CFD approach for modelling microbial inactivation during thermal processing of intact eggs

Area of Science:

• Food Science
• Biotechnology
• Process Engineering

Background:

• Thermal pasteurization is crucial for eliminating foodborne pathogens in eggs.
• Understanding heat transfer dynamics is essential for effective pasteurization.
• Salmonella enteritidis poses a significant risk in raw egg products.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate combined conductive and convective heat transfer during thermal pasteurization of intact eggs.
• To develop and validate a computational model for egg pasteurization processes.
• To assess the efficacy of pasteurization in inactivating Salmonella enteritidis.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a commercial Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) package to simulate heat transfer.
• Integrated a kinetic inactivation model for Salmonella enteritidis with the CFD model.
• Compared simulated temperature profiles with experimental data.

Main Results:

• Simulated temperature profiles closely matched experimentally observed data.
• The integrated CFD and kinetic model accurately predicted pasteurization outcomes.
• Demonstrated the model's capability to assess Salmonella enteritidis inactivation.

Conclusions:

• The developed CFD model provides a reliable tool for evaluating egg pasteurization.
• This approach enables the optimization of thermal processes for enhanced food safety.
• The study contributes to improving the microbiological safety of egg products.