~ 914 ~ The Pharma Innovation Journal 2021; 10(5): 914-918 ISSN (E): 2277- 7695 ISSN (P): 2349-8242 NAAS Rating: 5.23 TPI 2021; 10 (5): 914-918 © 2021 TPI www.thepharmajournal.com Received: 08-03-2021 Accepted: 12-04-2021 Sivamma P Dr. NTR College of Agricultural Engineering, ANGRAU, Bapatla, Andhra Pradesh, India Mounika E Dr. NTR College of Agricultural Engineering, ANGRAU, Bapatla, Andhra Pradesh, India Naga Hari Sairam N Dr. NTR College of Agricultural Engineering, ANGRAU, Bapatla, Andhra Pradesh, India Jagannadha Rao PVK Principal Scientist and Head, AICRP on PHET, RARS, Anakapalle, Andhra Pradesh, India Corresponding Author: Sivamma P Dr. NTR College of Agricultural Engineering, ANGRAU, Bapatla, Andhra Pradesh, India Applications of vacuum technology in food processing Sivamma P, Mounika E, Naga Hari Sairam N and Jagannadha Rao PVK Abstract Vacuum is absence of matter. Importance of vacuum is to remove trapped and dissolved gases in the food packaging which prevents the reaction with food constituents, to provide working force in conveying of food grains, to decrease thermal transfer for maintaining coolness/hotness of liquids, to increase the mean free path to a useful dimension which is used in coating of equipment. Vacuum is used in many food processing applications such as packaging, filtration, conveying, cooling, freeze drying, frying, roasting, mixing, distillation, drying and evaporation. Keywords: vacuum technology, food processing 1. Introduction Vacuum is space devoid of matter. The word stems from the Latin adjective vacuus for "vacant" or "void". Vacuum is a region with a gaseous pressure much less than atmospheric pressure. Democritus (460 to 375 BC) is considered as father of vacuum. Evangelista Torricelli produced the first laboratory vacuum in 1643 and the experiment uses a simple barometer filled with mercury, then inverted on the dish full of mercury which causes the mercury in the tube to fall down until the difference between mercury on the surface and in the tube is about 760 mm. Vacuum pump was invented in 1650 by Otto Von Guericke. In the 17 th century, Denis Papin carried out new research into preserving food using vacuum packaging. During 1920 in the United States, the first pieces of vacuum packed meat became available (Jousten, 2016) [9] . Fig 1: Torricelli laboratory Fig 2: Vacuum pump Vacuum experiment Table 1: Pressure ranges of each quality of vacuum in different units Vacuum quality Torr Pa Atmosphere Atmospheric pressure 760 1.013×10 5 1 Low vacuum 760 to 25 1×10 5 to 3×10 3 9.87×10 -1 to 3×10 -2 Medium vacuum 25 to 1×10 -3 3×10 3 to 1×10 -1 3×10 -2 to 9.87×10 -7 High vacuum 1×10 -3 to 1×10 -9 1×10 -1 to 1×10 -7 9.87×10 -7 to 9.87×10 -13 Ultra high vacuum 1×10 -9 to 1×10 -12 1×10 -7 to 1×10 -10 9.87×10 -13 to 9.87×10 -16 Extremely high vacuum < 1×10 -12 < 1×10 -10 < 9.87×10 -16 Outer space 1×10 -6 to < 1×10 -17 1×10 -4 to < 3×10 -15 9.87×10 -10 to < 2.96×10 -20 Perfect vacuum 0 0 0