Preserving food in cans was introduced in the early 1800’s. The technology is so mature that consumers today can purchase a pressure cooker to preserve their own products. A saturated steam process is basically a very large pressure cooker typically ranging in diameter from 1300mm-1800mm (52”-72”) with lengths that can exceed 12 meters (40’). When applicable, the saturated steam retort is the simplest and least expensive retort to build, but it is limited on the types of containers that will work due to its inability to use overpressure during the heating phases of the batch. The product range for saturated steam processes involves canned products that do not require agitation (defined as a “Static” or “Still” process) including vegetables, canned proteins (chicken, pork, beef, seafood), and petfood.

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