Abstract: A method for preparing a sterilized liquid cooking sauce comprises the steps of: (a) mixing ingredients for liquid cooking sauces to form a liquid cooking sauce; (b) transferring the resulting sauce to a tubular sterilization means; (c) heating the sauce in the tubular sterilization means to thus sterilize the sauce; (d) establishing a back pressure within the sterilization means; and (e) packaging the sterilized sauce in containers; wherein the steps (c) to (e) are carried out while maintaining asceptic conditions and the pressure difference between the inlet and the outlet of the sterilization step is equal to 10 kg/cm2 or less. The method permits the preparation of a high quality sterilized liquid cooking sauce which shows small or no reduction of its viscosity and does not cause any color change.

Abstract: A method for sterilizing and packing a solid food comprises the steps of charging a solid food in a retainer, whose upper portion is opened, in a layer having an approximately uniform thickness, sterilizing the retainer through heating, cooling it with cooling air and/or cooling water, transferring the solid food contained in the retainer to a sterilized packaging container and then aseptically sealing the container. The method permits efficient and rapid heating and cooling of a solid food because of the direct contact between steam or cooling air and/or cooling water and the food without causing a problem such that the packaging container becomes dirty during the sterilization through heating and does not give out any remaining bad smell. Therefore, excess softening and/or destruction of the solid foods as well as any deterioration thereof due to decomposition and alteration of the nutritive substances and flavoring substances present therein can thus be limited to the lowest possible level.

Abstract: A food sterilizing apparatus has a simple configuration and can completely and efficiently sterilize food. The food sterilizing apparatus is designed to sterilize food contained in rigid food containers and comprises a food supplying section, a linear cylindrical heater, a linear cylindrical cooler and a discharge section, each having inlet and outlet ports arranged respectively at the upstream and downstream ends thereof, any two adjacent ones of said component sections being connected in parallel or rectangularly with each other at the respective outlet and inlet ports thereof with a sealing gate interposed therebetween, said component sections being further provided with respective pushers disposed at the upstream end thereof for moving rigid food containers downstream, each of said pushers having a stroke at least equal to the width of a rigid container.

Abstract: Sterilized and packaged mineral water comprises sterilized mineral water having a hardness of not less than 50 mg/l and a content of dissolved carbonic acid gas ranging from 9 to 30 mg/l (as calcium carbonate) and a number of bacteria of not more than 10.sup.-3 /ml which is obtained by sterilizing pumped-up mineral water having a hardness of not less than 50 mg/l and a content of dissolved carbonic acid gas ranging from 10 to 31 mg/l by filtering through a filter having a pore size of not more than 0.22 .mu.m. The packaged and sterilized mineral water can be effectively prepared by a method which comprises packaging pumped-up mineral water in a container without subjecting it to any heat-sterilization treatment wherein the mineral water is sterilized by passing through a filter having a pore size of not more than 0.22 .mu.m, packaged in a sterilized container under an aseptic condition of not more than Class 100 and then the container is airtight-sealed.