o:8578 Fulfilling the requirements for exporting fish meat products (tuna pâté) to the United States market en The objective of this work was to ensure all necessary prerequisites for exporting canned fish meat (tuna pâté) to the United States market are met. To accomplish this, thermocou- ple measurements were conducted during sterilization in the autoclave to validate the heat treatment process. Initially, a temperature distribution study was carried out during regular production, followed by a heat penetration study. In both cases, the success criteria were satisfied. The temperature distribution was monitored using nine thermocouple probes, and within one minute after the holding time (come up time), the temperature at all measured points in the autoclave medium exceeded 120°C. For the heat penetration study, eleven probes were used, eight placed in the thermal centre of the cans and three in the autoclave medium. All probes located at the thermal centre achieved F0 values ranging from 6.88 to 8.56 minutes, confirming the safety and effectiveness of the sterilization process for tuna pâté intended for export to the United States. Sterilization, US import, Tuna pâté, Thermal distribution study, Heat penetration study 1552099 10.18485/meattech.2025.66.3.9 2025-12-03T08:28:41.115Z 44 yes 46 Mladen Rašeta Institute for Meat Hygiene and Technology, Kaćanskog 13, 11040 Belgrade, Serbia Fulfilling the requirements for exporting fish meat products (tuna pâté) to the United States market https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9860-6681 Ivana Branković Lazić Institute for Meat Hygiene and Technology, Kaćanskog 13, 11040 Belgrade, Serbia Fulfilling the requirements for exporting fish meat products (tuna pâté) to the United States market person https://orcid.org/0009-0005-5844-9278 Radivoj Petronijević Institute for Meat Hygiene and Technology, Kaćanskog 13, 11040 Belgrade, Serbia Fulfilling the requirements for exporting fish meat products (tuna pâté) to the United States market person https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3901-3824 Becskei Zsolt University of Belgrade, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Bulevar Oslobođenja 18, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia Fulfilling the requirements for exporting fish meat products (tuna pâté) to the United States market person https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8724-5892 Jelena Jovanović Institute for Meat Hygiene and Technology, Kaćanskog 13, 11040 Belgrade, Serbia Fulfilling the requirements for exporting fish meat products (tuna pâté) to the United States market person https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0301-729X Boris Mrdović Institute for Meat Hygiene and Technology, Kaćanskog 13, 11040 Belgrade, Serbia Fulfilling the requirements for exporting fish meat products (tuna pâté) to the United States market person https://orcid.org/0009-0006-9964-4317 Mirjana Lukić Institute for Meat Hygiene and Technology, Kaćanskog 13, 11040 Belgrade, Serbia Fulfilling the requirements for exporting fish meat products (tuna pâté) to the United States market person https://orcid.org/0009-0001-7749-864X application/pdf 1206519 https://unilib.phaidrabg.rs/o:8578 no yes 19 70 92000001 71A01 Meat technology - Special Issue 66/3 2025 1-576 66 3 61 69 Kaćanskog 13, 11 000 Belgrade Institute of Meat Hygiene and Technology 2025-12-01 www.journalmeattechnology.com