JPH10248908A - Filling sterilization method of food or the like - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent rotting during the preservation by a method wherein an object to be sterilized is heated up to the temperature of sterilization, then, packed into a high pressure tank to be maintained at the temperature of sterilization and held being oscillated for a specified time length so that the object to be sterilized and the entire inside of a container are sterilized and taken out to accomplish high temperature sterilization without degraded quality. SOLUTION: When a conveying device 5 moving intermittently in a high pressure tank A is stopped intermittently, an object to be sterilized with the temperature above 100 deg.C is packed being kept at a high temperature into a container of a retainer 4 from a filling device 1 and then, the container is closed and sealed up by a cap closing device 8. While being kept at a high temperature, the object is intermittently transferred at an oscillating part 9 in a high pressure gas phase part by the conveying device 5 for a specified time length thereby sterilizing the entire inside of the container together with the object to be sterilized. Thereafter, the container is transferred intermittently to a cooling tank 2 for cooling to be transferred again to the high pressure gas part and taken out by a container takeoff device 7. This enables extermination of bacteria without prolifration thereof.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for filling and sterilizing liquid foods and pharmaceuticals.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 62-296866 discloses that as a means for filling and sterilizing fluid foods, pharmaceuticals, etc., heated containers to be sterilized are continuously filled in containers under high pressure and cooled. Have been.

[0003]

However, in the conventional filling and sterilizing method, the contents to be sterilized are sterilized at a sufficient heating temperature, and then the container is filled and sealed. There is a problem that quality deterioration such as rotting browning occurs during storage. The present inventor pursued the cause of the above-mentioned spoilage and the like, and as a result, when filling the container with the contents, the bacteria mixed in the container due to some erroneous operation proliferated during storage. The present inventor has found that there is and has taken measures to prevent this, and completed the present invention.

That is, the present invention has been made in view of such a situation,
An object of the present invention is to provide a method for filling and sterilizing foods and the like, in which sterilization temperature of an object to be sterilized can be easily controlled, sterilization can be performed at a high temperature without deteriorating quality, and there is no problem such as spoilage in storage.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to achieve the above object, the method of the present invention comprises heating a fluid object to be sterilized at a high temperature to a sterilizing temperature, filling the container in a high-pressure tank and sealing the container, and then maintaining the high temperature state. It is characterized in that it is shaken and held for a predetermined sterilization time while being cooled, and is taken out of the high-pressure tank after cooling after sterilization of the whole object and the object to be sterilized. Preferably, the temperature is maintained at least at 100 ° C. or more for 4 minutes. The gist of the invention is that the container is rocked and held in an upside down state, the object to be sterilized and the entire surface of the container are subjected to high-temperature sterilization, and then cooled and taken out from the high-pressure tank.

The substances to be sterilized in the present invention include various kinds of juices, soups, coffees, pasta sauces, meat sauces, white sauces, liquid foods such as porridge, oysters, liquid foods, blood for infusion and blood transfusion, etc. The method of the present invention means that after heating these at a high temperature, they are filled and sealed in a bag or container made of synthetic resin such as polyethylene or other materials in a high-pressure tank, and sterilized by any chance. Even if bacteria are contaminated, they can be completely sterilized.

Next, the operation of the present invention will be described. In the method for filling and sterilizing food and the like according to the present invention, the container filled and sealed with the fluid to-be-heated and heated at a high temperature is rocked and held for a predetermined time while maintaining the high-temperature state. , And come into contact with the entire surface of the container evenly, and the entire surface of the container as well as the object to be sterilized is completely sterilized at a high temperature.

[0008]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below with reference to embodiments shown in the drawings. Sterilization temperature 100 to 14 adapted to the object to be sterilized by a high-temperature heating device (not shown) for the object to be sterilized such as a fluid food, a fluid medicine such as blood for transfusion or a blood transfusion, etc.
It is heated to a high temperature of 0 ° C., preferably 120 to 130 ° C., and can be immediately transferred to a filling device 1 in a high-pressure tank A pressurized to 1.2 to 2.0 kg / cm ² through an insulating pipe or the like. Is configured.

In the lower part of the high-pressure tank A , a cooling tank 2 is provided, and in the high-pressure tank A , a transfer device 5 having a retainer 4 for accommodating a container 3 for filling an object to be sterilized is mounted.
Is mounted so as to intermittently drive by circulating through the upper high-pressure gas phase section and the lower cooling tank 2, and further, a container is provided in the retainer 4 above the starting end of the transfer device 5 in the high-pressure vapor phase section. A container supply device (loading device) 6 for supplying the container 3 and a device (unloading device) 7 for taking out the container to be sterilized in the retainer 4 out of the high-pressure tank A are provided respectively.

The filling nozzle of the filling device 1 is provided in front of the container feeding device 6 in the container conveying direction, and when the conveying device 5 is intermittently stopped, the material to be sterilized is heated to a high temperature in the container 3 in the retainer 4. At the front of the filling device 1, a cap sealing device 8 is further provided in order to cover the container 3 in close contact with the filling device 1 so as to seal the opening of the container 3 filled with the material to be sterilized. Is configured.

The container 3 filled with the object to be sterilized at 100 to 140 ° C. in this manner is intermittently transferred by the transfer device 5 while oscillating the oscillating portion 9 in the high-pressure gas phase for a predetermined time. At this time, after the entire surface of the container 3 is sterilized by the heat of the material to be sterilized, it is intermittently transferred to the cooling tank 2 provided at the lower part of the high-pressure tank A , cooled, and then conveyed again to the high-pressure gas phase section. You.
After cooling, the container 3 is taken out of the high-pressure tank A from the retainer 4 by the container take-out device (unloading device) 7 when the transfer device 5 is intermittently stopped, and the filling and sterilization is completed.

A heating temperature of the high-temperature heating device (not shown);
The intermittent transfer speed of the pressure transfer device 5 of the high-pressure tank A and the number of times the container is swung are configured to be adjustable according to the type and amount of the object to be sterilized, the type of the container, the required sterilization conditions, and the like.
For example, in the case of an object to be sterilized which requires sterilization conditions at 121 ° C. for 4 minutes, the object to be sterilized is set at a temperature slightly higher than the sterilization temperature in advance.
Heat the mixture to a high temperature of 5 ° C., fill it in a bag made of synthetic resin such as polyethylene in a 1.5 kg / cm ² high-pressure tank A , seal it, and shake the high-pressure gas-phase part intermittently for 4 to 5 minutes. When moving and transporting, a predetermined sterilization process can be performed even if the temperature of the object to be sterilized falls to about 121 ° C. Therefore, the container 3 after the completion of the sterilization may be conveyed to the cooling tank 2 to be cooled and taken out of the high-pressure tank A.

A retainer 4 accommodating the container 3 being transported.
Can be achieved by using an optional known structure. For example, the configuration of the transfer device 5 shown in FIG. 2 may be used. That is, a retainer 4 for accommodating the container 3 is provided on a rotatable shaft 11 supported by a pair of transporting devices (chains) 5, and a cam follower 10 connected to both ends of the rotating shaft 11 is shown. The direction of the retainer 4 accommodating the container 3 can be freely changed and oscillated by sliding the guide 3 on the uneven guide during the conveyance process.

FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 in this embodiment show a case where a commercially available synthetic resin narrow infusion container is used as the container 3. As shown in FIGS. 3C and 3D, the angle is set to about ± 10 °.
By doing so, for example, B.I. subtili
s (Bacillus), Staphylococcus aure
Us (cocci) and other bacteria are artificially added to the container, and the product after filling and sterilization shows no abnormality after storage for 6 months, and all added bacteria are killed. Can be confirmed.

[0015]

[Test Examples] The following tests were conducted to confirm the effects of the present invention. [Test method for bacterial addition] A bacterial solution having a concentration of 10 ⁶ / ml is prepared. Inject and apply 5 ml of the added bacterial solution into the infusion container. 500 ml of hot water heated at the temperature shown in Table 1 was filled in each of the infusion containers in a 1.5 kg / cm ² high-pressure tank, and immediately sealed with a cap. The infusion container after filling in the 1.5 kg / cm ² high-pressure tank is rocked for 4 minutes and then cooled. Remove the cooled infusion container from the high-pressure tank.

[Test Method for Confirming Viable Bacteria] 1 ml of the contents is aseptically collected from the infusion container (5 samples for each filling temperature) taken out of the high-pressure tank, and each is inoculated into a thioglycolate medium. Inoculate 3 media per sample. The thioglycolate medium after inoculation was cultured at 35 ° C. for 5 days, and the presence or absence of bacterial growth was determined. It was confirmed that each sample did not show bacterial growth and was killed. Table 1 shows the test results.

[0017]

[Table 1]

[0018]

As described above, according to the method of the present invention, the fluid to-be-sterilized is heated to a temperature higher than the sterilizing temperature, filled in a container in a high-pressure tank, and then sealed in a high-pressure tank. By oscillating and holding for the sterilization time and sterilizing the entire surface of the container with the object to be sterilized, compared to the conventional method of continuously filling the container under high pressure, it is possible to sterilize all corners of the container inner surface, A product free from spoilage and other quality problems can be obtained.

Further, in the high-pressure tank, since there is no heating from the outside of the container, a sterilization treatment which does not cause deformation of the container can be performed without being affected by the material of the container.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing the inside of a high-pressure tank according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing one embodiment of a transfer device portion of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a front view showing an example of a change in the attitude of the container according to the present invention for each process.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Filling device 2 Cooling tank 3 Container 4 Retainer 5 Transport device 6 Container supply device (Load device) ) 7 ·········································· Cap closure device 9 ·································· Rotating shaft A: High pressure tank

Claims (2)

[Claims] Claims 1. A fluid object to be sterilized is heated to a temperature higher than a sterilizing temperature, and then filled and sealed in a container in a high-pressure tank.
Next, a method for filling and sterilizing foods or the like, comprising swinging and maintaining the high-temperature state for a predetermined sterilization time, cooling the object after sterilizing the entire surface of the container and the object to be sterilized, and removing the object from the high-pressure tank. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the flowable material is at least 100 ° C.
After heating as described above, the synthetic resin container is filled and sealed in the high-pressure tank, and then the container is rocked for at least 4 minutes, cooled after sterilizing the object to be sterilized and the entire surface of the container, and then taken out of the high-pressure tank. Filling sterilization method for foods.