Patent ID: 6976347
Filing Date: 2005-12-20
Classification: A23B,A23L,B65B

Abstract:
1. A method for processing a food product comprising transporting said food product through a plurality of stations including a pasteurization station, pasteurizing the surface of said food product at said pasteurization station by applying a pasteurizing medium to said food product at said pasteurization station and convectively transferring heat from said pasteurizing medium to the surface of said food product at a sufficiently high heat transfer rate such that the surface heat transfer coefficient becomes sufficiently higher than the food product conductance coefficient that the surface temperature is substantially instantaneously elevated above temperatures which are instantly lethal to microbes which may be present, and comprising applying said pasteurizing medium to said surface of said food product with directional jets, and directing said pasteurizing medium at high enough velocity to physically displace said food product and apply said pasteurizing medium to the entire outer surface of said food product.