Comparative study between conventional and microwave-assisted pasteurization of packaged milk by finite element modeling

A.R. LESPINARD; J.R. ARBALLO; E.E. BADÍN; R.H. MASCHERONI

JOURNAL OF FOOD PROCESSING AND PRESERVATION

WILEY-BLACKWELL PUBLISHING, INC

Lugar: Londres; Año: 2019 vol. 43

0145-8892

In this study, a comprehensive computer simulation model was developed to evaluateand compare temperature distribution, flow pattern, slowest heating zone (SHZ)location, and processing time in prepackaged milk during microwave‐assisted pasteurization(MWP) and conventional pasteurization (CNP). Temperatures predictedby simulations were successfully validated against experimental data. C value, color,and thiamine kinetics coupled to temperatures predicted by simulation model wereused to assess the impact of the process on product quality. Considering an equivalentmicrobial safety between both processes, MWP achieves a more uniform heatingand, consequently, reductions of 28.6% in processing time and 14.8% in overallquality losses. Color changes were 35.5% and 37.0% for MWP and CNP, respectively;while thiamine losses were lower than 1% in both cases. Additionally, container orientationwas evaluated for MWP, showing that horizontal orientation provided bettertemperature distribution and reduced quality losses.