Retrofitting of a vertical retort for on-line control of the sterilization process Original Research Article

A micro-controller-based retort control system for sterilization of foods was developed. The feature of this developed control system is that actual container cold point temperature is sensed on real time basis using temperature sensors. The on-line temperature is further processed using software to determine the sterilization value in terms of Fo and is continuously displayed. The sterilization process is controlled until the set Fo value is attained and at the end of the heating process cooling is automatically started. This ensures commercial sterility leading to higher nutrient retention and savings in energy by avoiding overcooking. This system can be easily incorporated onto the existing manually controlled batch retorts – horizontal or vertical. The system is more economical than the large sophisticated computer controlled systems presently available. It is mainly aimed at small and medium scale food processing industries having manually operated batch retorts.