1. Scale design techniques

The design of a stabilizing heat treatment, usually called a "sterilization schedule (choice of heat treatment time/temperature pair)", adapted to a given product, in a given packaging, is a difficult exercise in the application of process engineering, which must combine (cf. [AF 2 031] ):

• definition of the target thermal intensity/decontamination efficiency to be achieved: objective VS (VS for sterilizing value) ;

• definition of the area of the product where this minimum treatment must be applied: the notion of the product's critical point. We obviously assume that if the critical point (or critical fraction) of the product receives the minimum treatment provided for, any other zone receives...