Uncertainties in Canning Process Calculations

SUMMARY The nature of safety factors in canning processes and the uncertainties in calculating lethal values are discussed. The nature, extent, and consequences of these uncertainties are examined. Uncertainties in both the thermal data, obtained from heat penetration measurements, and the bacteriological data contribute significantly to the over‐all uncertainty, that in bacteriological data generally being greater. Although experimental error may be large, most of the uncertainty in thermal data is due to real variations from can to can. These uncertainties should be taken into account whenever calculations are made in canning processes, particularly in deciding the safety factor to employ in any particular case.