Infrared heating in food processing

Thermal processing of foods is very important in extending the shelf life of various food products. Infrared heating was first used in the 1930s for automotive curing applications and rapidly became a widely applied technology in various industrial fields such as sensing, measuring, analysis, communication and heat treatment.

Infrared radiation is the part of the electromagnetic spectrum that is predominantly responsible for the heating effect of sunlight.

The infrared spectrum of radiation can be divided into three different categories:
Near-infrared radiation (wavelength: 0.75-3 μm)
Mid-infrared radiation (wavelength: 3-25 μm)
Far-infrared radiation (wavelength: 25 - 1000 μm)

Infrared heating in food processing had been applied in such as drying, dehydration, blanching, thawing, pasteurization, sterilization, and other miscellaneous food appliances such as roasting, frying, broiling, and cooking as well as in-depth assessment of pathogen inactivation.

Infrared technologies in the food processing sector have an attractive merit such as uniform heating, high heat transfer rate, reduced processing time, and energy consumption and improved product quality and safety.
Infrared heating in food processing