STERILIZATION SYSTEM FOR HOT DOGS AND SOUS VIDE MEAT PRODUCTS

Sausages and preserved meat products are not always processed in a retort. They can be preserved by smoking or cooked in a cooking chamber and kept cold for further processing. However, in some cases, sterilization is necessary for distribution in an ambient environment. This was the case for this customer, who initially aimed to produce hot dogs in pouches and also to use the machine for the production of sous vide meat products, including chunks of meat and hams cooked at a lower temperature for several hours in vacuum packaging. For hot dogs, the process is straightforward: the product is packed into vacuum packs and then sterilized or pasteurized in the retort. This machine was manually loaded, so it was supplied with the necessary loading trays for this project. The recipe was tested in the pilot plant of Thermal Process Systems in Belgium, and everything proceeded smoothly.

The second product the customer wanted to produce was sous vide slow-cooked meat. This is a process we are familiar with and could assist the customer with. After testing and determining the right process, the customer could switch his production from the normal convection steam oven to the Lagarde steam/air retort. The main reasons for this switch were the ability to decrease the total process time by about 20% and the observation that energy consumption in a steam/air retort was significantly lower than in a normal convection oven, due to better insulation and more efficient steam circulation, resulting in a better energy balance for the amount of steam needed per kilogram of product produced. These factors made the customer successful in this field.

However, due to market demand, the customer also wanted to produce hot dogs and other sausages in glass jars and had doubts about the feasibility. It was indeed possible. An additional set of accessories solved the problem. Typically, hot dogs in cans or jars are processed in rotary retorts to reduce the heat load on the product and maintain the more “snappy” aspect of the sausage. Since the customer already had the machine, it was not feasible to change this at that stage. But ultimately, market taste dictates, and for his local market, the product was fully acceptable, allowing the project to successfully move forward with implementing this product.

For all this, the customer created a specific sterilization room where the machine was installed with sufficient space around it for maintenance. The machine was connected to tubing, and a specific booster pump was installed to maintain sufficient water pressure. In some cases, the existing water pressure is sufficient for the process; if not, a booster pump will solve the problem. Utilities are crucial for the success of the project, and Thermal Process Systems can assist in this area. Even long after commissioning, Thermal Process Systems continues to work closely with the customer to assist with food safety and technology questions, helping to further improve and implement new products.