A comparison study was carried out for thermal processing times and final product quality in three
different modes of retort operation. Still retort simulation, processing with horizontal reciprocating
agitation, and ResonantAcoustic Mixing (RAM) integrated processing were used to process banana puree
samples at different Bx (degree Brix) values (ranging from 16.6 to 41.5). Thermal processing times ranged
from 76.6 min to 90.7 min for still retort simulation, from 6.8 min to 76.5 min for processing with
horizontal reciprocating agitation, and from 4.3 min to 15.4 min for RAM integrated processing. While
a significant amount of reduction in thermal process times (up to 91%) was observed for processing with
horizontal reciprocating agitation for banana puree samples with a Bx value between 16.6 and 29.1, this
effectiveness dropped sharply (down to 16%) for samples with higher Bx values (33.2–41.5). For the RAM
integrated processing, the applied mixing technology was found to be effective in reducing the thermal
process times and provide high quality post-process products throughout the tested range of product
viscosities.