U.S. patent application number 10/933736 was filed with the patent office on 2005-05-12 for cold shock method improvements.
Invention is credited to Giacobbe, Frederick W., Yuan, James T. C..
Application Number | 20050097900 10/933736 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 35999739 |
Filed Date | 2005-05-12 |
United States Patent
Application |
20050097900 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Giacobbe, Frederick W. ; et
al. |
May 12, 2005 |
Cold shock method improvements
Abstract
The invention is a method of cooling objects by submerging in a
fluid to obtain a desired cooling effect. These objects can be
either food or non-food. The fluid can be liquid nitrogen, liquid
argon, liquid oxygen, liquid carbon dioxide, or any combination
thereof. The fluid can include an additive that helps sanitize the
object. This additive can be oxidizing agents such as ozone,
chlorine, chlorine compounds, hydrogen peroxide solutions, ozonia
solutions, or combinations thereof. The submergence can be by way
of an automatic dipping process, or a continuous moving belt
process. The regulation can occur by varying speed or by
maintaining a constant speed. The submergence can be by way of
total submergence, or only partial submergence, of the object in
the fluid. The desired effect can be to shock the surface
microorganisms to make them susceptible to concurrent or subsequent
treatments.
Inventors: |
Giacobbe, Frederick W.;
(Naperville, IL) ; Yuan, James T. C.; (Naperville,
IL) |
Correspondence
Address: |
AIR LIQUIDE
2700 POST OAK BOULEVARD, SUITE 1800
HOUSTON
TX
77056
US
|
Family ID: |
35999739 |
Appl. No.: |
10/933736 |
Filed: |
September 3, 2004 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
60519679 |
Nov 12, 2003 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
62/64 ;
62/78 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A61L 2/24 20130101; A23L
3/3463 20130101; A61L 2/202 20130101; A23L 3/375 20130101; A61L
2/186 20130101; F25D 2400/28 20130101; A61L 2/183 20130101; A23L
3/358 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
062/064 ;
062/078 |
International
Class: |
F25D 017/02; F24F
003/16; F25B 017/00 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A method of rapidly cooling and sanitizing objects comprising: a
cooling process comprising submerging said objects in a fluid,
wherein said submergence is regulated to obtain a desired cooling
effect and a sanitizing process wherein the objects are exposed to
one or more primary sanitizing additives at one or more times
selected from the group consisting of before the cooling process,
during the cooling process, and after the cooling process.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein said objects are food
objects.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein said objects are non-food
objects.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein said fluid is selected from the
group consisting of liquid nitrogen, liquid argon, liquid oxygen,
liquid carbon dioxide, and combinations thereof.
5. The method of claim 4, wherein said fluid further comprises one
or more initial sanitizing additives.
6. The method of claim 5, wherein said one or more initial
sanitizing additives are chemically different from said one or more
primary sanitizing additives.
7. The method of claim 5, wherein said one or more initial
sanitizing additives are chemically identical to said one or more
primary sanitizing additives.
8. The method of claim 5, wherein said additive participates in a
preliminary sanitation process.
9. The method of claim 8, wherein said preliminary sanitation
process occurs before the cooling of the object.
10. The method of claim 8, wherein said preliminary sanitation
process occurs during the cooling of the object.
11. The method of claim 5, wherein said initial sanitizing additive
is selected from the group consisting of ozone, chlorine, chlorine
compounds, hydrogen peroxide solutions, oxonia solutions, and
combinations thereof.
12. The method of claim 5, wherein said initial sanitizing additive
is selected from the group consisting of organic substances,
inorganic substances, a combination of two or more organic
substances, a combination of two or more inorganic substances, and
a combination of one or more organic substance and one or more
inorganic substance.
13. The method of claim 1, wherein said submergence is by way of an
automatic dipping process, or a continuous moving belt process.
14. The method of claim 1, wherein said regulation occurs by
varying speed.
15. The method of claim 1, wherein said regulation occurs by
maintaining a constant speed.
16. The method of claim 1, wherein said submergence comprises
totally submerging said object in the fluid.
17. The method of claim 1, wherein said submergence comprises
partially submerging said object in the fluid.
18. The method of claim 1, wherein said desired cooling effect is
to shock surface microorganisms to make them susceptible to a
concurrent treatment.
19. The method of claim 1, wherein said desired cooling effect is
to shock surface microorganisms to make them susceptible to a
subsequent treatment.
20. The method of claim 1, wherein said desired cooling effect is
to promote the destruction and inactivation of surface
microorganisms without freezing the object throughout.
21. The method of claim 1, wherein said desired cooling effect is
to promote the destruction and inactivation of surface
microorganisms without cooling the object throughout.
22. The method of claim 1, wherein said desired cooling effect is
to promote the destruction and inactivation of surface
microorganisms and freeze the object throughout.
23. The method of claim 1, wherein said desired cooling effect is
to promote the destruction and inactivation of surface
microorganisms and cool the object throughout.
24. The method of claim 1, wherein the cooling process and the
sanitizing process occur simultaneously.
25. The method of claim 1, wherein said primary sanitizing additive
is selected from the group consisting of ozone, chlorine, chlorine
compounds, hydrogen peroxide solutions, oxonia solutions, and
combinations thereof.
26. The method of claim 5, wherein said primary sanitizing additive
is selected from the group consisting of organic substances,
inorganic substances, a combination of two or more organic
substances, a combination of two or more inorganic substances, and
a combination of one or more organic substance and one or more
inorganic substance.
Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional
Application No. 60/519,679, filed Nov. 12, 2003, the entire
contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND
[0002] It is well known that chilling food products reduces
bacterial growth and retards the onset of spoilage, thereby
increasing shelf life. However, in the past 20 years, it has become
known that some microorganisms have been able to adapt to a period
of such chilled, low growth temperature. In response to this
ability to adapt, recent investigations into the cold shock
responses of various microorganisms have been conducted. It has
been found that cold shocking can introduce stresses affecting
biological structures, which can fatally injure the microorganism,
or weaken the microorganism and make it more susceptible to
antibacterial or disinfecting agents. Various difficulties have
been associated with the attempts that have been made so far to try
to rapidly cool food and thereby effectively introduce such a cold
shock procedure into food processing.
[0003] One attempt at using cryogenic liquids for cold shocking a
food product is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,325,221, where animal
carcasses are sprayed with liquid nitrogen. This disclosure teaches
that the surface membranes of the carcass are to be rapidly frozen
in order to seal in the loss of moisture from the carcass. The
principle desired effect is to reduce moisture loss from the
product.
[0004] Another attempt is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,367,630,
where carcasses are immersed into a tank of cryogenic fluid to
crust-freeze the exterior Again, the desired effect is to reduce
valuable weight loss of the carcass.
[0005] Yet another attempt is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,940,599,
where the surface of fresh meat is subjected to a cryogenic liquid
just long enough to form a layer of ice, but not long enough to
freeze the outermost, and innermost, layers of flesh on the
carcass. The desired effect is to reduce spoilage in the appearance
of the outermost layer of the flesh.
[0006] Another attempt is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,471,846,
where a mass of food product is introduced into a storage
compartment, then into which an amount of cryogenic liquid is
introduced, as a function of the weight of the food product
present. The desired effect is to increase the overall efficiency
of the chilling process using cryogenic liquids.
[0007] Another attempt is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,577,392,
where a cryogenic chiller is disclosed that uses a vortical flow
pattern. The desired effect is to sweep any liquid or solid cryogen
from the bottom surface of the tunnel and recirculate it around the
food product.
[0008] There is also a need to disinfect and sanitize non-food
objects, such as surgical, dental or laboratory instruments,
prosthetic joints, dentures and similar objects. Traditional
processes for sanitizing such objects have utilized steam, ethylene
oxide, ionizing radiation, formaldehyde, and hot air. Within the
past decade, new processes have been introduced that include
peracetic acid, chlorine dioxide, plasmas, and ultva-violet
light.
[0009] Each of these references suffers from the disadvantage that
either the germs on the very surface, or just below the surface, of
the object are not actually cold shocked. There is no control of
the application of the fluid to obtain the desired effect of cold
shocking the surface pathogens. There is no additive introduced
into the fluid.
[0010] For the foregoing reasons, there is a need for a method for
cold shocking food that allows control of the submerging of objects
into a fluid to obtain a desired cooling effect. It would be an
advance in the art of disinfection to couple this resulting cold
shock effect with either the prior, concurrent, or subsequent
application of an additive within the cryogenic fluid. There is a
need in the industry for such an additive to further assist in the
sanitation process.
SUMMARY
[0011] The present invention is directed to a method that satisfies
the need in society in general for a method for cold shocking food,
or non-food objects, that allows control of the submerging of
objects into a fluid, wherein this fluid has an additive, to obtain
a desired cooling effect. The present invention is also directed to
a method that satisfies the need to combine this resulting cold
shock effect with either the prior, concurrent, or subsequent
application of an additive within the fluid, wherein this additive
is preferably an aid to sanitation.
[0012] This method comprises a method of cooling objects by
submerging the objects in a fluid, where the fluid has an additive,
and where the submergence is regulated to obtain desired cooling
and sanitizing effects. These objects may be either food or
non-food objects. The fluid may be liquid nitrogen, liquid argon,
liquid oxygen, liquid carbon dioxide, or any combination
thereof.
[0013] This additive may be something that participates in the
desired sanitation process of the object. The objects may be
exposed to the disinfecting additive prior to, coincident with, or
subsequent to the actual cooling treatment. The object may be
exposed to the same, or different, additive before the cooling
process, then may be exposed again during or after the cooling
process. This additive may be an ozidizing agent such as ozone,
chlorine, chlorine compounds, hydrogen peroxide solutions, oxonia
solutions, or combinations thereof.
[0014] Oxonia is know to one skilled in the art to be a solution
composed of either hydrogen peroxide and peristaltic acid, or
hydrogen peroxide and peroxyacetic acid.
[0015] The submergence may be by way of an automatic dipping
process, or a continuous moving belt process. The regulation may
occur by varying speed or maintaining a constant speed. The
submergence may be by way of total submergence, or only partial
submergence, of the object in the cryogenic liquid.
[0016] The desired cooling effect may be to shock the surface
microorganisms to make them susceptible to concurrent or subsequent
treatments. The desired cooling effect may be to promote the
destruction and/or the inactivation of the surface microorganisms
without cooling or freezing the object throughout. The desired
cooling effect may be to promote the destruction and/or the
inactivation of the surface microorganisms while cooling or
freezing the object throughout
[0017] These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the
present invention will become better understood with reference to
the following description and appended claims.
DESCRIPTION
[0018] Illustrative embodiments of the invention are described
below. While the invention is susceptible to various modifications
and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof are herein
described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the
description herein of specific embodiments is not intended to limit
the invention to the particular forms disclosed, but on the
contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents,
and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the
invention as defined by the appended claims.
[0019] It will of course be appreciated that in the development of
any such actual embodiment, numerous implementation-specific
decisions must be made to achieve the developer's specific goals,
such as compliance with system-related and business-related
constraints, which will vary from one implementation to another.
Moreover, it will be appreciated that such a development effort
might be complex and time-consuming, but would nevertheless be a
routine undertaking for those of ordinary skill in the art having
the benefit of this disclosure.
[0020] The present invention relates to a cryogenic rapid chilling
and sanitation process in which a mixture of fluid and an additive
is used to cold shock an object. In one embodiment of the invention
the object is subjected to a cooling process wherein the object is
submerged in the fluid for a time which is regulated to obtain a
desired cooling effect, an is subjected to a sanitizing process
wherein the objects are exposed to one or more primary sanitizing
additives either before, during or after the cooing process (or any
combination thereof). In one embodiment of the invention, the
liquid cryogen and additive are mixed prior to use in the chilling
process. In this way, both the liquid cryogen and the additive may
be directed to the object simultaneously.
[0021] In another embodiment the object may be either food or
non-food objects. In another embodiment of the invention, the
additive may be oxidizing agents such as ozone, chlorine, chlorine
compounds, hydrogen peroxide solutions, oxonia solutions, or
combinations thereof.
[0022] Oxonia is know to one skilled in the art to be a solution
composed of either hydrogen peroxide and peristaltic acid, or
hydrogen peroxide and peroxyacetic acid.
[0023] In another embodiment of the invention, the additive may be
an organic substance, an inorganic substance, a combination of two
(or more) organic substances, a combination of two (or more)
inorganic substances, or a combination of one (or more) organic and
one (or more) inorganic substance.
[0024] In another embodiment of the invention, the additive may be
directed to the object at a combination of prior to, simultaneous
with, or subsequent to the chilling process, as desired by the
operator. In another embodiment of the invention, different
additives may be directed to the object at differing times in the
chilling process.
[0025] In another embodiment the object may be submerged into the
additives one or more times that are additive prior to,
simultaneous with, and/or subsequent to the chilling process. In
another embodiment of the invention, the object may be submerged in
different additives at different times during the chilling
process.
[0026] In another embodiment of the invention, the rate that the
objects are submerged, and/or the duration of the submergence, in
the additive may vary with time as a function of the progress of
the chilling, or cold shock process.
[0027] In another embodiment of the invention, the rate that the
objects are submerged, and/or the duration of the submergence, in
the additive may vary with discrete locations on the object to be
chilled.
[0028] In one embodiment of the invention, the regulation of the
rate that the objects are submerged, and/or the duration of this
submergence, may be accomplished by way of sensors, or weighing
devices, or other techniques commonly known in the industry.
[0029] In one embodiment of this invention, the regulation of the
rate that the objects are submerged, and/or the duration of this
submergence, may be accomplished by way of sensors located on, or
within the body of, the object to be cooled.
[0030] In another embodiment, the object to be chilled is
subsequently introduced to a chilling room, or a freezing room.
[0031] The invention is not limited to the preferred embodiments
described above, but rather defined by the claims set forth
below.
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