Advances with intelligent on-line retort control and automation in thermal processing of canned foods

This paper presents a review of recent developments over the past 10 years that have further advanced the state of the art in improving food safety, quality and manufacturing efficiency in the canned food industry worldwide. The review focuses initially on retort control systems, and the various approaches that have been taken to help canned food processors accomplish on-line correction of unexpected process deviations, the major cause of lost productivity. Important features of each approach are discussed, along with suggested industry applications that would be appropriate for each method. The review also describes recent advances in industrial automation, including new retort systems for flexible and semi-rigid retortable packages, and automated materials handling systems for loading and unloading of batch retorts. The review concludes with a discussion of future trends to be expected in the industry.