Infrared Heating in Food Processing: An Overview

TLDR

Infrared heating offers faster, more uniform, energy‑efficient processing with minimal quality loss and no solute migration, and is applicable to drying, baking, roasting, blanching, pasteurization, sterilization, and hybrid heating systems. This review examines the theoretical foundations of infrared heating and its interaction with food components. The authors discuss how IR influences food quality attributes across various samples and process parameters, and outline its applications in food processing and future research directions.

Abstract

ABSTRACT: Infrared (IR) heating provides significant advantages over conventional heating, including reduced heating time, uniform heating, reduced quality losses, absence of solute migration in food material, versatile, simple, and compact equipment, and significant energy saving. Infrared heating can be applied to various food processing operations, namely, drying, baking, roasting, blanching, pasteurization, and sterilization. Combinations of IR heating with microwave heating and other common conductive and convective modes of heating have been gaining momentum because of increased energy throughput. This article reviews aspects of IR heating and presents a theoretical basis for IR heat processing of food materials and the interaction of IR radiation with food components. The effect of IR on food quality attributes is discussed in the context of samples and process parameters. Applications of IR heating in food processing operations and future research potential are also reviewed.