California Code of Regulations › Title 17 - Public Health › Division 1 - State Department of Health Services › Chapter 5 - Sanitation (Environmental) › Subchapter 2 - Foods and Drugs › Group 1 - RULES AND REGULATIONS › Article 8 - CANNERY INSPECTION REGULATIONS › RETORT EQUIPMENT AND OPERATION › Section 12755 - Venting of Retorts for Removal of Air, General Considerations

Current through Register 2024 Notice Reg. No. 28, July 12, 2024
(a) Vents (except drains when used as vents) shall
						  be in the opposite side or end of the retort from that at which the steam is
						  admitted.
(b) Vent valves shall be of
						  the gate or plug cock type, preferably quick acting, except where otherwise
						  specified.
NOTE: A globe valve of one pipe size larger than the
							 minimum vent requirement may be substituted for a gate valve.
(c) for the most efficient operation of a retort,
						  cans shall be so stacked, and the stacking equipment shall be of a type such that
						  the air can be removed rapidly enough to permit a uniform distribution of heat
						  throughout the retort at the time processing temperature is attained. Anything which
						  interferes with the free flow of steam through any part of a retort load makes this
						  requirement more difficult to meet.
NOTE: Use of the drain as a vent in conjunction with
							 venting from the top of the retort is permissible and several combinations of top
							 and bottom vents are described. However, it is more desirable to use venting systems
							 which do not involve the use of the drain.
Various arrangements of vents may be used to obtain
							 uniform heat distribution throughout a retort. The following vent arrangements and
							 cycles of operation have been found to give satisfactory heat distribution. Every
							 retort shall be equipped with one of these installations or some other arrangement
							 of vents which is equally satisfactory. If venting systems other than those
							 described here are desired, or if shorter coming-up times are to be used, the
							 approval of the Department of Public Health shall first be obtained. A special
							 investigation may be required in order to determine the conditions under which such
							 equipment may be used.
If equipment now in use approximates, but does not exactly
							 conform to one of the prescribed venting systems, the Department of Public Health
							 should be consulted before any expensive change of equipment is undertaken. Full
							 details concerning the present installation should be furnished to the
							 department.
Conditions such as boiler capacity and size of steam
							 inlets vary in different plants and modifications of the venting procedure may be
							 necessary in some instances to permit reaching the temperature specified within the
							 recommended time. When this seems necessary, an investigation will be made by the
							 Department of Public Health and modifications of the equipment or venting procedure
							 will be suggested in accordance with conditions found. When a change in procedure is
							 suggested, this new procedure will then become the approved method of venting the
							 retorts in question at that plant.