Presented by Krizzia Rae S.

Gines

An advanced thermal process where in the food,

which serves as an electrical resistor, is heated by
passing electricity through it
The substance is heated by the dissipation of
electrical energy
It conducts heat throughout the entire mass of the
food uniformly

V=IxR

Voltage
Current
Resistance

The rate of heat generation within the material may be

characterized by the following equation:

Q=
E=

May be varied by the designer

by changing either the applied
voltage or the electrode gap
Function of
composition

temperature,

2
E
Electric field strength
Electrical conductivity

frequency,

&

product

May be increased by addition of ionic compounds

(salts or acids) or decreased by addition of nonpolar
components such as emulsified lipids


The ability of the material to transport an electric charge
The amount of current that passes through the system
depends on the electrical conductivity or resistance of the
material in the system
Composition, soluble salt percentage, electrolyte mobility,
and temperature

Foods with EC of 0.1-10 S/m can always be heated by

means of Ohmic heating

Multicomponent Food Matrix

The EC of the particles in relation to its fluid conductivity is
pointed as a critical parameter to understanding the particles
heating rate.

Low EC solid particles, comparatively to the

fluid EC, tend to lag behind the fluid at low
concentrations related to the volume of
the fluid.

Multicomponent Food Matrix

The EC of the particles in relation to its fluid conductivity is
pointed as a critical parameter to understanding the particles
heating rate.

In conditions where the concentration of the

particles is high, those same low EC particles
may heat faster than the surrounding fluid.

Multicomponent Food Matrix

The EC of the particles in relation to its fluid conductivity is
pointed as a critical parameter to understanding the particles
heating rate.

This phenomenon occurs because with the increase of the

particles concentration, the electric current path through the
fluid becomes more tortuous, forcing a greater % of the current
to flow through the particles

Electroporation

CONVENTIONAL HEATING
Significant product quality
damage may occur due to slow
conduction & convection heat
transfer

OHMIC HEATING
Better quality product is produced
because the entire mass of the
material is heated volumetrically

Lower thermal conductivity of

Temperature sufficiency for UHT
foods slows heat penetration to the processing can rapidly be achieved
center of the pieces thus UHT is
impossible
Limited capability in processing
particulate foods

Can process particulate foods up to

2.5 cm (~1 inch)

Over cooking can occur at the

outer part of the food

Exhibits uniform heating

High cleaning requirement due to

product fouling

Less cleaning requirements due to

reduced product fouling

Longer time in heating foods

Less time in heating foods

for Ohmic Heating

Basic design & heat components of a continuous Ohmic heating system

TECHNICAL PARAMETERS OF OHMIC HEATING SYSTEMS

APV Baker

Emmepiemme
(Tubular)

Raztek Corp.

Emmepiemme
(Fluid Jet)

Type of
technology

Continuous
process

Continuous
process

Continuous
process

Continuous
process

Geometry

Tubular

Tubular

Tubular

Free jet

Type of
Electrode

Platinumcoated
electrodes

Stainless-steel
electrodes

Pure-carbon
electrodes

Stainless-steel
electrodes

Power
Supply

f: 50 Hz
E//U

f: 25 Hz
E//U

f: 50 Hz
EU

f25 Hz
E//U

Product

Solid-liquid
suspension

Solid-liquid
suspension

Homogeneous
liquid

Homogeneous
liquid

Basic configurations for continuous tubular Ohmic heaters:

(a) Bow in series: liquid product
(b) Raztek corp. (tubular, EU, perpendicular inlet): liquid product

Basic configurations for continuous tubular Ohmic heaters:

(c) APV (tubular, E//U, intrusive electrodes): solid-liquid suspension

(d) Emmepiemme (Tubular, E//U, rising electrodes): solid-liquid
suspension

The Emmepiemme full-scale industrial system block diagram

A typical Ohmic heater, reproduced with permission from Emmepiemme Srl.

Schematic diagram of continuous-flow Ohmic heating by using fluid jet

Important Factors
Electrical
conductivity

Temperature
rise (power
requirement)

Product type

Change in electrical
conductivity over the
expected temperature
rise

Flow rate

Heating rate
required

Holding time
required

in Specific Foods

Applied to liquid and semi-liquid foods such as fruits &

vegetable products, milk, ice cream mix, egg, whey,
soup, stews, heat sensitive liquids

Heating, pasteurization & sterilization

Can also be used for blanching, thawing, cooking,

fermentation, processing of protein-rich liquid foods for
protein film & gel formation
Pre-treatment method for dehydration & extraction

COMMERCIAL APPLICATION
Country

Japan
USA
UK

Europe, Japan,
Mexico, South
America

Product

Whole fruits, tofu

Liquid egg
Japanese breadcrumbs, low acid
vegetables in bags
Baby food, artichokes, carrots, mushrooms,
ketchup, fruit nectars, fruit juice, peppers,
cauliflower, tomato paste, sausages, and
fruit puree, fruit slices and large fruit pieces
in syrup

Examples of Industrially Processed Products in Emmepieme Equipment

Product

T (C)

Process
Temperature
(C)

Heater Power
(kW)

Tomato ready-to-serve
saucesa

100

50

50

Mango puree

105

20

64

Tomato paste

100

30

64

Diced tomatoes

105

70

70

Tomato puree

120

50

70

Peaches-aspricots (dices,
slices, halves)

95

50

150-200

Diced sweet pepperszucchini

115

55

100

Carrot slices

135

70

130

Low-acid vegetable
purees

95

30

150

Strawberries
(whole,diced)

92

70

30

Note: Plant capacities from 1000 to 6000 kg/h. Products packaged in aseptic bags
apart from a packaged in glass jars

Application to solid foods, not held within a liquid, has

proven problematic because good contact is required
between the electrode plates & the product.

Application to solid foods, not held within a liquid, has

proven problematic because good contact is required
between the electrode plates & the product.
Hamburgers patties are a notable exception because
they are flat and can be placed between plates (Ozkan,
2004).

Experimental set-up used for ohmic cooking of burger patties

Mechanical modification of Garland grill

Product Development Considerations

Product
conductivity

Product stability

Carrier fluid
viscosity

Particle characteristics

(shape, size,
concentration, & density)

Ohmic Heating for Space Applications

Need for a supply of sterile, packaged food
of high quality for long duration missions

Food must be heated to serving temperature

in an energy-efficient manner

Packages must be reused, recycled, or

jettisoned according to mission plans

Ohmic pouch with electrode tab

(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)

Electrode configuration
Folding
Unsealed assembly
Sealed assembly

Ohmic retort operations

(a) loading (b) closing (c) processing (d) post cooling

Efficacy as
A Food
Warmer

Results if heating tests indicated that 4 pouches of salt

solution with 0.4% salt content could be heated within 25
min to the target temperature, a power level of 200 W

Other products such as tomato soup & cream of potato

soup were able to be heated within the required time and
power constraints.

Efficacy in
Waste
Sterilization

Studies were conducted on the sterilization of human

waste in a pouch. The pouch was then stored successfully
for over two years without issues with gas production.

Advantages
Rapid uniform heating
High-quality products, without overcooking, in particular for
particulate products where less degradation of texture, flavor,
& color can be seen due to the reduced time-temperature
profile

High percentage of intact particulates due to reduced

shear
Reduced fouling therefore greater run times on certain
products (i.e. fruit juices & eggs)
Greater energy efficiency

Disadvantages
Limited to product with ionic content (i.e. not suitable for oils, etc.)
Very high level of control required either through specialist
trained operators or complex control systems
Fluctuations in the flow of the product or high levels of air can
lead to electrode burnout, causing the production to stop &
replacement of electrodes
Electrodes may need replacing on a regular basis
Dairy products are still susceptible to fouling

Impact of Conventional Sterilization

& Ohmic Heating on the Amino Acid
Profile in Vegetable Baby Foods
by Mesias, M., Wagner, M., George, S., Morales, F.
Innovative Food Science & Emerging Technologies (2016)

Objective
To evaluate the effect of conventional retort
sterilization and alternative sterilization by ohmic
heating on the amino acid content and protein quality
of vegetable baby foods. These ndings could be
used for the baby food industries in order to improve
nutritional quality of these products after heating
processes.

40% carrots, 20% peas, 15% zucchini, 0.1% salt, & 24.9%
water
Vegetables were mixed & precooked through boiling
water for 10 min at 90C, then were crushed by colloidal
grinder to make a smooth puree, which was reheated
to 85C with stirring

3 aliquots: puree w/o sterilization, retort sterilization,

ohmic heating

For conventional retort sterilization, the purees were

placed in jars and sterilized by the classic retort system
spraying water on the jars at 129C (Fo = 10min)
For static ohmic heating, the product was heated in the
whole volume, at 129C (Fo = 11min) & aseptically filled
in pouches
Lyophilized & stored at 4C until analysis

Results
Results revealed that neither of the two processes affected
the total protein content (1.8m/100g in 3 baby foods)
Retorted baby foods contained around 20% less total
amino acids than in unsterilized samples (35% essential
amino acids and 9% non-essential amino acids). On the
contrary, ohmic heating did not decrease total amino
acids in the baby puree, maintaining the same content of
essential and non-essential amino acids as in unsterilized
samples.

Conclusion
Ohmic heating promotes less nutrient loss than
the conventional method in vegetable baby
purees maintaining the amino acids prole and
therefore the protein quality of the sample
before sterilization.

Ohmic treatment may be successfully used as

an alternative method to ensure microbiological
and nutritional quality of infant foods.

Ohmic Heating in Food Processing (Ramaswamy et al., 2014)