Improved shelf life for food products is essential – not only to satisfy the customer, but also to ensure quality and safety.
Andre Erasmus has a closer look at how this works in the blanching/pasteurization stage of potato processing.
We all know that the process of pasteurization, or blanching, which is the more common term for solid foods, is widely used for microbial control and preservation of foodstuffs.
It all started with Louis Pasteur, way back in 1864, who found that heating beer and wine was enough to kill most of the bacteria that caused spoilage.
One hundred and fifty years on, this process, which now bears his name, is widely used to reduce the number of viable pathogens so that they are unlikely to cause disease – as long as the food is consumed before its expiration date.
This is not the same as sterilization – which kills all microorganisms at high temperature.
The amount of heat needed to destroy microorganisms and food enzymes is enough to have adverse effects on other properties of foods. So, in practice, the minimum possible heat treatment should be used that can guarantee freedom from pathogens and toxins and also give the desired storage life; these aims will determine the choice of heat treatment.
Blanching also removes excess sugar from potato slices to prevent them from browning when fried. In addition, extended blanching also helps reduce the formation of acrylamide. After blanching, the product is cooled and sealed or quickly frozen for later consumption.
Here’s a summary of pasteurization – but it’s not always as easy as it sounds…
The pasteurizing or blanching process uses relatively mild thermal treatments to achieve the desired results through improving the stability of the product during storage. It is an essential step in potato processing, which needs to deliver efficient heat transfer at a quick enough pace to improve nutrient retention, taste, and appearance.
Let’s now take a look at some of the companies at the forefront of pasteurizing technology.
The Dutch company Aviko, one of the four largest potato processors in the world, naturally needs the pasteurization process to be bacteria-free, to ensure its product is top-class when it hits the shelves. With some 50 different potato-based products in its line-up, safety and quality are paramount.
Aviko’s steam-cooking technology has been fine-tuned to preserve all the valuable vitamins in the company’s Steamfresh potato range. Steamfresh potato products have a 100 per cent pure potato flavor, just like freshly cooked potatoes. This is obtained through steam technology, which results in maximum quality and consistency without seasonal variations.
Similarly, Lutosa is a Belgian company that uses state-of-the-art equipment to process a wide product range meeting the highest hygiene and quality standards.
Using the Sava potato variety, Lutosa’s pasteurized potatoes retain almost all the flavor and nutritional quality they had before processing and this is achieved without preservatives or additives, leaving the natural benefits of mineral, fiber and vitamins.
Lutosa, as well as other potato processing giants such as McCain, Lamb Weston, ConAgra, Farm Frites, JR Simplot and others, is dependent on the equipment it has in its plants for the quality and consumer safety of its products.
