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Application of Unsteady‐State Heat Transfer Equations to Thermal Process of Morcela de arroz from Monchique Region, a Portuguese Traditional Blood Sausage
Author(s) -
Pereira J.A.,
FerreiraDias S.,
Dionísio L.,
Patarata L.,
Matos T.J.S.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
journal of food processing and preservation
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.511
H-Index - 48
eISSN - 1745-4549
pISSN - 0145-8892
DOI - 10.1111/jfpp.12870
Subject(s) - portuguese , process (computing) , thermal , state (computer science) , thermodynamics , mathematics , computer science , physics , philosophy , linguistics , algorithm , operating system
Morcela de Arroz (MA) is a popular cooked blood and rice sausage produced following empirical procedures in the Monchique region, south of Portugal. Presenting high pH (about 6.5) and water activity (around 0.97), it is commercialized without preservatives, unpacked and with restricted commercialization period (1 week at 0C–5C). The aim of this study was (i) to assess the adequacy of unsteady‐state heat transfer equations (USHTE) using Heisler charts to predict temperature in the centre of the product and the time needed to attain the temperature needed for cooking and (ii) to determine if the thermal treatment traditionally applied complies with the recommendations for refrigerated processed foods of extended durability (REPFEDs). A very good fit of USHTE to the experimental time/temperature data was observed. MA thermal process complies with the REPFEDs recommendations. Bacillus cereus and Clostridium perfringens were not detected in any of the tested samples. Practical Applications The USHTE model used allows the adjustment of cooking time and medium temperature to product dimension, without the need for the continuous monitoring of MA internal temperature. The model can easily be used to predict the adequacy of MA thermal process in terms of food safety. The traditional thermal process applied to MA exceeds the most conservative safe harbor of 90C/10 min allowing the extension of its refrigerated shelf life.