Retort – Canned Products, Retort System, Batch

Industry: Fruit and Vegetables (3114) Meat (NAICS 3116)

NAICS process:

 

311421 Canned Fruit and Vegetables

311422 Canned Specialty Products

311612 Meat Processed from Carcasses

 

Process Brief: Canned products are sterilized by heat after they are sealed

 

Energy source: Steam/Natural Gas

 

Energy Intensity: 100-300 Btu/lb

 

 

Crateless

 

Retort systems sterilize canned products after they are sealed. In crateless systems, the cans are dumped into the top of a retort oven, which is filled with water to cushion the fall. After the oven is fully loaded and sealed, steam is injected to displace the water and to begin the retort process. Typical retort temperatures are around 250°F and processing times are 5 to 30 minutes. The retort furnace is pressurized to about 1 atm to help stabilize the cans during heating. At the end of the heating cycle, the oven is again filled with water and the cans are dumped from the bottom of the oven into trough of cooling water.

 

The crateless retort system is relatively simple and flexible. The loading, retorting, and unloading processes can be automated and a system can be reprogrammed to handle almost any canned product. Steam and water flows for the oven are recycled and energy consumption is somewhat higher than rotary cookers or hydrostatic sterilizers.

 

 

Manufacturers

 

FMC FoodTech Chicago

200 East Randolph

Chicago, IL 60601

Telephone: 312-861-6000

 

Web site: www.fmctechnologies.com

 

 

Malo, Inc.

P.O. Box 50183

Tulsa, OK 74150

Telephone: 918-583-2743

 

Web site: www.maloinc.com

 

 

 

Source: Overview GRI-03/0075; Overview photo from http://www.fmctechnologies.com/FoodTech/BeveragesJuiceandMilk/InContainerSterilizers/SuperAgi.aspx 3/2007;