First Edition, March 1994 - Thermal sterilisation is a process aimed at eliminating the risk of food poisoning and, when used in conjunction with aseptic filling, it aims to extend product storage life under ambient conditions. This is achieved by the destruction of vegetative micro-organisms and relevant bacterial spores. Liquid foods containing particulates are inherently more difficult to process than homogenous liquids due to heat transfer limitations in particulate liquid mixtures and the additional problems of transport and handling. This paper presents guidelines on the design of continuous and semicontinuous plants for the heat treatment of particulate foods. Ohmic heating techniques are not covered. See also Doc 1 on continuous pasteurisation and Doc 6 on sterilisation of liquid products without particles.