Fulfilling the requirements for exporting fish meat products (tuna pâté) to the United States market

Mladen Rašeta; Ivana Branković-Lazić; Radivoj Petronijević; Becskei Zsolt; Jelena Jovanović; Boris Mrdović; Mirjana Lukić

doi:10.18485/meattech.2025.66.3.9

Mladen Rašeta Institute of Meat Hygiene and Technology, Belgrade, Serbia https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9860-6681
Ivana Branković-Lazić Institute of Meat Hygiene and Technology, Belgrade, Serbia https://orcid.org/0009-0005-5844-9278
Radivoj Petronijević Institute of Meat Hygiene and Technology, Belgrade, Serbia https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3901-3824
Becskei Zsolt University of Belgrade, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Belgrade, Serbia https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8724-5892
Jelena Jovanović Institute of Meat Hygiene and Technology, Belgrade, Serbia https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0301-729X
Boris Mrdović Institute of Meat Hygiene and Technology, Belgrade, Serbia https://orcid.org/0009-0006-9964-4317
Mirjana Lukić Institute of Meat Hygiene and Technology, Belgrade, Serbia https://orcid.org/0009-0001-7749-864X

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18485/meattech.2025.66.3.9

Keywords: sterilization, US import, tuna pâté, thermal distribution study, heat penetration study

Abstract

The objective of this work was to ensure all necessary prerequisites for exporting canned fish meat (tuna pâté) to the United States market are met. To accomplish this, thermocouple measurements were conducted during sterilization in the autoclave to validate the heat treatment process. Initially, a temperature distribution study was carried out during regular production, followed by a heat penetration study. In both cases, the success criteria were satisfied. The temperature distribution was monitored using nine thermocouple probes, and within one minute after the holding time (come up time), the temperature at all measured points in the autoclave medium exceeded 120°C. For the heat penetration study, eleven probes were used, eight placed in the thermal centre of the cans and three in the autoclave medium. All probes located at the thermal centre achieved F₀ values ranging from 6.88 to 8.56 minutes, confirming the safety and effectiveness of the sterilization process for tuna pâté intended for export to the United States.