ABSTRACT
Traditionally, food materials undergo a heat treatment step to achieve pasteurization or sterilization condition. However, due to exposure to high temperature, there is a significant loss in the sensory and nutritional quality of the food. By reducing the total thermal energy supplied, quality changes due to temperature can be minimized. Infrared (IR) radiation heating is an efficient form of applying heat compared to conventional heating as it results in energy reduction of up to 245% (Afzal et al., 1999). IR heating also gained popularity due to its higher thermal efficiency and fast heating rate/response time in comparison to conventional heating (Krishnamurthy et al., 2008).
