Fish Products and Byproducts Technology

Unit 1 - Principles of Fish Preservation

1.5.5. Canning and Retort pouch packaging
The preservative effect in both the cases is mainly by subjecting the products in hermetically sealed containers / pouches, to high temperatures in order to bring the commercial sterility, where most of the microorganisms cannot survive, except highly heat stable spore formers. In this method the products are heated to high temperatures (121^oC) for certain time with the intention of achieving commercial sterility to avoid the risk of pathogens and toxins, mainly Clostridium botulinum, which is a high heat resistant spore forming and toxin producing bacteria occurs in canned foods.