Solid Food Pasteurization by means of Ohmic Heating: Influence of Process Parameters

M. Zell[1], D. Cronin[1], D. Morgan[1], F. Marra[2], and J. Lyng[1]
[1]School of Agriculture, Food Science and Veterinary Medicine, Agriculture and Food Science Centre, College of Life Sciences, UCD Dublin, Ireland
[2]Dipartimento di Ingegneria Chimica e Alimentare, Università degli Studi di Salerno, Italy
Published in 2008

Pasteurization of solid food undergoing ohmic heating has been analyzed using COMSOL Multiphysics on the basis of a previously validated multiphysics model. The simulation of pasteurization by ohmic heating involves simultaneous solution electrical potential within the food, heat transfer, and the kinetics transport of death of microorganisms. In the model, thermo-physical and electrical properties as function of temperature are used.

Results showed that, according to the appropriate boundary condition, external areas of the product present the slower heating and have to be monitored in term of target microorganism lethality.

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