An infra-red heat disinfestation unit for foodstuffs.

Disinfestation of milled and whole grains has been studied employing
infra-red heat treatment of the materials and a time-tempera·
ture product of 600~Centigrade·minutestandardized as the optimum
requirement for the purpose. A continuous heat disinfestation
unit has been designed using a battery of infra-red bulbs to heat up
a rotating stainless sted tube through which the material is fed. Theoptimum
conditions for efficient heat disinfestation of groundnut,
jowar, Bengal gram dhal. cotton·seed and Indian multipurpose food
are reported.
Infra·red heating possesses :many advantages over conventional
methods of heating such as speed of operation, simplicity of oven
construction, flexibility of control, instant starting and stopping
facilities and low initial and operating cost.