Sterilization, pasteurization, vacuum cooking: What differences?

Steriflow autoclaves make it possible to heat treat a very wide variety of products in any kind of packaging in order to provide a shelf life appropriate to their marketing.

Three major processes are used:

consists in exposing the products to a temperature, generally greater than 100 ° C., for a time sufficient to destroy all the microorganisms, including the spores, the most resistant form of the bacterium. Sterilization thus makes it possible to give the product a long shelf life at ambient temperature (several years).

is a moderate heat treatment allowing the destruction of pathogenic microorganisms and a large number of microorganisms of alteration. The temperature of the treatment is generally less than 100 ° C. and the holding time at this temperature is from a few seconds to a few minutes. Since all microorganisms are not removed by pasteurization, this heat treatment must be followed by a sudden cooling (which can be carried out in steriflow with ice water). Pasteurized foods are then usually kept cold (+4 ° C) in order to slow the development of the germs still present. Their shelf life is thus limited (on average 1 to 2 months).nouveau paragraphe de texte

it takes place at low temperature between 60 ° and 100 ° C. The products are packed in hermetic airless bags and then undergo a long heat treatment (usually several hours) at constant temperature. The product is then cooled and stored as a pasteurized product. The advantages of vacuum cooking are numerous: low weight loss, homogeneous cooking and preservation of the nutritional and organoleptic qualities of the products.

Steriflow devices allow a perfect mastery of the heat treatment and minimal processing time. Indeed, the water runoff on the products is as efficient in heating as in cooling. A complete range of capacities (between 1 and 10 meters 3), of process (static, rotary, dali, shaka) allows you to propose the most suitable machine to your need.