During the pilot plant tests of a liquid food subjected to High-Temperature Short-Time (HTST) processing, it was determined that a microorganism survived. Laboratory tests were conducted assuming D121=1.1 minutes and z=11 °C for the microorganism. The initial load of microorganisms in the food is assumed to be 10^5/g, and each used container holds 1000 g. It is desired that there be less than one spoiled container in every 10,000 containers. The temperatures at selected points during the process are as follows:

Process Duration Temperature (°C)

Heating 0.5 s 104

Heating 1.3 s 111

Heating 3.4 s 127

Heating 5.3 s 135

Heating 6.5 s 138

Heating 8.3 s 140

Heating 12.3 s 140

Cooling 12.9 s 127

Cooling 14.1 s 114

Cooling 16.2 s 106







Is the applied thermal process sufficient?