Retorts

A retort is used to sterilize food products in hermetically sealed containers using a predetermined thermal process. Various harmful microorganisms are present in food products, and it’s important to fully complete a heating process prior to releasing the product for commercial sale. Inadequate thermal processing of a shelf-stable food product can result in serious illness or death for the consumer of the food product.

Process temperatures in most retorts range from 190°F to 275°F (88°C – 135°C). In retorts that employ overpressure, the maximum pressure applied inside the vessel is approximately 70 psi. Process times can range from 30 minutes to 6+ hours.

Mesa’s MPIII and MPRF loggers are used to accurately record the temperature of a food product at the desired location – usually at the geometric center (GC) – within the packaged product. This is called heat penetration testing. A typical heat penetration test requires 8-12 loggers per run.

DataTrace loggers are also used to test the environment inside the retort to determine “cold spots” within a load of food containers (this is called temperature distribution testing). A typical temperature distribution test can use as many as 50 loggers per run.

Most heat penetration and temperature distribution tests employ a data collection rate of one reading every 15-45 seconds. The frequency of these types of tests in retorts is variable but a good general average is one round of testing once per week.

Products That Can Help:

MPIII Temperature Loggers and MPRF Temperature Loggers

Durable to stand up to the most challenging environments
Small size is idea for container monitoring – takes up less space and is easy to integrate into every part of the thermal process, including product containers
Accurate readings you can count on (NIST-traceable, ISO 17025 calibration included)
Real-time temperature monitoring without the hassle of wires

DT Pro Software

Quick programming and downloading data saves you time during distribution testing
Configurable data logging interval – useful for sensitive products that have short processes, allowing you to see a 10-foot-view rather than the usual 10,000-foot-view
Create groups and unique data tags for each logger to keep pertinent information, such as exact location, right with your data
Downloaded data is automatically graphed for quick review
Automatically calculate and report Fo and Pu for every load
Visualize the heat distribution in your vessel with our unique placement feature
For container monitoring, we have accessories to secure your loggers to containers, so that you can easily measure the geometric center of your product and have repeatable data.

The Basics of Retort

Case Study: Sonoco

Case Study: Crab Processing

Case Study: Stonewall Kitchen