Double-sided pan-frying of unfrozen/frozen hamburgers for microbial safety using modelling and simulation

The predictive mathematical heat and mass (water and fat) transfer models for the double-sided pan-frying of unfrozen and frozen hamburger patties were developed and validated against experimental data. The simulation results demonstrated the inactivation of Escherichia coli O157:H7, Listeria innocua, and Salmonella serotypes within patties during cooking. The effects of various patty thickness and pan temperature on safe process time were analyzed. For a safe patty, double-sided pan-frying with 160 °C pan temperature is recommended due to its faster cooking and better microbial safety. The cooking times for double-sided pan-frying of frozen and unfrozen patties are approximately 293 and 115 s, respectively. The increase in heating temperature resulted in higher rates of patty centre temperature increase and water and fat losses, and decreased the process time for 12 log reductions of microorganisms. An increase in the thickness of the patty resulted in an increased process time.