The objective of this study was to utilize a multiobjective optimization technique for the thermal sterilization of packaged foods. The multiobjective optimization approach used in this study is based on the optimization of well-known aggregating functions by an adaptive random search algorithm. The applicability of the proposed approach was illustrated by solving widely used multiobjective test problems taken from the literature. The numerical results obtained for the multiobjective test problems and for the thermal processing problem show that the proposed approach can be effectively used for solving multiobjective optimization problems arising in the food engineering field.

The objective of this study was to propose a multi-criteria optimization and decision-making technique to solve food engineering problems. This technique was demonstrated using experimental data obtained on osmotic dehydration of carrot cubes in a sodium chloride solution. The Aggregating Functions Approach, the Adaptive Random Search Algorithm, and the Penalty Functions Approach were used in this study to compute the initial set of non-dominated or Pareto-optimal solutions. Multiple non-linear regression analysis was performed on a set of experimental data in order to obtain particular multi-objective functions (responses), namely water loss, solute gain, rehydration ratio, three different colour criteria of rehydrated product, and sensory evaluation (organoleptic quality). Two multi-criteria decision-making approaches, the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and the Tabular Method (TM), were used simultaneously to choose the best alternative among the set of non-dominated solutions. The multi-criteria optimization and decision-making technique proposed in this study can facilitate the assessment of criteria weights, giving rise to a fairer, more consistent, and adequate final compromised solution or food process. This technique can be useful to food scientists in research and education, as well as to engineers involved in the improvement of a variety of food engineering processes.

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