Scientific basis for the mastery of appertized products

This dossier sets out the regulatory and scientific bases for the design and validation of heat treatment and preservation schedules for appertized products.

Regulations are well-established concerning the specifications for products stabilized for storage at room temperature (appertized products) – biological stability guaranteed by the absence of microbial growth after incubation of samples. However, all the complex factors involved in designing and implementing appropriate processes may not always be taken into account by canning manufacturers.

The scientific bases set out below will enable engineers with an initial training in food industry technology to grasp the concepts of pasteurizing, sterilizing and cooking values for appertized products, and the fundamentals of thermal process design.

The need to establish clear, reliable technical rules is obvious, given the very serious implications for food safety in the event of ignorance of technical details, or lack of know-how, when multiple critical points need to be mastered in the implementation of stabilization heat treatments.

The complete HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points) approach to the process, presented as a complement, offers an analysis of these various critical points, enabling the safe design and validation of thermal preservation processes.

This file introduces a second part [F 2 032]: "Design and validation of appertization scales", describing the practical implementation of the scientific bases and HACCP approach presented.