What’s in your meat?

STATE-OF-THE-ART AUTOMATED SOLUTION HELPING MEAT PROCESSING PLANTS MORE ACCURATELY INSPECT FOR SAFETY AND QUALITY

By Sean Tarry

Forthose operating within the meat processing sector, there are few things more important than ensuring the safety and quality of the product that leaves their facilities on their way to store shelves. Perhaps the most critical aspect of providing this assurance for consumers is possessing the ability to identify foreign materials in the meat that’s being processed. However, it’s increasingly becoming just as important to be able to confirm the quality of the product as well. In fact, according to Heather Galt, VP, Customer Experience and Strategy at P&P Optica—a developer and provider of proven automated solutions for meat processing plant inspections—it’s the single biggest potential differentiator among competitors, and of utmost importance in the minds of consumers.

“Finding anything in a product as a consumer can be extremely off-putting,” she asserts. “And, when a company has to make the announcement of an unfortunate recall, there is often quite a bit of negative exposure, especially when it's caused by the presence of foreign materials. So, this is an area of paramount importance for meat processors, both from a detection and prevention perspective. It’s an ongoing priority for the industry whose operators are constantly looking for newer, more effective ways to keep foreign materials out of their stream of products with a focus on ensuring that clean product leaves their doors on their way to stores and eventually the consumers’ home.”

Smart Imaging System

It also happens to be an area of intense focus for P&P Optica and the technology-enabled equipment that it develops for use by those operating within the meat processing industry. The company’s patented Smart Imaging System, which combines hyperspectral imaging, artificial intelligence and machine learning, is able to identify the chemical composition of products in-stream while detecting the presence of low-density foreign materials as well. It’s a ground-breaking advancement within the realm of meat inspection that Galt says stands P&P Optica apart from others within the inspection solution space.

“Processors understand that foreign materials, especially those of low-density like plastics, are really hard to find within their product with existing solutions,” she explains. “X-rays are able to spot high-density materials, and metal detectors can detect metal. But there are a lot of other materials within processing plants that can go undetected, even with those solutions in place. Because we use chemistry we’re able to identify each and every piece of foreign material within a meat product, regardless of its composition.”

An incredibly powerful tool

Galt goes on to explain that by combining hyperspectral imaging, artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies to understand the chemical composition of meats, it also enables processors to control the quality of their product as well. For instance, P&P Optica’s technology is able to identify muscle myopathies like woody breast in chicken, while measuring a meat’s lean point, moisture, pH level and more. And, it’s all done in-stream, in real-time, without compromising the detection of foreign materials.

“Because our system is equipped to detect foreign materials and assess quality characteristics at the same time, collecting and processing an unparalleled amount of information concerning food chemistry, in real time, it makes it an incredibly powerful tool for processors.”

Leveraging data

Beyond the actual inspection for foreign materials and analysis of chemistry composition of product, during which P&P Optica’s Smart Imaging System makes over 16 million decisions every minute, identifying issues in real time, pixel by pixel, it’s continuously learning and improving. Driven by machine learning, performance of the system is constantly optimizing for faster, more accurate results. And, incidents that are captured by the company’s system are stored and presented in PPO Insights—a dashboard where users of the solution can review and analyze particulars concerning their plant’s inspections. It’s all part of what Galt refers to as a “comprehensive suite” of inspection services made possible by P&P Optica’s advanced system.

“Certainly for meat processors, our system offers all of the capabilities they require in order to ensure that their name is consistently on a foreign-material-free, top quality product,” she says. “It also dramatically reduces the chance of a recall becoming necessary, saving the credibility of companies and enhancing the perception of their brands in the minds of their consumers. In the end, satisfying the consumer and ensuring an excellent and safe product is the objective for those working within the meat processing industry. And, given the increased expectations of today’s consumer, those processors who can do this most consistently will differentiate themselves from their competitors who cannot.”

Digitizing and automating

Given the range of benefits that P&P Optica’s Smart Imaging System offers its users, it’s easy to understand the confidence with which Galt speaks of its capabilities and possibilities. And, looking ahead, she’s just as optimistic about the plans the company has to broaden its focus and the extent of the technology’s potential where food safety and quality is concerned, suggesting that the system will soon provide even greater use and benefits for the industry.

“One of the most important parts of our strategy moving forward is to take that chemical data that we get from the facilities that we’re working with and help them use it beyond the incident itself. If a piece of plastic is found on the line, the priority is to remove it. The next priority is to ensure that the same incident doesn’t happen again by learning how to better manage suppliers and processes, and by identifying patterns that suggest areas for improvement and figuring out ways those improvements can be made. It’s how processors can start to digitize their plants, use more automation and leverage the resulting data to continue making enhancements to their operations.”

A fresh peel

The Wyma Vege-Peeler peels a variety of vegetables that are auger-fed into a drum and sprayed with either fresh or recycled water. With custom-designed brushes that can be adjusted to control speed, peeling action is accurate and effective. Yielding losses as low as 5 per cent on certain vegetables, the Vege-Peeler improves the appearance of fresh vegetables, resulting in more premium packed produce and an increased presence on retailers’ shelves.

www.wymasolutions.com/

Compact and portable depositor

Featuring an ergonomic hand-held nozzle with food grade hose, small footprint and 4” swivel castors, sanitary, all-stainless-steel construction, and optional tray to keep your buckets off the floor, the Unifiller iSpot Depositor is userfriendly, compact, portable and versatile. In addition, cleaning it is quick and easy, making product changeover more efficient.

www.unifiller.com/

Starch yield maximizing rasper

Given that the yield of a rasper determines to a large extent the overall yield of an entire starch operation, the SiccaDania rasper has been designed to efficiently rupture cell walls, yielding the maximum amount of starch from the root. The product obtained after the rasper can be considered a mixture of pulp fibres, fruit juice and starch, making rasping a one-pass operation.

https://siccadania.com/

Precise pumping

Provisur Technologies’ www.provisur.com/en/

Weiler AccuPump is a positive displacement, lobe style pump designed to quickly and precisely feed chub packaging and loafportioning machines. As its name implies, it is precisionengineered to provide accurate targeted weights by reducing product giveaway. Its gentle, lowtemperature positive pumping action preserves particle definition and protects product quality. Two models are available to suit capacity needs.

Production amplifying pepperoni peeler

Ushering in a new era in pepperoni peeling, the Kohler Automatic Peeler separates meat sticks from their casings in the blink of an eye. Best suited for use with long sticks of pepperoni, salami, and sausage, a quick release system allows for continuous, non-stop peeling within an entirely hands-off process from start to finish.

www.kohlerindustries.com/

Custom-designed homogenizer

Custom-designed to each specific use-case, Anderson Dahlen SPX Gaulin Homogenizers can be used across a wide range of materials, with a spectrum of pressures up to 8,700 psi. These tailored homogenizers serve to meet safety and efficiency needs, whether working in biotech, food, dairy, chemical, pharma, cosmetics, or other industries.

https://andersondahlen.com/

A clean take on conveyor systems

Tri Mach’s Ever-Kleen Sanitary Conveyor Systems are passive transfer conveyors that are easy to disassemble and clean, resulting in increased productivity and the highest levels of food safety. Conveyor systems are custom-designed and fabricated to suit exact specifications and are easily integrated with existing equipment to help improve operational efficiencies.

www.tri-mach.com/

Kneading help?

ROSS/AMK Kneader Extruders combine the efficiency of a double arm sigma blade mixer with the convenience of an extrusion screw for the mixing and discharging of heavy viscous materials exceeding 10 million cP. During the mixing cycle the blades rotate toward each other while the mixing constantly feeds new materials into the mixing blades. After the mixing/kneading cycle is complete, the screw directions are reversed to extrude the finished product from the mix zone out through a discharge die and on to further processing or packaging. www.mixers.com/

What a grind

MPBS Industries’ TALSA W130-U2 Commercial Meat Grinder features stainless steel construction, removable stainless-steel head, feed screw, and ring, a feed screw extraction wrench, lubricated metallic gearbox, sealed base, thermally protected motor and safety switch under the tray, taking the grind out of meat grinding. https://mpbs.com/

Boom… roasted!

Heat and Control’s Rotary Dryer Roaster is a high volume, energy-efficient continuous multi-zone convection system that provides optimal drying/ roasting in a gentle, and sanitary manner. First-in, first-out production and even heating with a smart, step-spiral, and flighted drum design achieves uniform drying and roasting. Ideal for use with nuts and dough-coated nuts, seeds, jerky, meat chips and protein-based snacks, pet treats, pellet snacks and pork rinds. www.heatandcontrol.com/