Vacuum cooling is a rapid evaporative cooling method for
porous and moisture foods to meet the special cooling
requirements. Vacuum cooling has been used as an effective
method for pre-cooling certain type of horticultural
products such as vegetables and fruits to prolong their storage
life by reducing post-harvest thermal deterioration.
Vacuum cooling has also been successfully applied to the
processing procedures for some foods such as liquid and
baked foods to improve the processing efficiency by shortening
the cooling time. Recent research has highlighted the
feasibility of vacuum cooling for cooked meats, fishery products
and ready meals, for which rapid cooling is beneficial
to controlling growth of micro-organisms and preserving
quality of the products