JPH062041B2 - Method for producing food containing canned aerosol - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a method for producing an aerosol canned food, and is particularly suitable for application to liquid or pasty liquid foods such as whipped cream and chocolate heast. The present invention relates to a method for producing an aerosol canned food.

[Conventional technology and its problems]

Aerosol canned foods such as whipped cream in aerosol cans are well known.

Conventionally, such aerosol canned foods are sterilized separately from the undiluted solution such as whipped cream and the aerosol can, which are the contents, and then the sterilized undiluted solution is filled into the aerosol can under an aseptic atmosphere, and It was manufactured by enclosing a propellant such as nitrous oxide gas, carbon dioxide gas or nitrogen gas. The conventional method for producing an aerosol canned food product by such an aseptic filling method is excellent in that there is no risk of deterioration of the food contents due to heating, but the aseptic filling device is expensive, and is highly operational against microbial contamination. Needs attention. Therefore, there is a drawback that the manufacturing cost by this method becomes significantly high, and further, because it is a mass production system originally, there are restrictions on the container specifications depending on the sterilization method of the container, etc. Was becoming.

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method for producing a food product in an aerosol can, which is easy to operate and can significantly reduce the production cost, instead of the conventional production method.

[Configuration and Action for Solving Problems]

As a food sterilization method, heat sterilization is the most commonly used method, but in the case of aerosol canned foods, heat sterilization after filling and sealing causes the occurrence of various problems and contents due to an increase in internal pressure during heating of the propellant. It is expected to deteriorate by heating and has never been used. That is, in the case of aerosol canned food, 3 to 6 kg at 25 ° C
Since the propellant is pressed into the headspace of the can at a pressure of / cm ² , heating this aerosol can at a high temperature for sterilization will cause expansion of the propellant in the headspace and increase in the volume of food contents. It is expected that the internal pressure will increase, causing inconveniences such as the deformation and rupture of the can and the peeling of the paint in the can, and the deterioration of the food contents due to heat sterilization can be easily considered. Therefore, conventionally, it has been considered that the method of encapsulating food contents and propellant in an aerosol can and then performing heat sterilization is completely unsuitable.

As a result of repeated experiments and studies, the present inventor contradicted the above-mentioned general expectation.In many foods, the internal pressure in the aerosol can increased due to expansion of the propellant under heating conditions necessary for sterilization and deformation of the can. It is possible to keep the pressure difference between the internal pressure and the external pressure of the can below the deformation pressure of the can by holding it below the pressure or applying external pressure to the can during heating, and therefore the existing existing one that is usually used for sterilization of canned goods The present invention has been completed by discovering that heat sterilization can be sufficiently performed by an apparatus, and that such heat sterilization does not cause deterioration or deterioration of food contents to the extent of concern.

The method for producing an aerosol canned food of the present invention which achieves the above object is characterized in that the food contents are filled in an aerosol can and then heat sterilized. As a result, it is possible to use the existing equipment normally used for heat sterilization such as canned food to sterilize the contents and cans, so there is no need to install a special aseptic filling device, and sterilization operation is also possible. It is simple and therefore the manufacturing costs can be significantly reduced.

In addition, the manufacturing method of the present invention, after the food contents are filled in an aerosol can, is heated to 100 ° C. to 140 ° C. in a pressurized retort atmosphere.
It is characterized in that it is sterilized by heating at a temperature of less than 1 hour. According to this method, it is possible to use the existing heat sterilizer as well as the above, while preventing the deterioration of the contents by sterilizing at high temperature for a short time, while the propellant in the aerosol can due to the high temperature Deformation of the can due to expansion or the like can be suppressed by pressurizing the retort atmosphere.

Next, prior to the description of the examples, the manufacturing method of the present invention will be described in detail. The food contents to be the subject of the present invention are, from a nozzle of an aerosol can, a whipped cream, a chocolate paste, a sauce, dressings, cheese spread, which is a food having a fluidity such as a liquid or a paste that can be ejected. Typical examples include concentrated coffee, ketchup, puree and the like.

Aerosol cans used for carrying out the method of the present invention are metal cans such as aluminum cans, tin cans, tin-free cans and the like due to propellant expansion in the heating step after filling and encapsulating food contents and propellant. It is appropriately selected from those having a sufficient thickness and shape so as not to cause deformation of the can.

After filling the food contents, propellant is press-filled into the aerosol can. Laughter gas as a propellant (N
₂ O), CFC gas, LPG, carbon dioxide gas, nitrogen gas, and other inert gases, but carbon dioxide gas or nitrogen gas permitted for food is preferable, and these gases may be used alone or in combination. Can be used. The volume of the head space in the aerosol can to be filled with the propellant and the saturation pressure of the propellant are appropriately determined in consideration of the shape retention property at the time of ejection according to the type of food contents. Saturation pressure of propellant is generally 25
It is 3 to 6 kg / cm ² at ° C.

Next, the aerosol can filled with the food contents and the propellant is heat-sterilized by a conventional method with a device for heat-sterilization of canned food. The heating temperature and heating time vary depending on the type of food contents, etc., but in order to achieve a sufficient sterilizing effect and prevent deterioration of the food contents due to long-term heating, 1
It is desirable to perform sterilization at a high temperature of 00 ° C or higher for less than 1 hour. However, such high temperature sterilization, on the other hand, may cause deformation or rupture of the can due to expansion of propellants and contents in the aerosol can. Therefore, in one method of the present invention, pressure is applied in a retort atmosphere, and heat sterilization is performed at 100 ° C. to 140 ° C. for less than 1 hour in the pressurized retort atmosphere to prevent deterioration of the food content and propeller. It prevents deformation and rupture of the can due to expansion of the component.

According to the safety regulations, aerosol cans are required not to deform at a pressure of 13kg / cm ² and to burst at a pressure of 15kg / cm ² . 3 to 6 kg at 25 ° C for aerosol cans as described above
The propellant is press-fitted to a pressure of / cm ² , but when heated, the internal pressure of the can increases due to the expansion of the enclosed propellant and the increase in the volume of the contents. Therefore, when the enclosed pressure of the propellant can be controlled, it is heated. The propellant filling pressure may be controlled so that the can internal pressure becomes 13 kg / cm ² or less. When performing high temperature short time sterilization by the retort heat sterilization method,
Moreover, when using a propellant enclosure pressure of approximately 6 kg / cm ² , the can internal pressure during heating may approach or exceed 13 kg / cm ² , depending on the type of food contents and the sterilization temperature. is there. Therefore, in the case of retort sterilization at 100 ° C to 140 ° C, the retort atmosphere is pressurized by heating medium such as steam or hot water and air pressure, and the pressure difference between the pressurized retort atmosphere and the internal pressure of the can is 13 kg / cm ² or less. The deformation of the can can be prevented by controlling the pressure of the retort atmosphere so that

Attached drawing is a commercially available whipped cream tin 3 piece welding can (can type AE 180 WX, WZ, eye L3 type)
Filled to half of the can volume, pressed respectively carbon dioxide as propellant in the filling pressure 5.7 kg / cm ^2, nitrogen gas 0.3 kg / cm ^2, (total pressure 6 kg / cm ^2), the retort atmosphere pressure 2kg The relationship between the internal pressure of the can and the heating temperature when heat sterilized at / cm ² is shown. The internal pressure of the can at 125 ° C is about 12.
At 7 kg / cm ^2, it is close to the allowable deformation pressure of 13 kg / cm ² , but the pressure difference is 1 because the retort pressure of ² kg / cm ² is applied to the outside.
At 0.7 kg / cm ² , it is suppressed to a value sufficiently lower than the allowable can deformation pressure.

In the case of retort heat sterilization, steam may be used as the heating medium, but as a result of the experiment, heating the food in aerosol cans with hot water rotation generally favors can deformation and can inner surface conditions than heating with steam. It turns out that you can get For example, chocolate cream is filled up to half the volume of the can, and carbon dioxide gas is used as a propellant at 5.5 kg / cm ²
Nitrogen gas at a pressure of 0.5 kg / cm ^{2 and} a pressure of 0.5 kg / cm ² (total pressure 6.0 kg / cm ² ) and sealed, and then steam sterilization method and hot water at a retort atmosphere pressure of 2 kg / cm ² . When heat sterilization was performed at 125 ° C. for 15 minutes by each of the rotation methods, 43 of 50 test cans were deformed by the steam sterilization method, and the coating film on the inner surface of the can was slightly peeled. If using the hot water rotation method, sample can 5
There was no deformation in the can, and the inside condition of the can was good. In the case of the steam type, the heat transfer is worse than the hot water rotation due to the dead space due to the air, and especially when the steam ratio is 75% or less, the temperature distribution in the retort becomes worse, whereas the hot water rotation transfers the heat. It is thought that this is because there are no air pockets and that the rotation effect also contributes. Also, fill the poiped cream with the same filling amount and the propellant filling pressure as the chocolate cream, and retort atmosphere pressure 2 kg / cm ² , 4 k.
When hot water rotation was performed at 121 ° C. for 10 minutes at g / cm ² , the can was not deformed and the inner surface condition was good.

In the case of the retort sterilization method, depending on the type of propellant used, if the sterilization temperature is less than 110 ° C, the heating time must be long in order to obtain a sufficient sterilization effect, and the deterioration of the food contents may occur. On the other hand, when the temperature exceeds 125 ° C., the variation after sterilization becomes large, which is not preferable. If the heating time at the sterilization temperature is less than 5 minutes, sufficient bactericidal effect cannot be obtained against the typical food-poisoning bacteria of canned foods, that is, Potulinus, and if the heating time exceeds 20 minutes, deterioration of the food contents is severe. Become.

As an example, a commercially available whipped cream is filled so that the space volume becomes about half the inner volume of the can, and carbon dioxide gas as a propellant is filled at 5.5 kg / cm ² (25 ° C.) and nitrogen gas is adjusted to 0. The retort atmosphere pressure is 4 kg / cm ² , the heating temperature is 100 ° C, 110 ° C, 120 so that the total pressure becomes 6.0 kg / cm ² by press-fitting with a filling pressure of 5 kg / cm ^2.
℃, 125 ℃, heating time 3 minutes, 15 minutes, the result of heat sterilization by hot water rotation at 15 rpm, and nitrogen gas as a propellant at a pressure of 6 kg / cm ²
Heating temperature 100 ℃, 110 ℃, 120 ℃ and 135
Table 1 shows the results of heat sterilization under the same conditions as described above except that the temperature was set to 0 ° C. * In addition, tomato ketchup was filled so that the volume of nitrogen became about half of the volume in the can, and carbon dioxide was added as propellant to 5.
5 kg / cm ² (25 ° C), nitrogen gas was injected at a filling pressure of 0.5 kg / cm ² (total pressure 6 kg / cm ² ), retort atmosphere pressure 4 k
g / cm ² , heating temperature 100 ° C to 135 ° C, heating time 1 minute to
Table 2 shows the results of heat sterilization by rotating with hot water at a rotation speed of 15 minutes for 60 minutes.

* As a result, if the sterilization time is the same, the condition of contents is better at 100 ° C, which has a lower temperature, and when carbon dioxide is used as the propellant, it does not deteriorate even if the F ₀ value is small, and the pH is lowered by the use of carbon dioxide It was found that it is possible to reduce the bactericidal value due to

As a result, if the sterilization temperature is the same, the shorter the sterilization time is, the better the condition of the contents is. Further, it was found that even if the sterilization temperature is 121 ° C. or higher, if the sterilization time is within 5 minutes, a product having no quality problem can be obtained.

〔Example〕

Example 1 A commercially available whipped cream (trade name "El Marim" manufactured by Ajinomoto General Foods Co., Ltd.) was applied to an aerosol can using a three-piece welded can (can type AE180WX) so that the space volume becomes about half of the can volume. 25 ℃ after filling
Carbon dioxide gas to a saturated pressure of 5.5 kg / cm ² and nitrogen gas to a saturated pressure of 0.5 kg / cm ² at 25 ° C. to bring the total propellant pressure to 6 kg. /
It was set to cm ² . After the can was sealed, the pressure in the retort was set to 4 kg / cm ² and heat sterilization was performed at 110 ° C. for 15 minutes by rotating with hot water at 15 rotations. No deformation of the can occurred, the shape retention of the contents and the structure were excellent, and deterioration and deterioration did not occur.

Example 2 Heat sterilization was performed under the same conditions as in Example 1 except that the sterilization temperature was 120 ° C. for 3 minutes. The can was not deformed and the contents did not deteriorate.

Example 3 Heat sterilization was performed under the same conditions as in Example 1 except that the pressure inside the retort was 2 kg / cm ² . The deformation of the can did not occur at all, and the contents remained in a good state as in Example 1.

Example 4 A commercially available tomato ketchup was tinted and filled into an aerosol can using a three-piece welded can (can type AE180WX) so that the space volume became about half of the can internal volume, and then the same propellant as in Example 1 6 kg of propellant total pressure
/ Cm ² . After the can was sealed, the pressure in the retort was set to 4 kg / cm ² and heat sterilization was performed by rotating with hot water at 110 ° C. for 15 minutes at a rotation speed of 15 rotations. Deformation of the can does not occur, the contents have a flavor,
The organization did not show any deterioration or deterioration.

Example 5 Heat sterilization was performed under the same conditions as in Example 4 except that the heating condition was 121 ° C. for 2 minutes. No deformation of the can occurred, and the contents remained in good condition as in Example 4.

〔The invention's effect〕

As is apparent from the above description, according to the method of the present invention, by sterilizing the food contents after filling the aerosol can with heat, it is possible to use the existing device that is normally used for heat sterilization such as canned food. Therefore, there is no need to install any special aseptic filling device and it is not necessary to give a high degree of consideration to microbial contamination even in the sterilization operation, so the operation is simple, and therefore the food contents can be stored under a sterile atmosphere. The manufacturing cost can be significantly reduced as compared with the conventional method of filling an aerosol can. Further, according to the method of the present invention, the food contents are filled in an aerosol can, and propellant having a saturation pressure of ³ to 6 kg / cm ² is injected at 25 ° C., and then 100 ° C. to 100 ° C. in a pressurized retort atmosphere.
By performing heat sterilization at 140 ° C for less than 1 hour, it is possible to prevent deterioration of the contents and deterioration of the can due to expansion of propellant due to high temperature can be suppressed by pressurizing the retort atmosphere. Have.

[Brief description of drawings]

The figure is a graph showing the relationship between the heating degree and the can internal pressure when a commercially available whipped cream is heat-sterilized.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. Filling an aerosol can with food contents,
After propellant having a saturation pressure of ³ to 6 kg / cm ^{2 at} ℃, pressurized in a retort atmosphere at 100 ℃ to 140 ℃
A method for producing a food product in an aerosol can, which comprises sterilizing by heating for less than 1 hour. 2. The method for producing a food product in an aerosol can according to claim 1, wherein the heat sterilization is performed by hot water rotation.