JPS61209574A - Method of sterilizing food packed into plastic bag - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To sterilize a food in a short time and to obtain a sterilized packed food, by feeding O3 or ozonized air into a plastic bag packed with the food, showing a hermetic property. CONSTITUTION:Air in a plastic bag packed with a food, showing a hermetic property, is removed, O3 or ozonized air is fed to the bag, sufficiently diffused, the gas in the bag is sucked and the opening part is sealed. Consequently, secondary contamination of the food is prevented and the preservation period of the food can be prolonged without causing decomposition, change in quality, change in color, change in taste, damage of residual agent, etc.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] "Industrial Application Field" The present invention relates to a method for sterilizing bagged foods. It is becoming more and more common for the products to be sold separately. These foods are usually heat sterilized after packaging. However, heat sterilization often causes changes in not only the contents but also the appearance, so it is common for people to stop heating halfway, knowing that the sterilization will be incomplete. There are some foods that cannot be sterilized sufficiently because of deterioration or discoloration. Furthermore, even if the product is completely sterilized, microorganisms (bacteria, mold, viruses, yeast, etc.) may infiltrate the product when it is packed into bags. In such a case, microbial decomposition and deterioration will occur after the parent device is produced, resulting in a very short shelf life. Despite these circumstances, conventionally no measures have been taken to ensure that the food is consumed within as short a time as possible after packaging.

"Problems to be Solved by the Invention" The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and is capable of extending the shelf life of bagged foods more than ever before. .

"Means for Solving the Problems" The packaging method according to the present invention is characterized in that ozone is injected into a plastic bag filled with food and whose opening is sealed.

In addition, the method of injecting ozone into a plastic bag is to inject the ozone generated by an ozone generator into the bag filled with food through a pipe, etc., but the opening of the bag is sealed by heat sealing etc. It may be injected before sealing or after sealing. In the latter case, for example, attach an injection needle to the tip of the ozone supply pipe, stick the cough injection needle into the required part of the bag, inject ozone, and then pull out the injection needle and fill the remaining microhole with something. This is done by blocking it by means of

Furthermore, the present invention involves filling a plastic bag with food contents and sealing the opening, and then instantaneously injecting ozone at a required concentration into the bag after evacuating the bag, and then sucking out the ozone. It is also characterized by:

In other words, food sterilization by ozone is based on an oxidation reaction, so in principle it becomes effective at a concentration of
pm, it can be sterilized in 10 minutes, so it is calculated that 100
At ppm, the effect appears in 1 minute, at 100 ppm, it takes 6 seconds, and at 3000 ppm, it takes 2 seconds. Therefore, when vacuum-packing food, you can create sterile packaged food by removing the air with a vacuum, instantaneously injecting several thousand ppm of ozone into the container to sterilize it in a short time, and then sucking out the ozone again. It is something that can be done.

"Effects of the Invention" As described above, the present invention injects ozone into a plastic bag that is filled with food contents and seals the opening, so that the food contents filled in the plastic bag are completely sterilized. Even if microorganisms were to infiltrate the plastic bag during filling, even if complete sterilization had been carried out, ozone, which has strong sterilizing power, would still be present inside the plastic bag. This function can prevent cross-contamination of food and produce sterile food. Note that ozone has extremely strong oxidative sterilizing power and a fast reaction rate, so it quickly self-decomposes, so the ozone encapsulated in the present invention does not remain at all when it enters the human mouth, and there is no residual ozone odor. There is no possibility that the flavor will deteriorate. Furthermore, there is no food spoilage, deterioration, discoloration, taste change, residual chemical damage, etc., and there is no negative effect on the food.

Therefore, foods packed in plastic bags have a much longer shelf life than in the past, where no measures were taken, and this is highly desirable not only for manufacturers but also for consumers.

Furthermore, when vacuum-packing food, it is possible to remove the air using a vacuum, then instantaneously inject several thousand ppm of ozone into the container to sterilize it in a short period of time, and then suck out the ozone again. This allows the production of sterile packaged foods.

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) A method for sterilizing bagged foods, which is characterized by injecting ozone into a plastic bag filled with food and sealed at the opening. (2) A characteristic feature is that ozone is injected at the required concentration instantaneously into a sealed plastic bag filled with food and the opening is sealed, after the inside of the bag is evacuated, and then the ozone is sucked out. A method for sterilizing bagged foods.