Food refrigeration and thermal processing at Langford, UK: 32 years of research

Investigations were started on a programme of research in September 1967 into meat refrigeration at the new Meat Research Institute under construction at Langford, near Bristol. Over 32 years later, this programme, now extended to cover the refrigeration and thermal processing of all foods, continues on the same site under the auspices of the University of Bristol's Food Refrigeration and Process Engineering Research Centre (FRPERC). This review describes the development of food engineering research on heat and mass transfer processes. The programme of experimental and theoretical studies has resulted in over 600 publications covering chilling, freezing, thawing, tempering, storage, transport, display, cooking, reheating, pasteurization and decontamination of foods.