ABSTRACT
Ohmic heating is sometimes referred to as Joule heating, electrical resistance heating, direct electrical resistance heating, electro-heating or electro-conductive heating. Since the late 1980s, ohmic heating technology has become more attractive again, partially due to the availability of improved electrode materials and designs. Moreover, the ohmic heating system can be incorporated with an aseptic filling and packaging system into complete product sterilization or cooking process. According to the principle of ohmic heating, the heat generation rate in the center of food materials is proportional to the square of the electric field strength and electrical conductivity of food materials. For food mixture, it is expected that the electrical conductivities of respective multicomponent or phase are largely matching each other, which can make a uniform temperature distribution in food during ohmic heating process. Static ohmic heating process is regarded as a special condition of continuous ohmic heating processing when the flow rate is zero.
