Food pasteurization system vacuum breaker

Claim 1

A food pasteurization system including a raw material supply connected by a conduit to a pasteurization unit connected to a processed food holding tank, and a vacuum breaker positioned in said conduit between said supply and holding tank wherein the improvement includes said vacuum breaker comprising: a valve body having a vertical passageway extending therethrough, between said conduit at its lower end and a chamber in communication with the atmosphere at its upper end, a valve seat in said passageway, said chamber having a normal pressure approximately equal to the atmospheric pressure, said valve body having oppositely disposed annular flanges at its lower and upper ends, said upper end including an annular channel having a drain opening in communication with the atmosphere and positioned at least as low as the upper end of said passageway whereby all material flowing upwardly through said passageway from said conduit is drained from said annular channel, a cover having said chamber therein and an annular flange positioned on the upper end of said valve body with said cover flange matingly engaging said upper end valve body flange and locking means releasably locking said cover and upper body flanges together and said conduit having an annular flange in mating engagement with the valve body lower end annular flange and locking means releasably locking said conduit and lower end valve body annular flange together, a valve element movable between open and closed position in said passageway with said valve element engaging said valve seat when said element is in said closed position, and a spring engaging said valve element for normally closing said passageway but allowing the valve element to move to an open position when pressure in said conduit is reduced relative to said atmospheric pressure thereby allowing air pressure equalization to occur in said conduit.