Martina Avasoo & Linda Johansson

EVALUATION OF THERMAL PROCESSING TECHNOLOGIES

FOR STRAWBERRY JAM

Masters Thesis in Food Technology

Department of Food Technology, Engineering and Nutrition

Faculty of Engineering, Lund University, Sweden
2011-02-09

Martina Avasoo & Linda Johansson

UTVRDERING AV VRMEBEHANDLINGSTEKNIKER
FR JORDGUBBSSYLT

Examensarbete i Livsmedelsteknologi

Institutionen fr Livsmedelsteknik
Tekniska Fakulteten, Lunds Universitet, Sverige
2011-02-09

ABSTRACT
This masters thesis aimed to compare the thermal processing steps of ohmic heating and the MicVac
method with the one of conventional strawberry jam production regarding their influence on
product quality.
The long cooking times and the dependence of heat transfer from hot surfaces of conventional
strawberry jam production lead to undesirable changes in product flavor and color profile. A milder
thermal processing step could possibly solve these problems. In ohmic heating, an electrical current
passes the food and rapidly heats it internally, without the use of hot surfaces. In the MicVac
method, microwaves heat the food rapidly and uniformly, also without hot surfaces. The food
becomes automatically vacuum-packed upon cooling due to the specially designed package.
Jam production procedures for ohmic heating and the MicVac method were developed in
consideration to equipment and raw material limitations. Strawberry jams of the same recipe were
then manufactured in each method and analyzed for vitamin C content, color and microbial growth.
Together with a sensory evaluation, this was the basis for comparison.
All of the samples were microbiologically shelf-stable. The ohmic heating jam had the highest and the
MicVac jam the lowest vitamin C content after two weeks of accelerated storage at 35C, even
though they had initially similar vitamin C levels. Visible changes in color were observed and showed
that the MicVac jam lost its red color faster and the ohmic heating jam retained its color better than
the other samples during storage. In the sensory evaluation, the ohmic heating jam received the
highest ranking sum, even though it was just above the reference jam. Two consumer groups were
identified; one appreciating the traditional cooked flavor of the reference jam; the other one the
fresh, intense strawberry flavor of the ohmic heating jam.
The rapid, uniform heating and independence of hot surfaces in ohmic heating enabled the
production of a strawberry jam with better preserved color, strawberry flavor and vitamin C content
compared to the reference jam. Due to limitations in temperature control and packaging materials,
the MicVac method was found to be disadvantageous for the production of strawberry jams.

SAMMANFATTNING
Denna rapport syftade till att jmfra vrmestegen vid produktion av jordgubbsylt med ohmic
heating (ohmsk vrmning) och MicVac-metoden med det vid konventionell tillverkning, med
avseende p kvalitetspverkan.
De lnga koktiderna och vrmeverfringen frn varma ytor under konventionell produktion av
jordgubbssylt ger upphov till onskade frndringar i produktens smak- och frgprofil, ett problem
som eventuellt skulle kunna lsas med ett mildare vrmesteg. Ohmic heating r oberoende av varma
ytor eftersom en spnning lggs ver livsmedlet, som d upphettas snabbt och jmnt. I MicVacmetoden, som ocks r oberoende av varma ytor, vrmer mikrovgor livsmedlet vilket ger en snabb
och jmn uppvrmning. Den specialdesignade frpackningen vakuumpackar automatiskt livsmedlet
vid nedkylning.
Med hnsyn till begrnsningar i utrustning och rmaterial utvecklades processmetoder fr
sylttillverkning med ohmic heating och MicVac-metoden. Jordgubbssylter av samma recept
tillverkades sedan och analyserades med avseende p vitamin C-innehll, frg samt frekomst av
mikroorganismer. Insamlade data frn dessa analyser anvndes, tillsammans med resultaten frn en
sensorisk analys, som jmfrelsematerial.
Alla prover var mikrobiologiskt skra. Trots att de initialt innehll ungefr lika mycket vitamin C, hade
ohmic heating-sylten hgst och MicVac-sylten lgst innehll efter tv veckors forcerad lagring vid
35C. Observerade frndringar i frg visade att MicVac-syltens frg frndrades fortare och ohmic
heating-sylten behll sin ursprungliga frg bttre n de andra proverna under lagring. I den
sensoriska analysen fick ohmic heating-sylten hgst pong i ett rankingtest, ttt fljt av
referenssylten. Utifrn detta identifierades tv konsumentgrupper: en som uppskattade den
traditionella, kokta smaken hos referenssylten och en som tilltalades av den frska, intensiva
jordgubbssmaken hos ohmic heating-sylten.
P grund av metodens snabba, jmna uppvrmningssteg och oberoende av varma ytor kunde en
jordgubbssylt med bttre bevarad frg, jordgubbsmak och med ett hgre vitamin-C innehll
produceras med ohmic heating. MicVac-metoden visade sig vara ogynnsam fr produktion av
jordgubbssylt p grund av begrnsningar hos frpackningsmaterial och i processtemperaturreglering.

PREFACE
This report is the result of a 30 credit project in food technology, a masters thesis part of the Master
of Science program in Biotechnology at the Faculty of Engineering, Lund University.
The 20 week long project was carried out during the autumn/winter of 2010/2011 in collaboration
with Procordia Food AB, who also financed the project and supplied valuable resources, contacts and
knowledge. Most of the work was done at the companys R&D department in Eslv. Based on the
companys vision, the authors of this masters thesis developed a suitable project plan at the
beginning of the project. The large scope of the project work, including the finding of suitable
equipment and development of jam production procedures, meant that several internal and external
parties had to be involved.
Together with this report, an oral presentation of the masters thesis work was held at the
Department of Food Technology, Faculty of Engineering, Lund University, as part of the examination.
Project supervisors were Richard Clerselius, senior product developer at Procordia Food AB, and
Ingegerd Sjholm, teacher at the Department of Food Technology, Lund University.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. Introduction ................................................................................................................................................................... 1
1.1.
Background........................................................................................................................................................ 1
1.2.

Objective ........................................................................................................................................................... 2

1.3.

Sequence of Events ........................................................................................................................................... 2

2. Literature Study ............................................................................................................................................................. 3

2.1. Quality Issues of Strawberries and Strawberry Jams .............................................................................................. 3
2.1.1. Structural Components ............................................................................................................................ 3
2.1.2. Stuctural Changes During Processing ...................................................................................................... 4
2.1.3. Color Compounds..................................................................................................................................... 5
2.1.4. Color Changes During Processing ............................................................................................................ 5
2.1.5. Flavor Compounds ................................................................................................................................... 8
2.1.6. Flavor Changes During Processing ........................................................................................................... 8
2.1.7. Changes in Vitamin C Content ................................................................................................................. 9
2.1.8. Microbial Aspects of Strawberry Jams ..................................................................................................... 9
2.2. Conventional Strawberry Jam Production ............................................................................................................ 11
2.2.1. Preparation of Ingredients ..................................................................................................................... 11
2.2.2. Thermal Processing................................................................................................................................ 11
2.2.3. Gel Formation ........................................................................................................................................ 12
2.2.4. Filling and Storage ................................................................................................................................. 12
2.3. Ohmic Heating ...................................................................................................................................................... 13
2.3.1. Heating Mechanism............................................................................................................................... 13
2.3.2. Conductivity ........................................................................................................................................... 14
2.3.3. Process Design ....................................................................................................................................... 15
2.4. The MicVac Method .............................................................................................................................................. 16
2.4.1. Microwave Fundamentals ..................................................................................................................... 16
2.4.2. Heating Mechanisms ............................................................................................................................. 16
2.4.3. Interactions with Foods ......................................................................................................................... 17
2.4.4. Cooking by the MicVac Method ............................................................................................................. 17
3. Introduction to Project Trials ....................................................................................................................................... 19
3.1. Process Development ........................................................................................................................................... 19
3.2. Jam Production ..................................................................................................................................................... 20
4. Material and Methods ................................................................................................................................................. 21
4.1. Materials ............................................................................................................................................................... 21
4.2. Equipment............................................................................................................................................................. 22
4.3. Analyses ................................................................................................................................................................ 23
4.3.1. Color ...................................................................................................................................................... 23
4.3.2. Flow Properties ...................................................................................................................................... 23
3.3.3. Soluble Solids ......................................................................................................................................... 23
4.3.4. pH .......................................................................................................................................................... 23
4.3.5. Vitamin C ............................................................................................................................................... 23
4.3.6. Microorganisms ..................................................................................................................................... 24

4.3.7. Temperature .......................................................................................................................................... 24

4.3.8. Conductivity ........................................................................................................................................... 24
4.3.9. Sensory Evaluation ................................................................................................................................ 24
4.3.10. Data Analyses ...................................................................................................................................... 25
4.4. Process Development Procedures ........................................................................................................................ 26
4.4.1. Equalization of Density .......................................................................................................................... 26
4.4.2. Equalization of Conductivity .................................................................................................................. 26
4.4.3. Mixing and Pre-Heating of Ingredients .................................................................................................. 26
4.4.4. Determination of Processing Parameters for Ohmic Heating ................................................................ 27
4.4.5. Determination of Processing Parameters for the MicVac Method ........................................................ 27
4.5. Jam Production Procedures .................................................................................................................................. 28
4.5.1. Production of Reference Jam ................................................................................................................. 29
4.5.2. Production of Reference Jam, Short Cooling .......................................................................................... 29
4.5.3. Production of Ohmic Heating Jam ......................................................................................................... 30
4.5.4. Production of MicVac Jam ..................................................................................................................... 30
5. Results and Discussion ................................................................................................................................................. 31
5.1. Process Development ........................................................................................................................................... 31
5.2. Jam Production ..................................................................................................................................................... 35
5.2.1. Thermal Processing Steps ...................................................................................................................... 35
5.2.2. Reprocucibility ....................................................................................................................................... 37
5.2.3. Vitamin C ............................................................................................................................................... 38
5.2.4. Color ...................................................................................................................................................... 40
5.2.5. Sensory Evaluation ................................................................................................................................ 42
6. Project Conclusions ...................................................................................................................................................... 45
7. Acknowledgements...................................................................................................................................................... 46
8. References ................................................................................................................................................................... 47

Appendix I Time Plan .................................................................................................................................................... 50

Appendix II - Reaction Kinetic Equations .......................................................................................................................... 51
Appendix III Photographs .............................................................................................................................................. 52
Appendix IV Conductivity Data ...................................................................................................................................... 53
Appendix V Process Development Data......................................................................................................................... 55
Appendix VI Temperature Profile Data .......................................................................................................................... 56
Appendix VII Jam Production Data ................................................................................................................................ 57

1. INTRODUCTION
1.1. BACKGROUND
For many decades, Procordia Food AB has produced strawberry jam under strong brands. Even
though these products readily live up to the expectations of the Swedish consumers, conventional
large scale strawberry jam production has its drawbacks. Long cooking times due to large batch sizes
lead to a decrease in product quality through the destruction of important flavors and colors and the
production of Maillard compounds. Procordia Food AB has therefore during the past few years
sought milder alternatives to the conventional heating step of strawberry jam production.

FIGURE 1. BROWNING IN STRAWBERRY JAM DURING STORAGE

In 2006, the company briefly carried out trial runs with an emerging heating technology called ohmic
heating, which uses electric power to heat the food. The results from the trials were promising, but
the company concluded that more extensive testing had to be made before they would be able to
come to any conclusions.
Due to its short processing times, a process called the MicVac method also interested the company.
Microwave heating is here combined with steam boiling through a package equipped with a special
valve, resulting in vacuum-packing of the product upon cooling. The method is today used for the
production of high-quality ready-to-eat meals.
The quality issues related to the complexity and sensitivity of the strawberry fruit was the basis for
selection of raw material and reference jam for this masters thesis. If an alternative processing
method that would better preserve the initial quality of the strawberries could be found, this would
potentially help to solve a large problem for the fruit industry.

1.2. OBJECTIVE
This masters thesis aimed to compare the thermal processing steps of ohmic heating and the MicVac
method with the one of conventional strawberry jam production regarding their influence on
product quality. The company was primarily interested in finding ways to preserve more of the
original flavors and colors of the strawberries. An important aspect of this was to be able to identify
and understand the differences in quality impact of the studied heating technologies.
Since the suitability for processing jam products by the new technologies has not been thoroughly
investigated, the project also aimed to develop strawberry jam production procedures tailored for
ohmic heating and the MicVac method respectively.
The project work included the selection of suitable equipment as well as suitable methods for
analysis that would provide comprehensive information about the impact of the different thermal
treatments on storage stability and product quality.

1.3. SEQUENCE OF EVENTS

The project plan was developed at the beginning of the project and was based on the companys
requirements for increased product quality.
Analyses of vitamin C content, color and microbial stability were, together with a sensory evaluation,
selected as the basis for evaluation of the studied heating technologies.
A suitable pilot scale ohmic heater was sought out and finally found at C-tech Innovation Ltd,
Liverpool, England. A contract was compiled and signed by Procordia Food AB, whereupon the
equipment was transported to and installed at the companys R&D department in Eslv. In
collaboration with MicVac AB (Gothenburg, Sweden), equipment for the MicVac method was also
installed at Procordia.
To get a better understanding of and a feeling for the product, the experimental part of the project
began with learning how to produce the reference strawberry jam on the stove. After this, pre-trials
that aimed to develop processes for jam production by ohmic heating and the MicVac method were
carried out. The processes were developed in consideration to the limitations of the available
equipment and included the finding of solutions to the technical issues related to the properties of
the raw materials.
In the main trials, when tailored production procedures had been developed, strawberry jams of the
same recipe were produced in each method. They were then analyzed together with the selected
reference jam produced at Procordias factory in Tollarp. A sensory evaluation was also carried out in
order to further investigate the differences between the produced strawberry jams.
For a detailed description of the project time plan, see appendix I.

2. LITERATURE STUDY
2.1. QUALITY ISSUES OF STRAWBERRIES AND STRAWBERRY JAMS
Strawberries are the edible fruits of the plants of the Fragaria genus. It is a very popular berry, mainly
due to its attractive taste and appearance that varies quite a lot between different cultivars.
Strawberries are used all over the world for the production of a range of products such as juices,
jams, syrups, desserts and wines. [1]
As the strawberry is a very complex and sensitive fruit, it is a difficult task to try to preserve its initial
quality. Therefore, it is important to have knowledge about the mechanisms behind the deteriorative
processes that happen during processing and storage of strawberry jams. As an example, strawberry
jams, microbiologically considered as very stable products due to their high acid and sugar content,
have a much shorter shelf life than they ought to have. This is mainly due to the gradual degradation
of color with time, limiting the shelf life to less than twelve months. [2]
2.1.1. STRUCTURAL COMPONENTS

The different tissues of the strawberry fruit are illustrated in figure 2. The outer layer of the
strawberry is made up by the epidermal cells, inside which the hypodermal cells and cortical cells are
located. The pith, situated in the middle of the strawberry, consists of cells with very thin cell walls.
The cells of the pith separate more and more during the growth and ripening of the strawberry,
giving this region a porous structure. From the pith out to the surface of the fruit, vascular bundles
extend and end up at the small, yellow seeds of the strawberry called the achenes. [3, 4]

FIGURE 2. STRAWBERRY STRUCTURE [5]

Pectins are the main structural components of plant tissue cell walls. They are linear polymers of (14)-D-galacturonic acid, where some of the carboxyl groups (-COOH) are esterified with methanol (COOCH3), as can be seen in figure 3a. Pectins are located in the space between cells, the middle
lamella, and help to keep together the cell network [6]. Softening of the strawberry structure during
ripening of the fruit is due to the solubilization of the pectin gel network, illustrated in figure 3b [3].

FIGURE 3b. SCHEMATIC PECTIN

NETWORK STRUCTURE [8]

FIGURE 3a. PECTIN MOLECULE [7]

Both Polygalacturonase (PG) and Pectin Methyl Esterase (PME) belong to a group of enzymes called
pectinases, which catalyze pectin breakdown [9]. Both enzymes lead to an increase in soluble pectin
during ripening of the strawberry fruit. PME affects methylated galacturonic acid units by removing
methanol residues, thus decreasing the amount of methylated groups on the pectin chain [6]. PG
hydrolyses unmethylated galacturonic acid units which results in the degradation of the pectin chain
into smaller fragments. PG is dependent upon the activity of PME since it only functions when the
amount of methylated galacturonic acid units has been lowered by PME to less than 60%.
2.1.2. STUCTURAL CHANGES DURING PROCESSING

Different processing methods such as freezing, thawing and thermal processing will affect the
structure of the strawberries [3]. During and after thawing, the strawberries lose liquid due to the
rupture of cells by the ice crystals created during the freezing process, a term called drip loss [1]. The
size of the drip loss depends on the freezing process. A slow freezing process results in berries with a
soggy texture and a higher drip loss due to the creation of larger ice crystals than in a quick freezing
process.
It has been proven that during thermal processing and mainly at higher temperatures, the vascular
tissue and to some extent also the epidermal cells help to maintain the strawberry structure.
Hypodermal and cortical cells tend to collapse due to plasmolysis, when the plasma membrane and
cell wall dissociate due to the loss of water through osmosis. [3] Other osmotic effects will also affect
the strawberries such as during maceration, where water moves out of the strawberry at the same
time as sugar moves into the fruit. This equalization of water and sugar may dewater the
strawberries and allow some collapse of the fruit structure. [3]
PME and PG, the enzymes described in section 2.1.1., are not desirable in products containing pectin
as a gelling agent. They may, if not inactivated by the thermal treatment, affect the quality of the
final product by continuing to break down pectic acids during storage. The thermal stability of PME
can be found in table 1 and follows first-order kinetics. No data could be obtained for strawberries,
but the systems presented in table 1 may give an idea of the heat sensitivity of the enzyme. [10]
TABLE 1. THERMAL DEGRADATION KINETICS FOR PME IN DIFFERENT FOOD SYSTEMS [10]

Environment
Orange juice, pH 3.7
Tomato juice

kT (min-1)
k65C = 0.288
k68C = 0.436

Ea (kJ/mol)
389.3
363.8

PG has an optimum pH of 4-6 in strawberries and its activity is very low below 3.5. The PG and PME zvalues, the temperature increase to obtain a decrease of the decimal reduction time by 90 %, vary
between 6C and 10C depending on system and environment. [10]
2.1.3. COLOR COMPOUNDS

Anthocyanins are phenolic compounds and give strawberries their red color. They are water-soluble
compounds, all with the basic structure of the flavylium cation, illustrated in figure 4a, but with the
addition of a sugar group [11]. Pelargonidine-3-glucoside and cyanidin-3-glucoside are the main
anthocyanins in strawberries and can be seen in figure 4b and 4c. Pelargonidine-3-glucoside stands
for 72-95 % of the total anthocyanin content [12].

FIGURE 4b. PELARGONIDIN-3GLUCOSIDE [14]

FIGURE 4a. FLAVYLIUM

CATION [13]

FIGURE 4c. CYANIDIN-3GLUCOSIDE [15]

2.1.4. COLOR CHANGES DURING PROCESSING

The color stability of strawberry jams varies between different strawberry cultivars. Changes in the
color of these products can largely be related to reactions involving phenolic compounds, mainly
anthocyanins [11]. These are very unstable compounds and as they are degraded, the product will
change in color. The breakdown of anthocyanins results either in bleaching or browning of the
system [16, 17]. The stability and degradation of anthocyanins is affected by pH, presence of oxygen,
ascorbic acid content, metal ion catalysts, temperature, and enzyme activity.
During processing, anthocyanins are degraded due to their sensitivity to heat [17]. However, a
thermal process is often required to ensure color stability during storage following a sufficient
inactivation of color-degrading enzymes such as PPO and POD. The degradation of anthocyanins by
heat mainly happens through hydrolysis and results in smaller phenolic compounds, anthocyanidins,
and sugar [18]. The anthocyanidins can subsequently be broken down into even smaller phenols that
may be oxidized by enzymes, a process that will be described later on in this section. The thermal
degradation follows first-order kinetics and kinetic data for strawberry-related systems can be seen
in table 2 [11].
TABLE 2. THERMAL DEGRADATION KINETICS OF ANTHOCYANINS [11]

Environment
Raspberry juice, pH 3.30

Ea (kJ/mol)
92,9

Strawberry juice, pH
3.55

n/a

kT (min-1)
k78C=0,001561
k108C=0,01925
k45C=0,001083

Temperature range (C)

78-108
45 (t1/2 = 640 min)

Anthocyanins can also react with other colored compounds and build up complexes, either colored
or with discoloring effects [16, 17]. Even though they do not contribute to the red color of
strawberries, other phenolic compounds such as quercetin and catechins may also be subjected to
enzymatic browning and thus also contribute to the deteriorative browning effects [12]. It is the
enzymatic browning reactions that are the main reason for color changes during storage [11].
Polyphenol oxidase, PPO, is an enzyme which reacts with phenolic compounds to induce browning
and has been found to have a pH optimum of approximately 5.0 [19, 20]. Strawberry PPO can be
found in the membranes of the pith and cortical cells of the strawberry, whereas phenolic substrates
are found in the vacuoles inside the cells. When the cells are physically damaged, substrate and
enzyme may come together and react to produce brown pigments [21]. PPO catalyses the
hydroxylation of monophenolic compounds to colorless o-diphenols. PPO catalyses the oxidation of
these compounds to yellowish o-quinones in the presence of oxygen [19]. It is when the o-quinones
polymerize with other o-quinones or amino acids that brown pigments are created. The reaction can
be seen in figure 5.

OH
monophenol (colorless)

PPO + O2
OH

PPO + O2

O
diphenol (colorless)

o-quinone (colored)

Complex
brown
polymers
Amino acids
proteins

Reducing Agent

FIGURE 5. THE CATALYZATION OF MONOPHENOLS TO DIPHENOLS AND EVENTUALLY

TO O-QUINONE, WHICH MAY REACT TO BROWN COMPOUNDS [22]

Another enzyme that may cause browning in strawberries is the enzyme peroxidase, POD, which
catalyzes the oxidation of polyphenols in the presence of hydrogen peroxide, H2O2 [12]. POD can be
found in the vascular tissue of the strawberry [20]. Since the amount of H2O2 is often lower than the
amount of present oxygen, the polyphenol oxidation mainly happens with PPO. POD is also more
thermo-labile than PPO and its contribution to the enzymatic browning of strawberries is therefore
usually small [12].
PPO behaves differently in different systems, but has an optimum pH between 5 and 7 in most fruit
systems, the strawberry being presented in figure 6 [11]. The pH optimum of POD is around 6.0 and
the enzyme has an activity below 50% at pH 3.5 [21].

A/Amax (%)
FIGURE 6. STRAWBERRY PPO ACTIVITY AS A FUNCTION OF PH,
WHERE A IS THE ACTIVITY MEASURED AS ABSORBANCE AT 420 NM AT 25C [19]

Thermal inactivation of PPO often follows a biphasic kinetic model, which means that a labile and a
stable fraction of the enzyme exist, where the different fractions have different kinetics, as presented
in table 3. To minimize browning reactions in strawberry jams during storage, it is necessary to
assure that the stable PPO fraction is totally inactivated during the thermal treatment, since this
fraction stands for about 50 % of the total PPO activity [19]. A very small amount of active enzyme is
enough for discoloration of the product and the stable fraction is very resistant to inactivation by
heat [12]. However, several studies have shown that a short processing at temperatures above 7090C is usually enough to inactivate the enzyme completely when in its natural environment [19].
The studies also suggest that when in a buffer solution, strawberry PPO is even more thermo-labile,
its activity decreasing to almost zero after 10 minutes at 65C.
TABLE 3. KINETICS FOR STRAWBERRY PPO IN PHOSPHATE BUFFER, PH 7.0, THERMAL INACTIVATION [19]

ENZYME fraction
Labile fraction
Stable fraction

k60C (min-1)
1.198 0.077
0.160 0.007

Ea (kJ/mol)
314.14.6
321.33.5

The other enzyme responsible for the enzymatic browning of strawberry jams, POD, has been found
to be highly thermo-labile in strawberry pure. If PPO and POD have not been completely inactivated
following the thermal treatment, a good way of slowing down the enzymatic activity during storage
is to cold-store the strawberry jam in an oxygen-free environment. [12]
As can be seen in figure 5, a reducing agent such as ascorbic acid may reduce o-quinones to odiphenols and through that counteract the discoloration of strawberry jams. At the same time,
ascorbic acid can affect the anthocyanins in a negative manner. In the presence of oxygen and iron or
copper ions, the oxidation of ascorbic acid produces hydrogen peroxide which can oxidize the
anthocyanins to colorless compounds. Therefore, ascorbic acid can be said to both protect and
destroy the color of strawberry jams. [23]
Although enzymatic browning of phenolic compounds is the main cause of color degradation in
strawberry jams, non-enzymatic caramelization and Maillard reactions do occur. Time and
temperature are important parameters affecting these reactions. Since these types of products
contain both sugar and amino acids, Maillard browning reactions are quite common. As an indicator
of the presence of Maillard compounds, the level of 5-(hydroxymethyl)furfural, HMF, is often
measured. HMF is a colorless intermediate in the Maillard reaction and is produced during thermal
processing, but to a lesser extent also during storage at room temperature. It reacts easily with other
compounds to form brown polymeric pigments. Too little is known about how to control the
7

different pathways in the Maillard reaction and the only way to minimize the production of Maillard
compounds is to keep the thermal processing step as short as possible. Caramelization reactions take
place at temperatures above 100C and contribute to color changes during storage since these
reactions also results in the formation of HMF. [24, 25]
2.1.5. FLAVOR COMPOUNDS

More than 360 volatile compounds have been found to make up the very attractive and complex
flavor of strawberries, differing between cultivars and with the degree of ripeness [1]. The most
important contributors to the strawberry odor are furaneol and mesifurane, illustrated in figure 7a
and 7b [26, 27]. Other contributors are esters, giving the berry its flowery and fruity flavors. Alcohols,
aldehydes, ketones, lactones and terpenes are also contributing to flavor observations. Non-volatile
compounds such as sugars and acids can be directly related to sweet, sour and astringent
perceptions [28].

FIGURE 7a. FURANEOL [29]

FIGURE 7b. MESIFURANE [29]

2.1.6. FLAVOR CHANGES DURING PROCESSING

Processes such as freezing and thawing do not affect the furaneol and mesifurane content of
strawberries, but do affect esters and thus the fruity flavors of the fruit. [26]
Many flavor compounds are very volatile. Volatile compounds evaporate at all temperatures, with
higher temperatures accelerating the evaporation process. Small molecules are more volatile than
larger ones and substances with higher vapor pressures vaporize more rapidly than substances with
lower vapor pressures. Many volatile compounds such as small alcohols, ketones and esters have
relatively low boiling points, demonstrating the importance of short thermal treatments at as low
temperatures as possible. [30]
Studies have shown that short thermal treatments preserve flavors better than long thermal
treatments, resulting in more fruity and fresh flavors [30]. Flavor changes in a product with time
during processing depend on both loss and changed proportion of the volatile compounds. Studies
on flavor retention have shown that closed systems, where volatile compounds have a chance to
condense and be added back to the mixture result in better tasting jam products [2]. At high
temperatures, caramelization of sugars as well as Maillard reactions occur, contributing to cooked,
burnt and caramel flavors that are not always desirable for strawberry jams [25, 31].
During storage of the product, oxidation and polymerization reactions as well as interactions with
compounds such as pectins may alter the flavor [30]. Taints and off-flavors may be produced if the
product is spoiled by microorganisms [28].

2.1.7. CHANGES IN VITAMIN C CONTENT

Ascorbic acid, vitamin C, is a good indicator of the impact of thermal processing and storage on
product quality since it is thermo-labile and sensitive to oxidation. If the ascorbic acid content has
been well preserved after processing, this indicates that the other nutrients in the product have been
retained as well. The ascorbic acid content of fresh strawberries is approximately 66mg/100g. [32]
The degradation of ascorbic acid can occur either aerobically or anaerobically and is influenced by a
variety of parameters such as exposure to oxygen and light, metal ion catalysts, temperature and pH
[33, 34]. The degradation of ascorbic acid follows first-order kinetics but can happen through many
different pathways since the mechanism is highly dependent on the system and its surrounding
environment [33]. Ascorbic acid of fruits and berries is in the form of its L-isomer. Both L-ascorbic
acid and its oxidized form, dehydro-L-ascorbic acid, have vitamin activity and are illustrated in figure
8a and 8b.

FIGURE 8b. DEHYDRO ASCORBIC ACID [36]

FIGURE 8a. ASCORBIC ACID [35]

L-ascorbic acid can be oxidized to dehydro-L-ascorbic acid in the presence of mild oxidants [33]. The
reverse reaction may also happen in the presence of reducing agents to regenerate ascorbic acid
[23]. Metal ions of for example copper and iron as well as metal-containing enzymes can catalyze the
oxidation of L-ascorbic acid to its oxidized form. At higher temperatures, the oxidation rate of Lascorbic acid to dehydro-L-ascorbic acid is increased [33]. The newly formed dehydro-L-ascorbic acid
is however rapidly hydrolyzed at elevated temperatures since it is more labile than L-ascorbic acid. At
low pH, the oxidation rate of ascorbic acid is decreased [23].
Since ascorbic acid is a sugar acid, it can be broken down in the same manner as sugars at elevated
temperatures [23, 33]. During anaerobic conditions, ascorbic acid may be broken down to Maillard
compounds such as furfural and 2-furonic acid to eventually form brown pigments. The anaerobic
degradation can only be prevented by keeping the temperature low during processing [37]. However,
this contribution to ascorbic acid degradation is very small when oxygen is present.
2.1.8. MICROBIAL ASPECTS OF STRAWBERRY JAMS

Pasteurization of high acid products is often maintained to reduce the risk of spoilage of the product
when stored at room temperatures. The word pasteurization refers to a mild heat treatment aimed
to inactivate the vegetative forms of pathogens and spoilage microorganisms. Since heat-resistant
spores are not inactivated, additional forms of preservation such as refrigeration, modified
atmosphere packaging, addition of preservatives or a combination of these must be used to ensure
product safety during storage. A pasteurization value of 6D90 is a good point to aim at for shelf stable
products, and to use kinetic data for fungal spores and enzymes when calculating the pasteurization
9

time. Exceptions do however occur, in the form of foods containing ingredients that provide an
antimicrobial effect such as high-acid foods, very sweet foods with a water activity below 65 and/or
soluble solids above 70Brix, salty foods or fermented foods containing alcohol. [38]
Jam products are quite stable products, consisting of large amounts of sugar and relative low pH
which makes the environment relatively unpleasant for microorganisms [38]. The spoilage of
strawberry jams may come from yeasts, moulds and lactic acid bacteria, although these are quite
heat sensitive and therefore usually inactivated during processing. Lactic acid bacteria may spoil
products with a pH between 3.7 and 4.5. They are also more heat sensitive than yeasts and moulds.
Sorbate or benzoate salts are effective preservatives against yeast and moulds and these substances
are often used in jam products to assure a stable product once the jar has been opened by the
consumer [39].
Spores from yeasts and moulds, ascospores, are somewhat more heat resistant than the vegetative
cells [40]. Ascospores are not often reported as a spoilage problem in high acid products and are
often removed during rinsing of the raw material. Normally they are not considered to be a problem
in processed foods since they are destroyed below 100C. However, some varieties of ascospores are
more resistant than others such as Byssochlamys nivea [38]. In table 4, heat resistance data of some
of the most important spoilers of strawberry products are described.
TABLE 4. HEAT RESISTANCE OF MICROORGANISMS [38]

Microorganism
Yeasts:
Zygosaccharomyces bailii [11]
Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Moulds [6]
Ascospores:
Byssochlamys nivea
Neosartorya fischeri LT025
Talaromyces flavus
Eukenicillium javanicum

D (min)

z (C)

Temperature range (C)

D59C=16.9
D57C=9.4 - 23
D65C=0.5-3.0

7.2
7.2
5.0

D93C=1.7
D93C=0.5
D90C=0.9
D90C=0.8

6.4
6.4
8.2
7.9

80-93

The pasteurization step also aims to inactivate some enzymes that may affect product quality.
Products that are stored in refrigerators are of minor importance since the activity of enzymes is
decreased at lower temperatures. The pH is of great importance in high-acid shelf stable products
and may change if some enzymes are not readily destroyed, facilitating the growth of spoilage
organisms. [38]
Equations for reaction kinetics can be found in appendix II.

10

2.2. CONVENTIONAL STRAWBERRY JAM PRODUCTION

Jam production is an excellent way of preserving fruits and berries as the season draws to an end.
Jams are fruit preserves traditionally made with fruits or berries, sugar and water [41]. They are
characterized by their special viscous structure that is the product of interactions between sugars,
acid and pectic substances [39]. A traditional strawberry jam typically consists of 65 % soluble solids,
1 % pectin and has a pH of about 3.3. Generally, products with whole fruits or with large pieces of
fruit in a concentrated sugar solution are called preserves, whereas products with smaller pieces or
fruit pulp are called jams.
2.2.1. PREPARATION OF INGREDIENTS

When selecting the raw material for strawberry jam production, berry cultivar as well as uniformity
in ripeness, color and intactness are important factors to consider since this determines the flavor,
color and texture properties of the final jam [39]. The strawberries used for jam production are
usually individually quick-frozen directly after being harvested, washed and sorted [2]. This minimizes
texture quality losses upon thawing and facilitates the mixing of ingredients.
The first step in jam production is the blending of frozen or partly thawed strawberries with some of
the crystallized sugar, usually at room temperature. This macerates the fruit and liberates fruit juices
to the sugar, but also produces inversion of some of the sugar to glucose and fructose mainly due to
the presence of fruit invertase. To speed up these processes, the strawberries are sometimes cut into
smaller pieces. The inversion process significantly affects gel formation, improves product brightness
and enhances product taste and is therefore an important step of the production process. [39]
2.2.2. THERMAL PROCESSING

After maceration the mixture is heated to evaporate some of the water but mainly to pasteurize the
product [38]. A definition of pasteurization and a discussion about the shelf life of strawberry jams
can be found in section 2.1.8. The thermal treatment should be kept as short as possible to avoid
excessive processing that may negatively influence the quality of the jam. There are mainly two
modern heating methods used in jam production; open air systems and closed systems operated
under low pressure [2]. The closed system and vacuum approach enables processing at lower
temperatures, resulting in less heat damage to important flavor compounds, vitamins and pigments.
Furthermore, processing at lower temperatures can help to prevent other quality-affecting processes
such as the formation of undesired flavor compounds and hydrolysis of pectic acids [39].
Due to their high sugar content, low pH and relatively low water activity, strawberry jams can be
easily pasteurized to obtain a shelf-stable product. The low pH prevents the growth and germination
of the heat resistant Clostridium botulinum and its spores as well as most of the acid tolerant
microorganisms such as lactic acid bacteria, molds and yeasts, which are relatively sensitive to heat
[38]. A short heat treatment at 80-100C is usually sufficient to inactivate any present
microorganisms and undesired enzymes. Even so, addition of preservatives is often done as a
complementary way of preventing the growth of deteriorative microorganisms after opening of the
jar by the consumer [39].

11

2.2.3. GEL FORMATION

Before the pasteurization step, pectin is usually added as a heated mixture with sugar and water
[39]. This is done to make sure that a proper pectin distribution is achieved, but also to keep the
pectin from heat damage during the addition process. When producing strawberry jams, the addition
of pectins is essential for gel formation mainly because strawberries contain rather little pectin
themselves, but also because it helps to eliminate variations in gel formation between batches. The
function of the pectin is to interact with sugar and berry fibers at a controlled pH to create the
desired gel structure characteristic for jam products. Some of the factors affecting pectin gel texture,
strength and viscoelastic properties are the degree of esterification (DE), pH, ionic strength, pectin
concentration, co-solute concentration and temperature [42].
Commercial pectins are classified according to their degree of esterification, which is the amount of
methylated galacturonic acid units on the pectin chain. High methoxyl pectins, with a DE of 55-80%,
gel at low pH in the presence of large concentrations of sucrose or similar co-solutes. Therefore, they
are often used in the production of high-sugar jellies, jams and preserves. Low methoxyl pectins, with
a DE of 20-50%, require calcium to gel but are quite insensitive and gel over a wide range of pH and
sugar concentrations. They are therefore commonly used in dairy and low calorie products or
whenever the gelling conditions cannot be adequately controlled. Another popular group of pectins
are the amidated low methoxyl pectins, where some of the galacturonic acid units contain amide
groups (-CONH2). These groups have a positive influence on gelation so that less calcium is required,
and enable the production of more elastic and transparent gels. [42]
Acids such as the commonly used citric acid can be added to adjust the pH to a suitable value for gel
formation and stability [39]. This should preferably be done carefully and as a final step to prevent
pectin degradation by acid hydrolysis. The gel is formed upon cooling and is a three-dimensional
polymer network within which the solvent water and sugars are retained. The jam viscosity is
proportional to the amount of added pectin and a well-formed gel network should be strong enough
to stabilize the fruit pieces in solution [2]. However, jam producers must be aware that too much
pectin affects quality attributes such as sweetness, acidity, mouthfeel and strawberry flavor.
2.2.4. FILLING AND STORAGE

After the heating step and the addition of acids and preservatives, the jam is cooled to the desired
temperature for filling. At this point the soluble solids, pH and consistency of the jam are controlled
and any deviating parameter adjusted for by the addition of water or acid. The jam is then filled into
sterilized glass containers either at higher temperatures (hot-fill) or at lower temperatures to ensure
an even berry distribution. The jars are subsequently cooled and stored at room temperature in
warehouses and stores. Storage at fridge temperatures before opening is not considered to be
necessary due to the low pH, high sugar content and the presence of preservatives. It is also a more
costly alternative. However, it is recommended to do so after opening of the jar due to the possibility
of recontamination. [39]

12

2.3. OHMIC HEATING

The principle of ohmic heating, also known as joule heating, electro-heating, direct electrical
resistance heating and electro-conductive heating, is based on Ohms law [43]. It is the process by
which the passage of an electric current through a conductor, in this case the food, generates heat
from within it due to its electrical resistance. The simplest model of an ohmic heater are two plates
between which the food flows or is contained, as illustrated in figure 9 [44].

FIGURE 9. THE PRINCIPLE OF OHMIC HEATING. T OCCURS PERPENDICULAR TO THE

DIRECTION OF THE ELECTRIC CURRENT, ILLUSTRATED BY THE PARALLEL ARROWS

The technology has gained interest during the past few decades since experiments repeatedly show
that it results in processed products with a superior quality to those processed by conventional
technologies [45]. The reduced processing times in ohmic heating cause minimal structural,
organoleptic and nutritional changes and can be related to the rapid internal heating of the food that
is not dependant on any hot surfaces. Studies also suggest that ohmic heating may provide additional
non-thermal lethal effects on microorganisms, such as electroporation, which enables the use of an
even shorter thermal treatment without interfering with product safety [44].
The many advantages of ohmic heating may very well surpass the negative aspects that the
technology can be more costly and difficult to validate than conventional heating methods [46]. The
system, batch-wise or continuous, can easily be incorporated into a complete process line with
aseptic filling and packaging to provide a complete sterilization process. It is a versatile technology
that can be used not only for sterilization or pasteurization but for blanching, evaporation,
dehydration, fermentation, extraction, thawing and solidification [43]. Today, the technology is
successfully being used for the processing of whole fruits, berries, fruit juices, liquid egg and soups in
Japan, the United Kingdom and Northern America [46].
2.3.1. HEATING MECHANISM

In ohmic heating, an electrical current is applied to the food. Owing to the foods resistance to the
applied alternating current, heat is generated within it. The mechanism behind this is that charged
molecules in the food such as ions move and collide with their surrounding molecules, which then
release energy in the form of heat. [44]

13

Since the heating happens within the food and is not dependent on any hot surfaces, the heating
pattern in ohmic heating is much more uniform than in conventional heating technologies [43].
Ohmic heating is therefore suitable for the processing of viscous or multiphase foods which may
otherwise be difficult to heat. It is however important to predict or asses the heating pattern when
designing an ohmic heating process [46]. This can be done by modeling, which also aims to answer
questions such as what the heating pattern will look like, what the lethal effect on microorganisms
will be and how it can be ensured, as well as how the food moves within the ohmic heater. Since
several food-related factors such as density, specific heat capacity, composition, ability to conduct
electricity, viscosity and particle size, distribution and concentration will affect the heating pattern, it
is easy to understand that modeling of ohmic heating is a difficult task [43].
2.3.2. CONDUCTIVITY

In order for heating to occur, the food must be in contact with the electrodes of the equipment but
must also be able to conduct electricity. The ability of a food to do so is called its electrical
conductivity. Since it depends on the food formulation, it must be established for each food system
individually. Most foods and even water have some ability to conduct electricity and can therefore be
heated successfully using ohmic heating. [44]
The conductivity of a food should ideally be between 0.01 and 10 Siemens per meter (S/m) at 25C
[46]. If the conductivity exceeds this span, the food will not heat due to the low resistance and the
electric current will just pass through it. This may be a problem when heating salty liquid foods such
as broths or soups. If the conductivity is extremely low, the current will not be able to pass as is the
case for pure fats, oils and sugars [43]. The reason for this is that these compounds cause an increase
in resistance to ion movement which increases with concentration.
When heating multiphase foods the heating pattern will be extremely uniform if the particles and the
liquid have similar or equal conductivities [44]. If the conductivities differ between the two phases,
parameters such as specific heat, particle concentration and particle distribution will influence the
heating pattern of the food [46]. If the concentration of particles is high and their conductivity is
higher than the surrounding liquid, heating will be more rapid since the particles will provide a more
uniform resistance to the product. If the concentration of particles is low, particle geometry and fluid
motion will have an influence on conductivity due to electrical field condensation around particles
having lower conductivities than their surrounding medium. To even out the conductivity of
multiphase foods, methods such as salt addition to liquids as well as salt infusion by vacuum
impregnation or blanching of solid foods whose conductivities are lower than the surrounding
medium can be employed [43].
Conductivity increases linearly with temperature for liquid foods. This is also nearly the case for
cellular solid foods, apart from that conductivity increases sharply at around 60C due to the
breakdown of cell wall materials and the subsequent release of ionic compounds to the surrounding
medium. [46]

14

2.3.3. PROCESS DESIGN

The main modules of a food ohmic heater are a heating chamber or column in nonconductive
materials inside which a pair of electrodes are mounted, an alternating power supply and a control
panel for controlling the voltage or current and the temperature of the food [43]. Suitable pumping
systems are also essential for continuous processing. The electrodes are the key part and provide
rapid heating to sterilization temperatures, without any hot surfaces, which reduces the risk of
overheating of the product and fouling at the electrodes [46]. The direct contact between the food
and the electrodes also mean that the efficiency in energy conversion is high. In modern ohmic
heaters the electrodes are often coated, usually with platinum or titanium, to minimize the risk of
corrosion or electrolysis which may occur under certain conditions.
For continuous ohmic heaters, two electrode configurations exist; in the cross-field configuration the
food flows perpendicular to the electrodes; in the in-field configuration the food flows parallel to the
electric field. The two configuration types are illustrated in figure 10a and 10b. The increase in
spacing between the pair of electrodes in the in-field configuration is to compensate for the increase
in conductivity and therefore also electric field strength with temperature as the food approaches
the outlet of the ohmic heater. [43]

FIGURE 10b. IN-FIELD CONFIGURATION [45]

FIGURE 10a. CROSS-FIELD CONFIGURATION [45]

When designing an ohmic heating process, equipment factors such as electrode configuration, heater
geometry, applied voltage, flow rate and flow profile must be taken into consideration [46]. The field
strength to be used may be calculated from the flow rate, electrode configuration, conductivity and
specific heat of the food as well as from the required temperature rise using equations 1, 2 and 3
below. In the equations, R is the resistance in , P is the effect in J/s, F is the flow rate in kg/s, U is
the voltage, L is the electrode spacing in meters, A is the electrode area in m2, is the mean of
incoming and outgoing conductivities in the ohmic heater in S/m, cp is the specific heat of the food
and T is the desired temperature increase.

(equation 1, [47])

(equation 2, [47])

(equation 3, [47])
15

2.4. THE MICVAC METHOD

The MicVac method is a pasteurization process that combines microwave heating with steam boiling
[48]. Compared to conventional microwave heating the MicVac method results in lower energy
losses due to its closed-system processing, preventing heat from the evaporated steam to be lost too
rapidly to the cavity of the tunnel [49]. Instead, some of the heat has a chance to re-enter the
product through convection. The method also has the benefit of the product becoming vacuumpacked upon cooling, resulting in an extended shelf life compared to other microwave processed
products.
2.4.1. MICROWAVE FUNDAMENTALS

Microwaves are electromagnetic waves with frequencies ranging from 0.3-3.0 GHz or oscillations per
second. Their suitability for the thermal processing of foods has during the past few decades made
them attractive for the food industry. Today, microwave heating has many industrial applications
such as drying, blanching, pasteurization and tempering. The food is heated by the conversion of
electromagnetic energy from the microwaves into heat within the food. [50]
The process differs from conventional thermal processing in a number of ways. Firstly, it is not
dependent on any hot surfaces in contact with the food. It also has very rapid dynamics and power
can be instantaneously turned on and off. Microwave heating is material selective and will heat foods
with diverse thermal properties differently, which allows for dynamic design possibilities. If the
process is properly designed, the food will be much more uniformly heated than by conventional
heating. [50]
2.4.2. HEATING MECHANISMS

Foods are dielectric materials and heat when exposed to an oscillating electromagnetic field. The
microwaves from the electromagnetic field can either be reflected by the food, transmitted after
entering into it or be absorbed by the food. As they propagate into the food, they lose some of their
energy in the form of heat. This happens by two important mechanisms, ionic and dipolar
interaction. [51]
The oscillating electromagnetic field causes any charged particles in the food, such as ions, to move
in its direction [51]. This causes collisions between adjacent particles and the generation of heat by
the mechanism of ionic interaction. Dipoles such as water interact somewhat differently with
microwaves to generate heat. The electromagnetic field forces them to align with it, causing them to
collide with neighboring molecules and losing some of their energy as heat [50]. The friction that the
oscillating dipoles cause is another source of heat generation by dipolar interaction. In frozen foods,
the water molecules are locked in position in the ice crystals and cannot rotate enough to collide
with each other [51]. How much they are able to depend on how much unfrozen water the food
contains and on its location and salinity. It is therefore not recommended to heat completely frozen
foods by microwave heating.

16

2.4.3. INTERACTIONS WITH FOODS

The ability of a food to be heated with microwaves is determined by its dielectric properties [50].
They are the effect of the molecular interactions with the electromagnetic field and describe how the
energy is deposited and distributed in the food. They depend on the properties of the food such as
temperature, viscosity, density, thermal conductivity and heat capacity and directly determine the
heating pattern or temperature profile of the food [51]. Most foods have a microwave penetration
depth of 0.7-1.0 cm, which is also determined by the dielectric properties and which is an important
parameter for process design [50].
The rate of heat generation per unit volume, Q, at a particular location in the food during microwave
heating, can be described by equation 4 where f is the frequency, E is the electric field strength, 0 is
a constant called the permittivity of free space and is the dielectric loss factor, determined by the
dielectric properties of the food and which describes the ability of the food to absorb microwaves.
The dielectric loss factor may be determined by extensive experimenting and modeling. [50]
= 2 0 E 2

(equation 4, [50])

2.4.4. COOKING BY THE MICVAC METHOD

The MicVac method comprises four steps; filling, sealing and valve application, pasteurization, and
cooling, as illustrated in figure 11. They will all be thoroughly described in this section. [48]

FIGURE 11. THE MICVAC METHOD PRINCIPLE: FILLING (a), SEALING (b) HEATING (c), COOLING (d) [52]

MicVac AB has designed a special tray suitable for microwave heating. It is made by flexible
polypropylene that deforms at the bottom during cooling of the product. The shape is optimized for
microwave processing because of its lack of sharp corners and also because of its appropriate height
for optimal microwave penetration into the food. The product, often a multi-phase food such as a
ready-to-eat meal, is loaded into the tray either manually or automatically. The higher the
temperature during filling the shorter the processing time will be, resulting in an increased product
quality and an increased production capacity. It is important that the product temperature and
weight are rather stable from tray to tray, in order to prevent under- or over-cooking. [48]
The tray is subsequently sealed with a dual-layer, peelable film, designed to withstand the expansion
during the pasteurization step and to increase the oxygen barrier, which is otherwise often low for
plastic materials. An applicator then punches a hole in the film and places the MicVac valve centered
on top of the hole. The valve consists of two PVC labels designed to open only in one direction. As
the pressure inside the package reaches a certain point during processing, the valve lets out steam
and the geometry of its ends makes it whistle. [48]

17

After sealing, the tray is conveyed to the microwave tunnel where the product is heated uniformly
due to the special microwave applicators that provide single-mode microwaves. This means that the
waves are only reaching the food from one direction, in this case from above, which helps to
minimize cold or hot spots in the product. About 60 % of the energy input enters the food and the
rest is absorbed by the equipment. The processing time is adapted for each product and can be
adjusted by the conveyor belt speed and by the effect of the magnetron, which is the microwave
generator. [48]
As microwaves are absorbed and the product heats, water is evaporated from its surface and the
vapor pressure above the food increases. The more the product temperature increases, the more
water vapor builds up inside the sealed package, causing it to expand. At a certain point, the overpressure inside the sealed package becomes too high for the valve to withstand and it opens to let
out steam. This temporarily decreases the pressure inside the package and the film is somewhat
lowered. However, as more microwave energy is absorbed this causes the temperature to rise even
more and the film re-expands and the valve begins to whistle continuously as steam exits through it.
Air is also pushed out of the package by the evaporating steam and soon there is only food and water
vapor remaining inside the package. The over-pressure is maintained and the film remains expanded
until the microwaves are turned off and the vapor condenses. [49]
Immediately after the microwave tunnel, a conveyor belt transfers the tray to a cooling unit where it
is rapidly cooled to the desired temperature [48]. As the heating process is terminated and as cooling
starts, no air is left inside the package and the water vapor quickly condenses, instantly closing the
valve [49]. This produces an under-pressure inside the package, causing the tray to deform and to
wrap itself around the product that therefore becomes automatically vacuum-packed. The
magnitude of the under-pressure is determined by the degree of deformation. The possibility of any
air remaining inside the package is small, partly because water evaporates from the surface of the
food and gets pushed towards the valve as more steam evaporates, but also because of the design of
the valve itself. The oxygen barrier of the tray and film is however lower than for glass, which is not
oxygen permeable, possibly allowing oxygen to re-enter the product during long-term storage.

18

3. INTRODUCTION TO PROJECT TRIALS

3.1. PROCESS DEVELOPMENT
Ohmic heating and the MicVac method had not been previously adapted for the production of jam
products. Due to their closed-system designs, these methods require proper mixing and distribution
of ingredients before the thermal processing step to obtain a stable product. The purpose of these
pre-trials was therefore to develop jam production processes for the two methods respectively. This
was done with the selected reference jam recipe and its processing procedure as basis, to be able to
compare the thermal processing steps of all of the studied methods.
Since an earlier ohmic heating project at Procordia Food AB concluded that it was difficult to obtain
an even distribution of berries in the mixing vessel, a pre-trial was carried out to try to increase the
density of the air-dense strawberries. A hypothesis was that the porous parts of the strawberry could
be replaced with a dense sugar solution by vacuum impregnation.
In order to obtain a uniform heating pattern in ohmic heating, it is vital that the conductivity of the
different phases of the food is close to each other. However, this is not the case for strawberries and
for solutions containing a lot of sugar [Appendix III and IV]. Since the processing time in ohmic
heating is substantially shorter than in conventional jam production, equalization of conductivity will
not be adequately achieved during processing. Another pre-trial therefore aimed to equalize the
conductivity between the strawberries and their surrounding jam medium. A hypothesis was that an
addition of salt to the jam medium would increase its conductivity [Section 2.3.2].
A suitable amount of antifoaming agent for each method was determined in order to be able to
process the jam by the MicVac method without obstruction of the valve mechanism but also in order
to minimize the risk of an uneven heating pattern in the ohmic heater due to foaming.

19

3.2. JAM PRODUCTION

The jam production trials aimed to compare the thermal processing steps of ohmic heating and the
MicVac method with the one of the reference jam. To be able to do so in an appropriate manner,
one jam was produced in each method. A jam was also produced to see if the shorter cooling step of
the pilot-plant strawberry jams would positively influence product quality, thus affecting the
comparison of the different jams.
In order to investigate the impact of the thermal processing steps on the quality of the strawberry
jams, several parameters had to be analyzed. As supported in the literature, vitamin C content and
color are indications of the severity of a thermal treatment, mainly due to their fragile nature
[Section 2.1.4. and 2.1.7]. Hypothetically, a shorter thermal treatment should result in a product with
better preservation of initially present strawberry compounds. Absence of microorganisms as well as
stable pH, color, viscosity and soluble solids values during storage indicate a stable product. The jam
production trials therefore aimed to investigate these parameters as well as the vitamin C content of
the produced jam samples during storage at ambient temperatures. To provide a rough idea of what
reactions would occur during long-term storage at ambient temperatures, the analyses were also
carried out under accelerated conditions, when oxidative and enzymatic processes happen more
rapidly.
To get a better understanding of the consumer acceptance of the jam samples produced in ohmic
heating and the MicVac method compared to the conventional method, a subjective sensory
evaluation was performed. This was selected as the most suitable method of evaluation because it is
a frequently used method by the company.

20

4. MATERIAL AND METHODS

4.1. MATERIALS
The raw materials and the reference recipe were provided by Procordia Food AB and are listed in
table 5 and table 6.
TABLE 5. RAW MATERIALS

Raw material
Strawberries
Pectin
Sugar
Acid
Preservative
Sugar solution
Sodium chloride (NaCl)
Antifoaming agent
Packaging materials

Specification
Senga sengana, individually quick frozen, pH 3.40.2, brix 81, (figure 17)
Standardized low-methoxyl, amidated pectin
Caster sugar
Granulated citric acid
Granulated potassium sorbate
65 %
Monoglycerides
400g Flextray (MicVac jam), glass jars (ohmic heating and reference
jams)

TABLE 6. REFERENCE JAM RECIPE

Parameter
Soluble solids (Brix)
pH
Berry content

Specification
461
3.30.1
52 %

21

4.2. EQUIPMENT
The equipment used for the project trials, except for the ohmic heater, was provided by Procordia
Food AB and can be seen in table 7. Photographs of the steam vessel and the ohmic heater can be
seen in appendix III.
TABLE 7. EQUIPMENT

Equipment
Vacuum packer
Slicer
Steam vessel
Lobe rotary pump
Ohmic heater

Sealing equipment
Microwave oven

Rod mixer

Specification
MULTIVAC A300 (Multivac Sepp Haggenmller, Germany)
Pressure drop can be manually adjusted down to 10 mbar
Vegetable Preparation Machine RG-400 (AB Hllde Maskiner, Sweden)
Blade produces 5 mm thick slices
20 liters, jacketed (steam, 4 bar), stirring device
Pressure can be manually lowered to 100 mbar
U22 (Waukesha Cherry-Burrell, USA)
Stainless steel, 35 mm ports
C-tech Pilot 10 kW Ohmic Heater, 230 V single phase, 40 A (C-tech
Innovation Ltd, England)
Electrode area 225 cm2 (75x300 mm)
Electrode separation 60 mm
Output effect can be manually adjusted from 0-100 %
TraySealer 4 (Frch Plast, Denmark)
Manual temperature control, automatic sealing 2-3 sec
Panasonic Inverter NN-GD556 (Panasonic, UK)
The inverter power supply minimizes microwave pulsing and therefore
provides more uniform heating
Braun (Braun GmbH, Germany)

22

4.3. ANALYSES
Measurements of color, flow properties, soluble solids, pH and vitamin C were carried out initially
and once per week during four weeks of storage at 22C. Measurements were also done during
accelerated storage at 35C for two weeks. Yeasts, molds and total count were measured initially as
well as during accelerated storage of samples.
4.3.1. COLOR

Color was measured using a Konica Minolta CM-700d Spectrophotometer (Konica Minolta Sensing
Inc., Japan). L, a, and b values of the Hunter Lab color space [23] as well as spectral values at 650 nm
were registered. The lens was protected using a transparent film that was exchanged after each
measurement. Samples were measured in black jars on jam medium to avoid interference from the
surrounding light and from intact strawberry pieces. Four replicates per sample were taken.
4.3.2. FLOW PROPERTIES

Flow property measurements were carried out using a Bostwick Consistometer (SCS Scientific
Company Inc., USA). The equipment was filled to the brim with jam medium and the flow distance
per minute was measured in centimeters. The equipment was cleaned and dried between
measurements. This equipment is extensively used by the jam industry. Three replicates per sample
were taken.
3.3.3. SOLUBLE SOLIDS

Total soluble solids were measured by the staff at the companys quality laboratory using a RFM 342
refractometer (Bellingham and Stanley Ltd, UK). Samples were tempered to 20C and the equipment
calibrated before measurements. Three replicates per sample were taken.
4.3.4. pH

pH measurements were carried out by the staff at the companys quality laboratory using a TIM865
Titration Manager for potentiometric titration (Radiometer Analytical SAS, France) that was
calibrated before measurements. Three replicates per sample were taken.
4.3.5. VITAMIN C

Vitamin C content was measured by the staff at the companys quality laboratory using a TIM865
Titration Manager for potentiometric titration (Radiometer Analytical SAS, France). Samples were
homogenized and ascorbic acid extracted from the samples with metaphosphoric and acetic acid to
prepare them for the titration process. Three replicates per sample were taken.

23

4.3.6. MICROORGANISMS

Total count, yeast and moulds were measured by the staff at the companys quality laboratory.
Samples investigated for yeasts and molds were incubated on DG18 agar medium (sugar added to 50
% w/w) for one week at 25C. Samples for total count were incubated on plate count agar (PCA) for 3
days at 30C. Three replicates per sample were taken.
4.3.7. TEMPERATURE

In the factory, the temperature of the reference jam was measured continuously by the installed
thermocouple on the inside of the steam vessel. The filling temperature was displayed on a screen
next to the filling equipment and the temperature after the cooling tunnel measured manually.
In the ohmic heating pilot plant, the temperature was measured with thermocouples at several
locations: in the steam vessel, at the inlet and outlet of the ohmic heater and in the jars during filling.
The temperatures at these locations were manually registered during jam production.
In the MicVac pilot plant, the temperature inside the tray was measured using a DataTrace
Micropack III Temperature Data Logger (Mesalabs, USA). The temperature of the vacuum vessel was
also registered during jam production.
4.3.8. CONDUCTIVITY

The conductivities of all of the produced jam samples were measured using a CO150 Model 50150
Conductivity Meter (Hach Company, USA). The equipment was calibrated before measurements and
the probe cleaned with de-ionized water and dried with a Kleenex towel between measurements.
Four replicates per sample were taken.
4.3.9. SENSORY EVALUATION

A subjective sensory evaluation of the final jams produced in the different methods was performed
with 36 participants from Procordia Food AB in a room designed for sensory evaluations. The trays
containing the samples and questionnaires were prepared in advance and randomized to make sure
that the order of the samples would not affect the results. The samples were room tempered and
equal amounts of berries and jam medium was portioned in each cup.
Each person received one of each jam sample and were told to evaluate them using a scale from 1-7,
where 1 indicated very bad, 4 indicated neither good nor bad and 7 very good, and to support
their answers with motivations and comments. Nothing was said about the differences between the
samples, which were to be evaluated for strawberry flavor, strawberry chewability and overall
impression. The participants were also asked to rank the four samples from 1-4, 1 being the sample
they appreciated the most. The obtained data was then statistically analyzed according to section
4.3.10.

24

4.3.10. DATA ANALYSES

The results from color and vitamin C measurements were analyzed for mean and standard deviation.
For the results from the sensory evaluation the replies were normalized for each person individually
using equation 5 before performing a Single Factor ANOVA in Excel with a 95 % significance level. A
95 % confidence interval was then calculated using equation 6, where =0.05, t=1.98 (for (f-1)=120,
[53]), n=36 and s is the standard deviation calculated as the square root of the within groups variance
(MS) from the ANOVA.
=

= 0.5 ( 1)

(equation 5, [54])

(equation 6, [53])

The formulated hypotheses that would be either accepted (p<) or rejected (p>) were:
0: 1 =2 (no difference between samples)
1: 1 2 (difference between samples)

For evaluation of the ranking test results, the ranking sum of each sample was calculated and is the
product of the ranking number and the ranking score. The lower the ranking sum, the higher is the
total rating of the sample.

25

4.4. PROCESS DEVELOPMENT PROCEDURES

4.4.1. EQUALIZATION OF DENSITY

Four frozen strawberries were weighed and immersed in a 65 % sugar solution with a density of
approximately 1400 kg/m3 [55] in a plastic bag. The bag was placed in the vacuum packer described
in table 7 and the pressure lowered to 30 mbar in 5 seconds. The bag was sealed at the end of the
packaging process.
The bag was subsequently opened, the strawberries quickly rinsed with cold tap water and dried
with a Kleenex. They were then transferred to a glass cylinder filled with cold tap water placed on a
scale and their weight and volume registered. The density of untreated frozen strawberries was
measured by the same procedure and the increase in density calculated.
4.4.2. EQUALIZATION OF CONDUCTIVITY

The following jam samples were produced on the stove according to the reference jam recipe,
presented in table 6, and its lab-scale processing procedure:

Reference jam (lab-scale)

Jam with added NaCl (0.1 %)
Jam with added NaCl (0.05 %)
Homogenized reference jam (lab-scale)

The homogenized jam was produced in order to obtain the maximum reachable conductivity value
for the jam. Homogenization was achieved by mixing the jam for one minute with a rod mixer,
described in table 7.
The berries were only gently stirred to keep them intact for conductivity measurements. When all of
the ingredients had been mixed, the conductivity of the berries and jam medium was measured
between 30C and 80C. A reference jam sample was also taken from the factory and its conductivity
measured in the same temperature interval.
The suitability for the use of salt as a conductivity increaser was evaluated in a sensory evaluation
with 8 participants from Procordia Food AB, who commented on off-flavors, strawberry flavor and
aftertaste.
4.4.3. MIXING AND PRE-HEATING OF INGREDIENTS

By talking to the pectin supplier and to product developers at Procordia Food AB, by performing
orienting jam production experiments in the steam vessel and by supporting our theories with results
from literature studies, a procedure for mixing and pre-heating of the ingredients was developed.
The procedure was applied for both ohmic heating and for the MicVac method in the jam production
trials.

26

4.4.4. DETERMINATION OF PROCESSING PARAMETERS FOR OHMIC HEATING

Initial process parameters for ohmic heating were approximated based on the equations in section
2.3.3. and on jam conductivity data from appendix IV and V. The average specific heat capacity of the
reference jam in the temperature interval, 50C-90C, was also approximated based on its water and
sugar content by equations 7, 8 and 9.
, = 1.5488 + 1.9625 103 T 5.9399 106 T 2

(equation 7, [56])

, = 4.1762 9.0864 105 T + 5.4731 106 T 2 (equation 8, [56])

, = , + , (equation 9, [56])

The approximate nature of the calculated data meant that several test runs had to be carried out in
order to stabilize the temperature rise in the ohmic heater.
A suitable amount of antifoaming agent for the strawberry jam was recommended by the company.
4.4.5. DETERMINATION OF PROCESSING PARAMETERS FOR THE MICVAC METHOD

The 400g Flextray, as recommended by MicVac AB and which can be seen in appendix VII, was filled
with 50C strawberry jam and mixed with varying amounts of antifoaming agent. The trays were
sealed with the MicVac film and processed in the microwave oven for 5 minutes to ensure proper
vacuum conditions.
The processing time in the MicVac method was decided based on test runs and on recommendations
from MicVac AB after determining a suitable amount of antifoaming agent.

27

4.5. JAM PRODUCTION PROCEDURES

Since only the impact of the heating step of each method was to be compared, the studied
temperature interval was chosen to range from 5C, which was the temperature directly after mixing
of the strawberries and sugar, up to the maximum processing temperature and down to 55C again.
The pre-heating step up to 55C and the cooling step from 55C down to room temperature were
carried out as similarly as possible in the studied methods. The jam samples were produced
according to table 8, where the results from the process development trials are presented.
TABLE 8. JAM PRODUCTION METHODOLOGY

Reference

Ohmic Heating

MicVac

Batch size
Frozen strawberries
Amount of pectin
Antifoaming agent

1400 kg
Intact
Initial
As recommended

20 kg
Sliced
Decreased by 10 %
As recommended

Pre-heating to 55C
Addition of pectin
Lowering of steam vessel pressure
From steam vessel to ohmic
heater or microwave oven

X
85C
X

X
55C
X
Pumping, 5C
temperature drop

Equipment effect
Processing time in ohmic heater
and microwave oven
Maximum processing
temperature
Filling

*
*

74 %
2 min (69 kg/h)

20 kg
Sliced
Decreased by 10 %
10 times as
recommended
X
55C
X
Manual filling into trays,
sealing and loading into
microwave oven
440 W
4 min

90C

90C

103C

Filling machine

Hot-fill, manual

To 60C, in steam
vessel, 45 min
To 55C, in
cooling tunnel

To 55C, in freezer,
30 min

At 50C, before
processing, manual
To 55C, in freezer,
30 min

Cooling

*Not applicable or investigated for the reference jam.

Samples were taken out and analyzed according to table 9.

TABLE 9. ANALYSES TIMETABLE

Parameter

Storage temperature (C)

Weeks after production

Vitamin C

22
35
22
35
22
35
22
35
22
35
22
35

0, 1, 2, 4
1, 2
0, 1, 2, 4
1, 2
0, 1, 2, 4
1, 2
0, 1, 2, 4
1, 2
0, 1, 2, 4
1, 2
0
1, 2

pH
Soluble solids
Viscosity
Color (L,a,b and spectral
reflectance)
Viable count, yeasts and moulds

28

4.5.1. PRODUCTION OF REFERENCE JAM

Samples of the reference jam were collected from the factory and stored at ambient (22C) and at
accelerated conditions (35C). The process chart for production of the reference jam can be seen in
figure 12. After pre-heating the berries and sugar to 85C at 0.6 bars, the pectin solution and the
remaining ingredients were added and heating continued to 90C. The mixture was held there for 3
minutes and then cooled to 60C, the pH, soluble solids and viscosity controlled and the jam filled
into sterilized glass jars. Samples were subsequently cooled in a cooling tunnel to 55C.

FIGURE 12. REFERENCE JAM PROCESS CHART

4.5.2. PRODUCTION OF REFERENCE JAM, SHORT COOLING

A 20 kg batch of the reference jam but with a shortened cooling step was produced in the pilot plant
steam vessel. The processing procedure up to holding at 90C was equal to the one when producing
the reference jam in the factory. However, it was then hot-filled at 90C and cooled according to the
ohmic heating cooling procedure, described in table 8. The process chart can be seen in figure 13.

FIGURE 13. REFERENCE JAM, SHORT COOLING PROCESS CHART

29

4.5.3. PRODUCTION OF OHMIC HEATING JAM

The ohmic heating jam was produced according to the procedure described in table 8 and figure 14.
Since the ohmic heating process of this project had not previously been adapted to strawberry jam
production, three final batches were produced to test for reproducibility. Three registrations of
process data per batch such as temperatures and applied current were made during the production
of the final samples.

FIGURE 14. OHMIC HEATING JAM PROCESS CHART

4.5.4. PRODUCTION OF MICVAC JAM

The MicVac jam was produced according to the procedure described in table 8 and figure 15. Since
the MicVac method process of this project had not previously been adapted to strawberry jam
production, three final batches were produced to test for reproducibility. 15 trays per batch were
processed and initial weight, final weight and evaporated steam registered for each tray.

FIGURE 15. MICVAC JAM PROCESS CHART

30

5. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

5.1. PROCESS DEVELOPMENT
Strawberry density proved to be a difficult parameter to measure. Even though replicates were
taken, the measurements did not result in a significant increase in density. The fact that an increase
in density of 6 % was observed was probably due to the combined effect of sugar uptake and
strawberry compression. When realizing the difficulties to implement such a method as a pretreatment step in an industrial production process, the search for a simpler way of reaching an even
distribution of strawberries before the thermal processing step became desirable.
The results from the conductivity trial can be seen in figure 16 and clearly show the diversity in
conductivity between individual strawberries, but also the difference in conductivity between the
berries and their surrounding medium. The homogenized jam was quite similar in conductivity to the
reference jam obtained from the factory, indicating that long processing times help to equalize the
conductivity between the two phases. This probably happens through the leaching of electrolytes
from the strawberries due to shearing and disruption of the structure.
500

400

Conductivity (mS/m)

Reference jam
y = 3,4216x - 10,697
Reference Jam (Lab-scale)
y = 3,7192x - 108,8

300

Homogenized jam
y = 3,0375x - 5,5222
200

Jam 0.1% NaCl

y = 4,6253x - 70,329
Jam 0.05% NaCl
y = 5,9664x - 203,28

100

Strawberries from
reference (lab-scale)
0
30,0

40,0

50,0

60,0

70,0

80,0

Temperature (C)
FIGURE 16. CONDUCTIVITIES OF JAM STRAWBERRIES AND MEDIA

31

As seen in figure 16, salt addition increased the conductivity of the medium. The sensory evaluation
of these jams indicated that an addition of salt, even as small as 0.05%, resulted in an off-flavor with
a metal character that covered the strawberry flavor. As this addition did not increase the
conductivity of the jam medium up to the level of the strawberries and because it is questionable to
add salt to such a product, it was decided that another way of equalizing the conductivity had to be
found.
Based on the information in section 2.1.2. and 2.2.1., it was decided that a good way to equalize the
product components such as sugar and water more rapidly would be to use pieces instead of intact
strawberries. This would also help to distribute the strawberries evenly and help to reach a more
uniform heating pattern in the ohmic heater. It was therefore decided that the strawberries would
be sliced when frozen, as seen in figure 17b, before adding them to the steam vessel.

FIGURE 17b. SLICED STRAWBERRIES

FIGURE 17a. INTACT STRAWBERRIES

The setting point of the recipe pectin of approximately 50C provided a limitation of great
importance to the pre-heating step. An addition of the pectin solution to the steam vessel below this
temperature would namely result in pre-gelation of the pectin and an uneven formation of the gel
network in the finished product. The decision point regarding this was therefore to add the pectin
solution at 50C, which is about the same as the final temperature of the pre-heating step when
producing the reference jam in the factory. It was also decided that the amount of pectin should be
lowered by 10 % to account for the fact that the product would be less sheared in the pilot plant than
in the industrial process.
Mixing of the ingredients as well as lowering of the pressure to facilitate the mixing process during
pre-heating was chosen to be carried out as similar to the procedure in the factory as possible. A
limitation during the pre-heating step was the difficulty to regulate the flow of steam into the
jacketed steam vessel. It was therefore decided that the heating rate up to 50C did not have to be
exactly as long as in the factory, which is 30 minutes. This decision was supported by calculated
reaction kinetic values for microbial inactivation and thermal color degradation which showed that
the contribution from the pre-heating step was negligible.

32

A temperature rise up to 90C in the ohmic heater was chosen as this is the maximum temperature
when producing the reference jam in the factory. There was however no possibility to control the
final processing temperature in the MicVac method since this is, simply put, determined by the
boiling point of water. A maximum temperature of approximately 103C was observed in the trials.
This increase of the boiling point of water can be explained by the high sugar content of the jam and
by the pressure increase during processing. As ohmic heating and the MicVac method have the
capacity to work with larger temperature spans, this would have been done if not for the limitations
in the pre-heating step due to the pectin.
A starting flow rate of 69 kg/h for the ohmic heating trials was calculated using equation 1-3 and 7-9.
The calculated flow rate was set on the pump by adjusting its effect to 4 Hz and was suitable since
the small batch size of the steam vessel limited the flow rate. Furthermore, at this low flow rate it
took some time to stabilize the temperature out of the ohmic heater.

,,50 = 0.46 1.632 + (1 0.46) 4.185 = 3.01 /

,,90 = 0.46 1.677 + (1 0.46) 4.212 = 3.05 /

=

,, = 3.03 /

,,

0.06
= 20.6
0.2 + 0.11
0.25 0.075
2

2
2202
=
= 2350

20.6
=

2350

= 0.019
= 69
3030 (90 50)

After performing several trial runs in the pilot plant, an applied voltage of 74 % of the maximum
available voltage (230V) was noted as enough to reach a temperature of 90C out of the ohmic
heater. It was decided that since the temperature of the strawberry jam decreased on its way to the
ohmic heater inlet, the holding temperature of the steam vessel would be set to 55C to compensate
for this.
To facilitate the production process, hot-fill was chosen as the most suitable filling method. The use
of hot-fill as the filling method in ohmic heating can be questioned; in the pilot plant, it resulted in
floating berry pieces in the jars which can partly be explained by the low viscosity of the jam at 90C.
A more suitable filling method could be to cool the jam, using a holding tank or a heat exchanger, to
the setting temperature of the pectin at around 50C. The pectin network would then help to evenly
distribute the strawberry pieces in the gel upon stirring of the jam. Another solution would be to use
a pectin more suitable for hot-fill, with a higher setting temperature. This alternative was not
possible in this project since a reference recipe was the basis for evaluation of the different thermal
processing techniques.

33

Tests on how to cool the samples showed that a more effective way than to cool them using a water
bath was to cool the ohmic heating and MicVac samples to 55C in a walk-in freezer, which took 30
minutes. The samples would then be stored at room temperature.
Regarding the amount of antifoaming agent in the MicVac recipe, ten times the amount of the ohmic
heating recipe was chosen as this amount visibly resulted in a successful cooking process. A
processing time in the microwave oven of 4 minutes was chosen, since the continuous whistling of
the valve occurred after approximately 3 minutes. The extra minute ascertained that the cooking
process was correctly performed and that an adequate vacuum had been achieved.
A summary of the decision points from the process development trials can be seen in table 8 and
detailed data from these trials in appendix IV and V.

34

5.2. JAM PRODUCTION

Pilot plants for ohmic heating and the MicVac method were successfully installed during the
beginning of the project. Thanks to this, the process development trials resulted in well-functioning
jam production procedures for these methods. More comparable results could probably have been
reached if intact berries had been used in all of the methods. However, this was not possible due to
limitations in the ohmic heating and MicVac jam pilot plants. In the steam vessel, berry distribution
was uneven when intact strawberries were used. The low flow rate and the dead angles in the ohmic
heater also limited the use of intact strawberries. Another important aspect was that the short
thermal treatment after pre-heating would not have been sufficient to even out the added sugar and
the water from the berries and would have resulted in an unstable product prone to phase
separation. The pre-heating step and use of sliced berries were therefore considered as necessary for
successful strawberry jam production procedures for ohmic heating and the MicVac method.
5.2.1. THERMAL PROCESSING STEPS

Measured data from the production of the final samples can be seen in table 10 and table 11.
TABEL 10. PROCESS DATA FOR OHMIC HEATING, FINAL SAMPLES (MEANSD, N=9)

Output effect
(%)
741

I (A)
120

Temperature,
steam vessel (C)
572

Temperature,
OH in (C)
501

Temperature,
OH out (C)
943

Temperature,
filling (C)
882

The difficulty to stabilize the temperature in the ohmic heater is illustrated by the variation in jam
temperature out of the ohmic heater, presented in table 10. This was found to be due to the low
flow rate and the manual control of applied voltage, leading to a slow temperature stabilization
process.
TABLE 11. PROCESS DATA FOR MICVAC, FINAL SAMPLES (MEANSD, N=45)

Initial weight (g)

426.22.2

Final weight (g)

417.32.8

Loss of steam (%)

2.10.3

Continuous whistle after (min:sec)

02:57

As seen in table 11, the low variations in amount of evaporated steam between trays in the MicVac
method indicated that the method was reproducible.
The temperature profiles the from production of the different jam samples can be seen in figure 18,
where 0 is the time immediately after addition of all of the sugar and strawberries to the steam
vessel. The temperature profile for the reference jam was obtained from the factory. Temperature
profile data can be found in appendix VI.

35

110
100
90
Temperature (C)

80
70
60

Reference

50

Reference, short cooling

Ohmic Heating

40

MicVac

30
20
10
0
0

10

20 30

40

50 60

70

80 90 100 110 120

Time (min)
FIGURE 18. TEMPERATURE PROFILES

The results from the measurements of yeasts, moulds and total count were that nothing grew on the
agar plates during incubation of the produced jam samples. Due to the hurdle effect and based on
these results, the conclusion can be drawn that all of the methods produced microbiologically shelfstable products.
In order to compare the impact of the thermal processing steps of the different methods, F90 values
were calculated based on the z-value for ascospores. The calculated data can be seen in table 12 and
a definition of the F value can be found in appendix II. The number of decimal reductions presented
in table 12 were based on enzyme and ascospore kinetics calculated from the data in table 1, 3 and 4
using equation 10 below.
= / (equation 10, [40])

TABLE 12. F90 AND NUMBER OF DECIMAL REDUCTIONS

Method
Reference
Reference,
short cooling
Ohmic Heating
MicVac

F90 (min)
for z=6.4
30
19
21
1900

Ascospore

Anthocyanins

PME

0.07
0.06

1350
950

0.01
0.10

730
14000

PPO

(Byssochlamys
nivea)

Ascospore

(Neosartorya
Fischeri LT025)

Number of decimal reductions

820
6
450
4
430
5200

36

4
400

Yeasts,
moulds

20
13

>104
>104

14
1300

>104
>106

The mildest method regarding thermal anthocyanin degradation was ohmic heating with 0.01
decimal reductions, which can be ascribed to the short thermal processing step of this method.
However it was also mildest concerning enzyme inactivation. The number of decimal reductions of
yeasts and moulds were numerous, indicating a more than sufficient pasteurization step in all of the
studied methods concerning these microorganisms. Although the F90 value is a good way to compare
the severity of thermal processes, it may give somewhat biased or angled results when the studied
processes have different maximum processing temperatures. The high F90 and number of decimal
reductions of the MicVac jam can be explained by the higher processing temperature of the method,
a maximum of 103C compared to approximately 90C in the other methods. When comparing the
F90 values of the reference jam and the jam with the shorter cooling step, it became clear that the
cooling step had an impact on the degradation of ascospores and enzymes.
The difficulties with controlling the heating rate during pre-heating up to 55C resulted in a
shortened pre-heating step for the ohmic heating and MicVac jams by almost 50 %. However, the
contribution from the pre-heating to the F90 values of all of the methods turned out to be negligible
and the methods therefore satisfactorily comparable regarding microbial inactivation. Nothing can
be said about how the volatile flavor compounds of the strawberries were affected by the longer preheating steps of the reference jams.
If the cooling step down to 55C in an industrial ohmic heating process would be assumed to be
similar to the pilot plant process, the calculated F90 values would be directly applicable to an
industrial scale process. Since the pilot-scale MicVac method is comparable to the industrial process,
this would also be the case for the MicVac method. The conclusion was therefore that the thermal
processing steps of the studied jam production technologies have been appropriately compared.
5.2.2. REPROCUCIBILITY

The pH of all of the samples was 3.40.0 and remained stable during storage. The flow property
values, presented in table 13, were almost constant throughout the storage period. The variations
could be referred to the insensitivity of the method of measurement.
TABLE 13. FLOW PROPERTIES (MEANSD, N=3)

Temperature
(C)
22C

35C

Time of
analysis
0w
1w
2w
4w
1w
2w

Reference

Reference,
short cooling

4.80.6
3.51.3
4.70.3
4.50.0
5.20.6
4.70.6

4.30.3
3.30.3
4.20.3
4.70.6
5.30.6

Ohmic Heating

MicVac

4.20.4
3.50.3
3.90.4
3.60.7
4.30.8

3.80.7
3.70.7
3.90.5
4.20.8
4.90.7

The soluble solids values, presented in table 14, remained within the allowed interval of the
reference jam which can be seen in table 6. The slightly higher value of the MicVac jam can be
referred to the loss of steam during processing.

37

TABLE 14. SOLUBLE SOLIDS (MEANSD, N=3)

Temperature
(C)
22C

35C

Time of
analysis
0w
1w
2w
4w
1w
2w

Reference

Reference,
short cooling

45.50.1
45.50.1
45.60.0
45.70.0
45.70.0
46.10.0

46.10.1
46.00.0
45.50.0
45.90.1
45.80.0
45.40.0

Ohmic Heating

MicVac

46.20.5
46.50.4
46.70.1
46.40.8
46.41.1
47.20.3

46.50.4
48.40.6
48.60.3
48.70.3
48.00.4
48.80.4

The variations in pH, soluble solids and flow properties between the three final ohmic heating and
MicVac batches were small and these methods were therefore considered as reproducible.
5.2.3. VITAMIN C

The analyses of vitamin C content of the jam samples resulted in the data presented in figure 19.
Detailed vitamin C data can be seen in appendix VII.

Vitamin C Content (mg/100g)

30
25
20

Reference

15

Reference, short cooling

MicVac

10

Ohmic Heating

5
0
Initial

1w,22C 2w,22C 4w,22C 1w,35C 2w,35C

FIGURE 19. VITAMIN C CONTENT

The initial vitamin C values indicated that the differences in thermal processing between the
analyzed methods influenced the ascorbic acid content. Initially, the vitamin C content of the ohmic
heating jam and the MicVac jam was significantly higher than of the two reference jams. The higher
values can be related to the shorter thermal processing steps of these methods. After storage at 22C
for 4 weeks, the reference jam contained 61 % of its initial content, the ohmic heating jam 77 % and
the MicVac jam 32 % of its initial content. The MicVac jam contained the lowest amount of vitamin C
after the storage period even though its initial content was in the same range as of the ohmic heating
jam. The quicker degradation could possibly be related to a more pronounced oxidative degradation
due to a lower oxygen barrier of the MicVac tray and film. If the vitamin C content had been
influenced by the higher processing temperature in spite of the shorter processing time, this should
have been seen as a lower initial vitamin C content.

38

After accelerated storage at 35C for 2 weeks, the sample containing the lowest amount of vitamin C
was the MicVac jam, less than 20 % of its initial content. The ohmic heating jam retained its vitamin C
content better than the other methods, with 64 % of its initial content left after accelerated storage.
The slightly higher vitamin C content of the reference jam with the short cooling step could indicate
that the cooling step influenced product quality. However, no conclusions could be drawn because
no differences were observed over time for the samples stored at 22C. The phenomenon might be
explained by the fact that it was difficult to control the berry distribution and shearing of these
samples. This resulted in a strawberry content higher than that of the reference jam in many of the
jars, as well as more intact berries. This could also have made it difficult to measure the vitamin C
content of these samples. If samples had instead been taken out from the factory steam vessel at
90C, a more even berry distribution would possibly have been reached. This option was
unfortunately not thought of until late into the project. Samples would probably also have been
more similar to the reference jam due to more vigorous stirring, resulting in less intact berries. These
theories could probably explain why the vitamin C content of this jam remained stable during storage
at 22C.
In table 15, calculated vitamin C kinetic data based on the averages of the measured values at 22C
(initial, 1, 2 and 4 weeks) and 35C (initial, 1 and 2 weeks) are presented. The calculations were based
on the equations in appendix II and it was assumed that the activation energy was constant in the
present temperature interval.
TABLE 15. CALCULATED VITAMIN C KINETIC KONSTANTS

Method
Reference

Ea (kJ/mol)
46.8

Reference, short cooling

158

Ohmic Heating

50.5

MicVac

64.4

kT (min-1)
k22 = 1.1810-5
k35 = 2.6410-5
k22 = 0.1410-5
k35 = 2.0510-5
k22 = 1.2110-5
k35 = 2.8910-5
k22 = 2.7510-5
k35 = 8.3110-5

The calculated kinetic for vitamin C degradation was in the same range for the different jam
production methods. However, the activation energy for the reference jam with the short cooling
step was higher than for the other samples. This could be explained by the fact that the vitamin C
content of this jam remained stable during storage at 22C, as previously discussed. To be able to
draw more precise conclusions, more replicates should have been taken but there was no possibility
to do so due to limited resources.

39

5.2.4. COLOR

6,00

30

5,00

25

4,00

20

a-value

Reflectance

The color measurements resulted in the L-, a-, b- and reflectance values presented in figures 20a-d.
The measured values and standard deviations were too diverse for any conclusions to be drawn.

3,00
2,00

10

1,00

0,00

FIGURE 20a. REFLECTANCE VALUES, 650 nm

FIGURE 20b. a VALUES

18
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0

L-value

b-value

15

FIGURE 20c. b VALUES

18
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0

FIGURE 20d. L VALUES

40

Changes in color of the different samples were however observed visually but were not detectable by
the spectrophotometer. The photographs of one and eight week old samples placed next to each
other on two separate plates, presented in figure 21, clearly show that that was in fact the case.

FIGURE 21. REFERENCE, OHMIC HEATING AND MICVAC JAM (LEFT-RIGHT)

AFTER 1 (ABOVE) AND 8 (BELOW) WEEKS AT 22C

Figure 22a-b show that differences in color were also observed during accelerated storage of
samples. After one week of accelerated storage, the ohmic heating jam had preserved most of its
initial color whilst the MicVac jam had become brown.

FIGURE 22a. OHMIC HEATING JAM, 1W22C AND

1W35C (LEFT-RIGHT)

FIGURE 22b. MICVAC JAM, 1W22C AND 1W35C

(LEFT-RIGHT)

The measured L, a, and b values were in the range of what was observed in other studies of
strawberry products. However, due to the low variability in data over time and the large standard
deviations, no conclusions could be drawn regarding color changes, although visible changes in color
were in fact observed. Likely explanations as to why this occurred are faulty spectrophotometer
settings or disadvantageous preparation of samples such as the interference of present berry pieces,
which could have been avoided by homogenizing the samples before measurements.

41

Possibly, another method such as determination of anthocyanin content by chromatography could

have been carried out. However, it would have been more time-consuming and costly, and even
though it would have provided a good insight in the degradation of anthocyanins, it would not have
given any straightforward indications about the consumer acceptance of the analyzed samples.
What was observed in the photographs was that the MicVac jam became brown faster than the
other samples during the storage period. This could possibly be explained by a low oxygen barrier of
the MicVac tray and film or by the higher processing temperature of this method, resulting in the
production of a large amount of Maillard compounds. The ohmic heating jam retained its red color
better than the other samples after the end of the storage period. This could be due to its mild
processing conditions, preserving the anthocyanins and reducing the production of Maillard
components. More photographs should have been taken that could have further confirmed the
observed visible changes.
The even distribution of strawberry pieces in the ohmic heating jam seemed to have contributed to
its brighter red color: it was less turbid and homogenous than the reference jam and had more
distinct strawberry pieces. In the reference jam, the strawberries seemed to have been sheared and
disrupted to a greater extent during production, giving it a homogenous appearance with a matte
deep red color.
5.2.5. SENSORY EVALUATION

The calculated confidence intervals based on the normalized results from the sensory evaluation can
be seen in figure 23-25. Where any participant did not reply, the median number of the other
participants answers was used.
The only jam that differed significantly from the other samples was the MicVac jam, except for when
comparing strawberry chewability where it did not differ significantly from the ohmic heating jam.
1,3
1,2
1,1
1
0,9
0,8
0,7
Reference

Reference, short
cooling

MicVac

Ohmic Heating

FIGURE 23. STRAWBERRY CHEWABILITY

In figure 23, the reference jam with a shorter cooling step differed significantly from the MicVac and
the ohmic heating jam. This can be explained by that many of the participants seemed to appreciate
more intact berries and by the fact that the berries of this jam had been less sheared during
processing.

42

An explanation to the low appreciation of berry chewability of the MicVac jam could be due to the
more vivid processing, which may have considerably softened the berry structure, resulting in a more
homogenous product. Based on the participants comments, the ohmic heating jam was perceived to
contain more strawberries than it actually did, possibly because of its even distribution of intact yet
small berry pieces.
1,3
1,2
1,1
1
0,9
0,8
0,7
Reference

Reference, short
cooling

MicVac

Ohmic Heating

FIGURE 24. STRAWBERRY FLAVOR

The MicVac jam received significantly lower scores than the other jam samples for strawberry flavor.
An explanation of this could be that the higher processing temperature resulted in a more severe
degradation of flavor compounds and the production of caramelization and Maillard compounds that
may have masked the strawberry flavor. Another explanation could be that as steam evaporated
during the thermal processing, a lot of volatile flavor compounds accompanied it. This was in fact
observed during the production of jam samples as a distinct strawberry odor.
As caramelization reactions can be related to flavor changes during processing at temperatures
above 100C, this could explain why the MicVac jam differed in flavor from the other jam samples.
The similar yet not as pronounced flavor profile of the reference jam could be associated with the
use of hot surfaces during processing, enabling the formation of undesirable caramelization
compounds that could potentially mask the strawberry flavor. On the contrary, ohmic heating is not
dependant on any hot surfaces and the ohmic heating jam did not reach temperatures above 100C.
This could explain the absence of these flavor compounds in the ohmic heating jam. Also, the
participants comments clearly showed that a more distinct and appreciated strawberry flavor, not
covered by sugar flavors, were observed for the ohmic heating jam.
1,3
1,2
1,1
1
0,9
0,8
0,7
Reference

Reference, short
cooling

MicVac

FIGURE 25. OVERALL IMPRESSION

43

Ohmic Heating

Regarding overall impression, the only sample that differed significantly from the others was the
MicVac jam. Sliced strawberries were used for the production of the ohmic heating and Micvac jams
but not for the reference jams. This may have affected the results from the sensory evaluation
regarding overall impression in the sense that people appreciating larger berry pieces or intact
berries may have given lower scores to the jams containing sliced berries, even though they may
have appreciated these jams regarding strawberry flavor.
In table 16, the results from the ranking test are presented, together with the ranking sum of the
different samples.
TABLE 16. RANKING OF SAMPLES (N=36)

Ranking score (1=highest)

1
2
3
4
1+2
3+4
Ranking sum = (score x number)

Number (out of 36)

Reference,
Ohmic
short cooling
Heating
6
15
14
8
9
10
7
3
20
23
16
13
89
73

Reference
11
12
8
5
23
13
79

MicVac
4
2
9
21
6
30
119

In the ranking test, the MicVac jam received the highest ranking sum (119 points), indicating that it
was the least appreciated jam. The sample receiving the lowest ranking sum was the ohmic heating
jam (73 points) even though it did not differ a lot from the reference jam (79 points).
Based on the participants comments, two groups could be identified where one seemed to
appreciate the traditional, cooked, jam-like flavors of the reference jam and the other one the fresh,
intense strawberry flavors of the ohmic heating jam. This was also confirmed by the ranking test,
where these jams received similar ranking sums.
When comparing the produced jams after two months of storage at room temperature, it was
observed that the ohmic heating jam had retained most of its original flavors but that the MicVac jam
had developed a sharp, acrid odor as well as a cooked flavor. The perceived flavor changes during
storage could probably be explained by the formation of Maillard compounds during processing, the
reaction rate increasing with temperature. Oxidation and polymerization reactions of these
compounds during storage may, together with caramelization compounds formed during the thermal
processing, have contributed to the less appreciated flavor profile of the MicVac jam.

44

6. PROJECT CONCLUSIONS
The selected methods for analysis as well as the selected and installed pilot-plant equipment
provided useful information which helped to draw conclusions about the impact of the different
thermal processing methods regarding the investigated product quality parameters.
The process development resulted in well-functioning jam production procedures for ohmic heating
and the MicVac method respectively. A pre-heating step to ensure product homogeneity and stability
was identified as necessary, as well as proper mixing of all of the ingredients before the closedsystem thermal processing step of these methods.
The assumptions that were made concerning the thermal processing steps enabled the comparison
of the different thermal processing technologies on an industrial level regarding color, flavor, vitamin
C content and microbial inactivation.
The strawberry jam recipe was easily adaptable to the already existing and well-devised MicVac
method. However, due to limitations in process temperature control and packaging materials, the
method was found to be disadvantageous for the production of sensitive strawberry jams regarding
vitamin C, flavor and color retention.
The rapid internal heating and independence of hot surfaces in ohmic heating enabled the
production of a strawberry jam with better preserved color, strawberry flavor and vitamin C content
compared to the reference jam. Conclusively, the negative influences on product quality related to
thermal processing methods based entirely on convection could probably be avoided by the use of
ohmic heating.

45

7. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This masters thesis could not possibly have been carried out without the support from Procordia
Food AB, C-tech Innovation Ltd and MicVac AB.
We would especially like to thank our supervisors Richard Clerselius at Procordia Food AB and
Ingegerd Sjholm at Lund University for guiding and encouraging us during this project.
To Norman Maloney at C-tech Innovation Ltd: we are ever so thankful for your help with installing
the ohmic heater and for your technical support throughout the project. It really helped us to reach
successful results.
And to Olle Olofsson at MicVac AB: thank you for all of your advice throughout the project and for
expressing your sincere interest in our work.
We would also like to show our gratitude to Heln Brostrm, Kristina Fransson, Magnus Dahlberg and
the other employees at the Tollarp factory for answering all our questions and for encouraging us by
expressing your interest in our project.
We owe our deepest gratitude to everyone at the quality and chemical laboratory at Procordia Food
AB for helping us analyze our samples whenever we asked.
To Bltand AB (Stde, Sweden) and SIK - the Swedish Institute for Food and Biotechnology
(Gothenburg, Sweden): thank you for sharing your knowledge and experience with us.

Last but not least, we would like to send a million thanks to all of the employees at Procordias R&D
department for regarding us as co-workers from our very first day there, for always answering our
questions and for being such wonderful people!

46

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Food Processing - New Technologies and Quality Issues, CRC Press, 2006, 425-464
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49

50

WEEK

Presentation

Calculations (scale-up etc)

Report writing

Statistical analysis

Sensory evaluation

Storage and analysis of Ref samples

Storage and analysis of MV samples

Storage and analysis of OH samples

Reference jam production

Ohmic Heating Trials

MicVac Trials

Ohmic Heating equipment

Pre- trials (Part I)

Order raw materials

Orienting trials

Visit to MicVac

Visit to SIK

Visit to Tollarp

Materials, methods, analyses

Project plan

Literature search

ACTIVITY
1

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

APPENDIX I TIME PLAN

APPENDIX II - REACTION KINETIC EQUATIONS

The reaction kinetics for microorganisms can be described by first-order reaction kinetics, described
in the equation below where is the concentration, t is the time and k is the reaction constant. First
order reaction kinetics is often also valid for the degradation of many chemical substances. [33]

The Arrhenius equation describes the temperature influence on first-order reaction processes. In the
equation below, k0 is a system-dependent constant, Ea is the activation energy, R the gas constant
and T the temperature (K). [33]

= 0

The Arrhenius equation is often used to describe the degradation kinetics of chemical substances
while the thermal death time (D- and z-values) is often used for microorganisms. In the following
equations, N0 is the initial and N is the present number of microorganisms, t is the time, D is the
decimal reduction time, z is the temperature increase to decrease the D value by one log unit and T1
and T2 the temperature interval. [33, 40]
log(0 ) log() = /
=

1 2

log (2 )log (1 )

The F-value is the time at instantaneous heating at a reference temperature that the temperature
profile of the pasteurization process corresponds to. The F-value is useful when comparing the lethal
effects of different thermal treatments and can be calculated by the following equations. [40]
= 1/10()/
=

The values below have been calculated based on the data in table 1-4.
CALCULATED D90 AND Z VALUES

Component

D90 (min)

Anthocyanins
PPO
PME
Ascospore (Byssochlamys nivea)
Ascospore (Neosartorya Fischeri LT025)
Yeasts
Moulds

540
0.042
0.025
5.0
1.47
8.36*10-4
3.0*10-4

51

z (C)

27.5
11.9
10.0
6.4
6.4
7.2
5.0

APPENDIX III PHOTOGRAPHS

STEAM VESSEL

C-TECH PILOT 10 KW OHMIC HEATER

MICVAC JAM IN THE 400g FLEXTRAY

OHMIC HEATING JAM

52

APPENDIX IV CONDUCTIVITY DATA

PROCESS DEVELOPMENT CONDUCTIVITY DATA

Temperature
(C)

Conventional Conventional Conventional

jam, Tollarp jam, medium
jam, berries

37
39
43
44
43
44
44
45
45
46
46
46
46
47
47
48
48
48
49
49
50
50
50
52
52
55
55
56
56
56
57
57
58
58
59
60
61
62
63
63
64
64
64
65
65
66
66
66
67
67
68
68

276,9
242,3
305

Conventional
jam,
homogenized

NaCl
0,1%
w/w

NaCl
0,05%
w/w
80,6

135,9
349,9

103,6
104,8
102,7

42,5
59
61

327,3
298,4
202,5

104,8

65,2
65,7
73,4
66
75,1

104,7
85,5
92,7
143,1
371,2
146,6
152,9

93,4
103,7
152,6

272
154,5
146,2
176,9
180,2

116,1

159,6
157,8
262,1
327,6

158,6

117,5
192,3

427,4
115,5
195,4
195,2
199,3
203,3

123,9
122,1
126,5

218,2
224,9
221,3
221,4
224,7
228,5

214,8
377,8
286,4
295,7

149,5
221,3

164,7
165,1
160,7
160
157,9
166,9

194,9
195,9

153,3
153,3

376
440,9
413

53

202,3

68
69
69
69
70
70
71
71
72
72
73
73
74
75
75
75
75
76
77
77
78
78
82

207,7
148,2

274,2
477,7
445,4
200,5

210

268,3
263,2
266,2

154,4
440,4
232,1

208,9
211
212,1

209,7
246

156,1
158,4

249,5
451,8
243,5

247,8
244,1
322
331,6
312,4

246,5
266,4
161,2

379,7
378,1

269,5

54

2331
230,2
234,9

249
256,8

APPENDIX V PROCESS DEVELOPMENT DATA

STRAWBERRY CONDUCTIVITY (MEANSD, N=3)

Thawed strawberries
Sugar solution (65 w/w)

Temperature (C)
17.5
25.0

Conductivity (mS/m)
22010
0.270.01

Temperature (C)
23
22

Conductivity (mS/m)
693.0
626.4

REFERENCE JAM CONDUCTIVITY (MEANSD, N=3)

Reference jam, medium

Reference jam, berries

DETERMINATION OF AMOUNT OF ANTIFOAMING AGENT IN MICVAC

Antifoaming
agent x original
amount
10x
8x
7x
6x

Initial weight (g)

417
421
424
423

Final weight (g)

Loss of steam (%)

Whistles continuously
after (min)

398
404
406
404

4,6
4,0
4,2
4,5

02:55
03:10
03:00
03:00

Final weight (g)

Loss of steam (%)

Whistles continuously
after (min)

404
414
417

4,5
2,1
1,7

03:00
03:20
03:05

DETERMINATION OF PROCESSING TIME IN MICVAC

Processing time
(min)
5,0
4,5
4,0

Initial weight (g)

423
423
424

55

APPENDIX VI TEMPERATURE PROFILE DATA

REFERENCE JAM

Temperature (C)

Time (min)

5
55
85
85
90
90
60
57
57
55

0
30
50
52
57
60
107
110
111
115

REFERENCE JAM (SHORT COOLING)

Temperature (C)

Time (min)

5
55
85
85
90
90
88
55

0
30
50
52
57
60
65
95

OHMIC HEATING

Temperature (C)

Time (min)

5
45
55
57
50
94
88
55

0
5
9
11
16
18
22
52

MICVAC

Temperature (C)

Time (min)

5
45
55
57
50
103
103
55

0
5
9
11
12
15
16
46
56

APPENDIX VII JAM PRODUCTION DATA

VITAMIN C (MEANSD, N=3)

Temperature Time of
(C)
analysis
22C

35C

0w
1w
2w
4w
1w
2w

Reference

Reference,
short cooling

Ohmic Heating

MicVac

14.70.6
13.02.0
13.71.2
9.00.0
11.01.0
9.00.0

18.30.6
18.00.0
18.00.0
18.30.6
15.00.0
12.00.0

23.91.5
20.00.0
18.70.6
18.31.5
16.71.2
15.32.5

24.71.3
17.32.3
16.73.1
8.01.0
10.72.3
<5.0

COLOR (MEANSD, N=12)

Jam

Temperature
(C)

Time of
analysis

Reference

22C

0w
1w
2w
4w
1w
2w
0w
1w
2w
4w
1w
2w
0w
1w
2w
4w
1w
2w
0w
1w
2w
4w
1w
2w

35C
Reference,
short cooling

22C

35C
Ohmic
Heating

22C

35C
MicVac

22C

35C

Reflectance
(650 nm)

L*

a*

b*

2.70.1
3.30.4
3.30.5
3.70.7
2.90.6
2.50.2
3.91.5
4.31.1
2.00.3
4.01.1
2.91.1
2.70.8
3.61.5
3.91.5
3.50.7
4.20.9
3.21.5
3.60.5
3.90.9
3.90.6
3.50.7
4.60.6
3.20.6
2.40.5

3.70.3
4.71.4
4.00.7
8.03.1
5.02.8
3.00.4
6.43.3
9.25.0
2.70.7
10.64.1
7.35.2
5.53.0
5.72.6
7.03.5
4.71.2
9.94.6
11.75.2
6.62.9
6.41.8
7.83.1
5.41.4
10.62.8
6.41.8
4.41.2

16.60.9
19.02.2
18.50.7
17.84.4
15.62.5
13.81.3
19.65.2
18.35.8
12.12.2
16.85.6
12.33.0
14.34.1
20.43.9
20.53.9
19.23.2
19.33.9
17.46.6
18.84.8
22.03.3
20.23.3
20.83.1
19.44.7
18.11.8
14.62.6

6.30.5
7.61.4
6.81.1
8.81.7
6.71.5
5.40.7
9.03.2
9.04.3
4.61.3
9.54.2
6.22.1
7.01.7
9.74.4
10.74.5
8.02.0
10.72.8
9.75.2
10.74.5
10.62.7
10.12.2
9.32.5
12.32.2
10.31.9
7.62.1

REPLIES BEFORE NORMALIZATION FROM THE SENSORY EVALUATION (MEANSD, N=36)

Attribute
Strawberry flavor
Strawberry chewability/texture
Overall impression

Reference

Reference,
short cooling
5.41.0
5.61.1
5.21.2

5.31.1
5.21.1
5.40.9

57

Ohmic Heating

MicVac

5.81.1
4.71.5
5.41.1

4.71.4
4.21.2
4.51.2