An apparatus for heat treatment of a product, in particular food product, and especially food product in a container such as a can, bottle or plastic pouch is disclosed. The apparatus comprises an unloading and loading section, a first treatment section having an inner wall defining a processing volume within which product is heated, a transfer section and a second treatment section having an inner wail defining a processing volume within which product is cooled, multiple carriers for retaining product during treatment designed to provide multi-stage pressure reductions that collectively reduce the maximum over-pressure within the apparatus to ambient pressure and thereby eliminate the need for sealable pressure doors or gate valves. The loading section incorporates means of linear movement of said product carriers in a continuous fashion. The carriers includes elements to create cavities between or within successive carriers and a plurality of throughapertures to force heat treatment fluid into direct contact with product as it flows from over ambient to ambient pressure. A heat exchanger recovers energy from cooling product and continuously re-applies that energy to heat product.

A high temperature food heating device includes a high temperature heating tank composed of three tanks, which are a main tank, a front reserve tank and a reserve tank, each of the front and rear reserve tanks has a first storage part having an opening at the upper part and a second storage part communicating with the first storage part at the lower part of the first storage part and having an opening at the upper part. In the high temperature food heating device, a communication chamber for communicating between a water surface of each of the second storage parts of the front reserve tank and the rear reserve tank and a water surface of the main tank and storing a liquid or a gas inside is provided, and a high pressure gas or a pressurized liquid is supplied from a high pressure fluid supply section into the communication chamber.

Embodiments herein include processing systems for food products and related methods. In an embodiment, a food processing system is included with a continuous processing channel divided into a come-up chamber, a main electromagnetic wave (such as microwave) heating chamber, and a cool-down chamber. The continuous processing channel can define at least two separate portions oriented for vertical product movement. In various embodiments, the come-up chamber, the main electromagnetic wave heating chamber, and the cool-down chamber are at least partially filled with liquid. The system can further include a product conveyor mechanism to convey food products to be processed continuously along a conveyance path passing from the come-up chamber through the main electromagnetic wave heating chamber and to the cool-down chamber. The system can further include an electromagnetic wave energy emitting apparatus configured to emit electromagnetic wave energy into the main heating chamber. Other embodiments are also included herein.

Apparatus and method for pasteurizing food products and ready meals in hermetically sealed packages (22) by means of microwaves, comprising a microwave chamber (14); a lower conveyor belt (20) for the packages (22); an upper conveyor belt (18), extending substantially horizontally and vertically movable, and a microwave source (16) located below the lower conveyor belt (20), the microwave chamber (14) being under atmospheric ambient pressure. The apparatus comprises a cooling plate (10) in close contact with the upper conveyor belt (18) so that during microwave heating the top of the package (22) is cooled to below the condensation point of water vapor and overpressure in the package is avoided.

A system and method for cooking food in a valved pouch. In an exemplary embodiment, the system includes a vacuum sealer that vacuum seals uncooked food in the pouch; a cooker that heats the vacuum sealed pouch containing the uncooked food to cook the food; and a control that modulates a cooking temperature and a cooking time at which the cooker cooks the vacuum sealed pouch containing the uncooked food to selectively partially or completely cook the food in the vacuum sealed pouch. The cooking temperature and cooking time are selected such that the valve of the vacuum sealed pouch remains closed in the cooker throughout the cooking time. The valve is selected to open during subsequent retherming of the cooked food in the vacuum sealed pouch to allow steam and/or vapor to escape from the pouch to the ambient.

An apparatus for thermally processing food products in sealed packages comprises heating/cooling chambers with an endless conveyor guided through them with product carriers connected thereto. Each product carrier 10 comprises insertion spaces 17 for packages 27 to be placed in. A side wall 11 of the carrier 10 comprises slits 20 which open out towards insertion openings of the respective insertion spaces 17. Operating members are provided which comprise load bearing organs 32 with operable holding means 33 for picking up and carrying packages 27. The load bearing organs 32 are movable in an insertion direction x while projecting through the slits 20 during placing of packages 27 into the insertion spaces 17.

A high temperature food heating device includes a high temperature heating tank composed of three tanks, which are a main tank, a front reserve tank and a reserve tank, each of the front and rear reserve tanks has a first storage part having an opening at the upper part and a second storage part communicating with the first storage part at the lower part of the first storage part and having an opening at the upper part. In the high temperature food heating device, a communication chamber for communicating between a water surface of each of the second storage parts of the front reserve tank and the rear reserve tank and a water surface of the main tank and storing a liquid or a gas inside is provided, and a high pressure gas or a pressurized liquid is supplied from a high pressure fluid supply section into the communication chamber.

Embodiments herein include processing systems for food products and related methods. In an embodiment, the processing system includes a housing and a product conveyor. The housing defines a processing channel that includes an electromagnetic wave heating chamber. The electromagnetic wave heating chamber is at least partially filled with a fluid, such as a fluid. The conveyor mechanism can convey food products continuously along a conveyance path including a serpentine pathway that includes a plurality of hairpin corners where a direction of the conveyance path is reversed and a depth of the conveyance path is increased. The electromagnetic wave emitting apparatus emits electromagnetic energy into the pathway. The average pressure in the electromagnetic wave heating chamber changes along the conveyor mechanism. The orientation of products along the conveyance path varies minimally along at least portions of the conveyance path. Other embodiments are also included herein.

A method for heat treating a packaged product includes providing a channel with a liquid disposed therein, the channel having a electrodes disposed in and spaced apart along a treatment portion of the channel, pressurizing the liquid in the treatment portion of the channel, transporting the packaged product, including a product disposed within a package, along the channel including transporting the packaged product through the treatment portion of the channel, heating the packaged product in the treatment portion of the channel including causing emission of radio frequency waves between the plurality of electrodes and into the treatment portion of the channel including forming an electrical field in the treatment portion of the channel, and shielding the electrical field in the treatment portion of the channel using a shield which forms a cavity around the treatment portion of the channel, the cavity being configured to substantially confine the electrical field.