PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a heat sterilization device for heat sterilizing food in a packaging container by subjecting a sterilization tank to high temperature high pressure, and thereafter cooling the food, and preventing the packaging container from getting rusty in a sterilization process and preventing damage or transformation of the packaging container caused by an increase in a pressure difference of the inside and outside of the packaging container after heat sterilization.SOLUTION: The heat sterilization device includes: holding food in a packaging container, such as canned food and retort food followed by heat sterilizing the food in the packaging container and performing a cooling process of cooling an object 2 to be sterilized by jetting cooling water toward the object to be sterilized, after finishing a sterilization process of heat sterilizing the object 2 to be sterilized by keeping a sterilization tank 1 at high temperature high pressure. In more details, the heat sterilization device includes: performing cooling while repeating short time jetting of jetting cooling water for 1 s or below, and jetting pause of a longer time than a cooling water jetting time, and increasing a percentage of cooling water jetting when the cooling process progresses.COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT【課題】殺菌槽内を高温高圧として包装容器内食品の加熱殺菌を行い、その後に冷却を行う加熱殺菌装置において、殺菌工程時に包装容器がさびることを防止し、かつ加熱殺菌後に包装容器内外の圧力差が大きくなって包装容器が破損したり変形することを防止する。【解決手段】缶詰やレトルト食品など、食品を包装容器に収容した後に包装容器内の食品を加熱殺菌する加熱殺菌装置であって、殺菌槽1内を高温高圧に保つことで被殺菌物2を加熱殺菌する殺菌工程を終了すると、被殺菌物に向けて冷却水を噴射することで被殺菌物2を冷却する冷却工程を行うようにしている加熱殺菌装置において、冷却水の噴射を1秒以下の短時間噴射と、冷却水噴射時間よりも長い時間の噴射休止を繰り返しながら冷却を行う。また、冷却工程が進むと冷却水噴射の割合を大きくする。【選択図】図1
