100 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW Vol. 28, No. 8 



NEW CANNING PROCESS SHORTENS COOKING TIME 



A meat packing firm has developed a continuous canning process known as "Flash 18." The name 

 denotes the rapid heat sterilization and the ISpounds of pressure involved in the process. So far, "Flash 

 18" has been used mainly for meat products, but it might also be applicable to fish products. One of 

 the main advantages of the new process is said to be the elimination of along cooking time in the can- 

 ning process. The firm which developed the process has applied for patents on ^'Flash 18" and issued 

 an exclusive license to a firm in Kansas City, Mo., to use and sublicense those patents. 



The licensed firm in Kansas City has installed a "Flash 18" canning system in a 110-foot-long 

 pressure chamber that looks very much like a submarine. 



Canning has been defined as the process of sterilizing food by heat, and preserving the food in 

 hermetically-sealed containers. An important step in the conventional canning process has been the 

 use of retorts (pressure cookers) for heat sterilization. 



Under the new canning process, conventional retorting is completely eliminated. The "Flash 18" 

 system installed by the Kansas City firm includes a continuous custom-built stuffer which feeds the 

 product mixture under normal atmospheric pressure into pipelines which in turn feed into a pressure 

 chamber. In the pipelines, and still outside the chamber, the mixture is raised to selected steriliza- 

 tion temperatures. 



The rapid heating to above sterilization temperature in the pipelines does away with the necessity 

 for a prolonged cooking period. The food moves from the pipelines into the pressure chamber. As it 

 enters the chamber, the product goes into a deaerator. This is a device for removal of some of the 

 air or oxygen from the product. With the removal of this air, volatile (readily vaporized) materials 

 also are expelled. This is another important step in attaining homelike flavor and texture in canned 

 products. It helps eliminate the characteristic ' canned" flavor or harshness, sometimes related to 

 the spices of strong-tasting components of canned items. 



Within the pressure chamber, cans are filled and sealed by conventional machinery. The pressure 

 in the room permits filling and sealing at 250° to 255° F. The cans are then fed to a lower level within 

 the pressurized tank, to a "hot" chamber, where the residual heat is maintained for a short period to 

 complete the process. After moving through this chamber, the sterilized cans are transferred me- 

 chanically to a precooling chamber, still within the pressure room. They then move out of the pres- 

 sure chamber for final cooling. 



A control room is a key factor in the new canning system. From the control room, operators di- 

 rect product flow by means of modern regulators, temperature recorders and controllers, and auto- 

 matic direction -control valves. Through microphones and telephones, control-room operators can 

 talk to people inside the pressure chamber. 



There are two main control boards. The first control board is concerned with product controls. 

 The second control board is involved with the operation of the pressure system itself, room compres- 

 sors, temperatures in the main chamber and personnel locks, and the status of the locks for introduc- 

 tion of materials on the side of the chamber. 



The overall control system has numerous safety devices, including an evacuation alarm warning. 



"Flash 18" is a continuous system. Although there is a "batching" of components, the product mix- 

 ture is continuously blended, heated, and filled into cans moving through the pressure chamber. The 

 elaborate control system regulates and adapts cooking time for each product passing through the sys- 

 tem. The new process is said to retain delicate flavors and homemade texture and appearance to an 

 exceptional degree in a large variety of canned foods. 



