Rethermalization

Rethermalization (regeneration) is the act of re-heating food to safe service temperatures for consumption. Often used in healthcare foodservices, rethermlaization of food is done in many ways and is dependent on the food production methods, size of facility, patient needs, and style of service. [ [http://www.rethermsystems.com/retherm-regen-systems.htm Retherm & Regen Systems - Rethermalization - www.rethermsystems.com ] ]

For retherm or regen to occur, there must first be cold food which can be the result of a specific food production orientation such as cook chill. Methods of Rethermalization:

To rethermalize or regenerate foods there are a number of acceptable methods and practices. These are:

• Microwave – in healthcare food services, microwaves are used to heat individual meals or components of an entire meal. This can be part of a normal meal service or as a method of preparing late trays for new admissions or diet changes. While the convenience of microwave heating is seen as beneficial to healthcare professionals, the overall food quality outcome is suspect and the uneven reheating can be viewed as a food safety concern.

• Hot Water Bath – in healthcare food services, hot water baths are normally used to bring cold foods to serving temperature and hold them at this temperature for prolonged times during a meal service. While the foods in this case are rethermalized, they are more than likely to be used in what is called a conventional meal service that involves a hot trayline or last minute meal assembly upon patient order. This style of rethermalization is very acceptable for sauces and soups but there are risks of nutrient loss, quality of taste, and food safety.

• Convection of Combination Oven – in healthcare food services these ovens are used to cook foods as well as retherm pre-cooked and chilled foods. Here, most facilities use these types of ovens to reheat bulk foods so that they can be portioned at a hot trayline or food counter for patient meal trays.

• Conduction Rethermalization Oven – in healthcare food services, conduction ovens are used to reheat chilled meal components that may have been portioned cold onto plates prior to meal service in accordance with indvidual patient needs. Conduction reheating uses a hot surface that will heat up a china plate for example, in turn heating chilled food. In this style of reheating a considerable amount of moisture is released by food and can be captured by plate lids that cover the food. If, while in hospital, you lift a lid from your meal plate and lots of water drips from the plate lid, there is a high probability that a conduction meal retherm system was used to reheat your meal.

• Thermoconvection Rethermalization Oven – in healthcare food services, chilled meal components can be reheated using convection heat which is very similar to the original way the food was cooked in the first place. The meal components to be reheated are exposed to high velocity hot air in a confined space or oven cavity over a specific amount of time. At the close of a retherm cycle, the food is now hot and ready for service. Many types, if not all tyoes, of foods can be rethermed in convection heating systems with little moisture loss or scorching.

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