ABSTRACT

Ohmic heating is an advanced, alternative and innovative thermal processing method in food processing, particularly in aseptic processing. Ohmic heating is also known as Joule heating. It enables electrical energy to be converted into heat uniformly in food matrices; thereby waste heating can be avoided even for non-homogenous food products. In Ohmic heating, the food materials serve as an electrical resistor and is heated by the passage of electricity through it. This electrical energy is dissipated into heat, which results in rapid and uniform heating.

Pasteurization of a solid food undergoing ohmic heating is analysed in this project by means of a mathematical model, involving the simultaneous solution of Laplace’s equation, which describes the distribution of electrical potential within a food, the heat transfer equation, using a source term involving the displacement of electrical potential, the kinetics of inactivation of microorganisms likely to be contaminating the product. In the model, thermo – physical and electrical properties as function of temperature are used.

This paper deals with the modification, design and analysis of ohmic heating equipment for the preservation of meat.