Objective A computer aided process design method will be established that takes account of the statistical variation of product properties and process parameters. This computer aided process design method will allow evaluation of different process designs at a low cost. Critical points for safety can easily be determined, confidence limits for the shelf life can be calculated. Constraints for the quality parameters can be incorporated. The project starts from the observation that biological products used as raw materials in food processing show a large variability in their thermophysical properties, that the effect of initial conditions on bacterial contamination as well as the kinetic parameters for growth or inactivation are only known to some degree of certainty and that process conditions themselves can not be considered as constant or exactly corresponding to the desired values.Using an object oriented data modelling approach the different steps involved in the preparation of a food product were described. The recipe describes the procedure and the composition (product component) of a prepared meal. The procedure is a sequence of unit operations which include the different steps of the preparation, the packing, the cooling, the storage, the transport, the secondary storage and the reheating.Data for the model base involved:microbiological data (models for the growth of Salmonella and Brochothrix thermosphacta have been supplied);thermal properties;mechanical properties (experiments were carried out to monitor the texture change of potato samples both during isothermal cooking and during a cooking process that was interrupted for a cold storage period);moisture diffusivity.modelling of unit operations incorporated variability of temperature distribution during thermal processing. A probabilistic perturbation method has been developed for the computation of mean values and variances at an arbitrary place and time inside the food.In order to gain insight in the potential user's expectations when working with a food process design software system a questionnaire has been prepared.Construction of a user interface involved the personal computer (PC) version of KAPPA, an object oriented data modelling system will be used for the rapid prototyping of a simplified design system.The prototype incorporated a development platform with stochastic heat transfer computations for risk analysis and optimization and an end user platform that initially will have short cut heat transfer calculations and microbial growth. PROKAPPA and KAPPA-PC are the tools to develop the object-oriented approach.The object oriented approach has been adapted to the application of the process modelling of fresh prepared meals.After defining the desired product, the many processing methods available to make it must be evaluated. This leads to the design of a process which will be capable of producing the desired product under given production criteria. The relevant information on thermophysical and biological processes and their variability is included in models of the different unit operations. These models will be linked to a design system for food processing. Modelling, for each step, the thermal processes in combination with the kinetics of bacterial inactivation (or growth) and the kinetics of quality changes is a tool to evaluate whether the basic requirements of quality and safety can be met. A user friendly interface (based on expert systems software) will be developed so that the processor needs not involve himself with the mathematical complexities of the calculation details. However, the provision of such simple end results necessitates the many detailed measurements, modelling and evaluation stages outlined below. Construction of a database and modelbase with the most important product properties of fresh prepared meals: microbiological data; thermophysical properties; texture properties (or other quality factors). Modelling of unit operations: temperature variability during processing; thermal inactivation (or growth) of microorganisms; texture changes. Construction of a user interface and implementation of a computer integrated food process design. Experimental verification of the design methodology for thermal processing. Optimization of process conditions with respect to desired quality and acceptable shelf life of the fresh prepared meals. Fields of science natural sciencescomputer and information sciencesdatabasesnatural sciencescomputer and information sciencessoftwaresoftware applicationssystem softwarenatural sciencescomputer and information sciencesartificial intelligenceexpert systemsnatural sciencesbiological sciencesmicrobiologynatural sciencescomputer and information sciencessoftwaresoftware applicationssimulation software Programme(s) FP2-FLAIR - Multiannual research and development programme (EEC) in food science and technology (FLAIR), 1989-1993 Topic(s) Data not available Call for proposal Data not available Funding Scheme CSC - Cost-sharing contracts Coordinator Katholieke Universiteit Leuven EU contribution No data Address 92,Kardinaal Mercierlaan 3001 Heverlee Belgium See on map Total cost No data Participants (4) Sort alphabetically Sort by EU Contribution Expand all Collapse all Alma Universiteits Restaurants VZW Belgium EU contribution No data Address E. Van Evenstraat 2c 3000 Leuven See on map Total cost No data Institute of Food Research United Kingdom EU contribution No data Address Reading Laboratory Earley Gate Whiteknights Road RG6 2EF Reading See on map Total cost No data Optimum Ltd Greece EU contribution No data Address 177 Aristotelous Str 11251 Athens See on map Total cost No data University College Dublin Ireland EU contribution No data Address Agriculture Building, Belfield Dublin 4 See on map Total cost No data
