 from leaking to the outside when the opening / closing door 47 is opened.

An exhaust pipe 50 is connected to the bottom of the processing chamber 32, and the gas in the processing chamber 32 is sucked by the blower 51 and sent to the waste gas processing device 12.

Further, a damper 52 is attached to the processing chamber 32, and carbon dioxide gas separated from the branch pipe 17 is introduced into the damper 52 through a pipe 53 and supplied to an air cylinder 54 provided in the damper. To be done. This air cylinder 5
No. 4 closes the damper 52 when the bacteriostatic treatment is performed in the processing chamber 32, but after the bacteriostatic treatment is completed, the blower 51 sucks the gas in the processing chamber 32 as described above, and waste gas is discharged. When being sent to the processing device 12, the damper 52 is opened to allow the outside air to flow into the processing chamber 32. This allows the blower 5
1 makes it easier to suck the residual gas in the processing chamber 32 into the exhaust pipe 50.

The neutralizing agent is drawn into the pipe 58 from the tank 56 containing the neutralizing agent 55 by the pump 57,
The neutralizer 55 is sent to the waste gas treatment device 12 by a pipe 59. Also, from the water inlet 60 to the solenoid valve 61.
Similarly, water is sent to the waste gas treatment device 12 through the pipe 62 and the water and the neutralizing agent 55 are mixed with each other to act on the treated gas to neutralize it, thereby eliminating the odor.

The gas deodorized in the waste gas treatment device 12 is discharged from the exhaust pipe 63, and the neutralizer 55 and water are sent to the drain 64 and discharged.

Further, from the water intake port 60 to the pipe 6
Water is supplied to the cleaning tank 66 by the number 5. The cleaning tank 66 is provided for cleaning each component after the bacteriostatic treatment is completed, and has a heater 67 inside thereof. The cleaning water heated in the cleaning tank 66 is supplied to the solenoid valve 68.
Then, it is sent to the distributor 19 through the pipe 69 and the pipe 69, and then sent to the gas generator 6 and the mixer 27 for cleaning. When the pressure in the cleaning tank 66 rises due to heating, the pressure can be released to the drain 64 by the pipe 70 and the safety valve 71.

The above mixer 27 is connected by a pipe 72.
Further, the gas generator 6 is provided with a solenoid valve 73 and a pipe 74,
Each of them is connected to the drain 64, and the residual liquid inside and the washing water can be discharged to the drain 64.

Each of the above-mentioned constituent elements, except for some elements such as the gas cylinder 13 and the water suction port 60, are housed inside the box-shaped case 75 of the bacteriostatic treatment apparatus shown in FIG. Operated by 76. Although not shown, the case 75 is also provided with control devices such as the above-mentioned many solenoid valves.

The bacteriostatic treatment apparatus shown in FIG. 1 has a compact shape and can be installed in a factory, a food storage, or the like, but can also be loaded in a food carrier or the like. In addition, this bacteriostatic treatment apparatus has a structure in which an opening / closing door 47 is provided in the processing chamber 32 so that food can be taken in and out. You may allow it.

[0023]

The present invention is as described above, and the processing chamber 32
By spraying the aerosolized bacteriostatic agent with food into carbon dioxide, the bacteriostatic treatment can be easily performed, suppressing the growth of bacteria in the food and forming a film on the surface of the food from the outside. It is possible to prevent invasion of bacteria and prevent oxidization and drying to prevent food from spoiling, and to maintain freshness for a certain period of time without losing the flavor and discoloring of the food. Therefore,
For producers and distributors, product loss will be reduced, planned shipments will be easier, long-distance transportation will be possible, and work at midnight or early morning will be unnecessary, and consumer services will be improved accordingly. . In addition, there are advantages that the structure is simple, the equipment cost can be kept low, the operation is simple, and the operator is not forced to perform severe work. Further, when the mixed aqueous solution of ammonium bicarbonate and salt according to claim 2 is used as the bacteriostatic agent, when the bacteriostatic agent is aerosolized and sprayed on the food with carbon dioxide gas, the surface of the food is weakly alkalinized. The effect of suppressing the growth of bacteria is remarkable.
Incidentally, if the damper 52 is attached to the processing chamber 32 as in the embodiment, there is an advantage that the damper 52 can be opened to easily discharge the residual gas as described above. If the carbon dioxide gas used to atomize and spray the agent is supplied to the damper 52 and supplied to the air cylinder 54 that opens and closes the damper 52, there is an advantage that compressed air for driving the air cylinder is unnecessary. .

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of an example of a bacteriostatic treatment apparatus.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a connection relation of each component of the bacteriostatic treatment apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Bacteriostatic Agent 2 Tank 3 Pump 6 Gas Generator 8 Electric Heater 9 Temperature Controller 12 Waste Gas Processor 13 Liquefied Carbon Dioxide Cylinder 14 Heater 15 Regulator 17 Branch Pipe 19 Distributor 27 Mixer 32 Processing Chamber 33 Nozzle 38 Carbon dioxide storage tank 43 Nozzle 44 Nozzle 48 Blower 49 Air curtain 51 Blower 52 Damper 54 Air cylinder 55 Neutralizer 56 Tank 64 Drain 66 Cleaning tank 67 Heater 75 Case 76 Operation buttons

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A food product comprising at least a gas generator 6 for aerosolizing a liquid bacteriostatic agent 1 and a processing chamber 32 for spraying the aerosolized bacteriostatic agent onto a food together with carbon dioxide gas. Bacteriostatic treatment device. 2. The apparatus for bacteriostatic treatment of food according to claim 1, wherein a mixed aqueous solution of ammonium bicarbonate and salt is used as the bacteriostatic agent 1.