21 minute read
FOOD PROCESSING TECHNOLOGY
Providing the ultimate efficiency
solutions for food production
As the global effort to constantly produce food in more efficient and safer methods continues at pace, BCH rises to meet these challenges by constantly improving their equipment capabilities. BCH has multiple systems installed across the African continent delivering these benefits.
COOKING
The BCH range of cooking processes allow the user to cook products in atmospheric, vacuum or pressure conditions, all of which can be combined into one system to gain maximum flexibility, if required.
The BCH FlexiChef recipe management system can deliver cooking sequences where the heating jacket can automatically switch between surface temperatures on each individual stage, which not only saves energy, but it also allows the user to process more complex recipes in the fastest times. BCH’s clients rely heavily on traceability and that’s where their reporting system assists with recording all times, weights and temperatures by stage as well as showing trends throughout the process.
Atmospheric cooking often benefits from steam injection cooking when there is a requirement for rapid heating and/or a need to avoid the risk of damage from a steam jacket. The application of steam directly gives the best heat transfer co-efficient, whereby all the energy is consumed by the product.
Vacuum cooking allows the product to be cooked at lower pressure/temperatures and is often used for the preparation of jams, preserves, chutneys, candies and caramels. It is also extensively used when the process requires a reduction cook to a specific solids percentage or weight, such as when concentrated stocks are being manufactured.
The pressure-cooking process is particularly designed for products such as pie fillings, ragus, stews, curries and ‘long-cook’ vegetable processes. Typically, a four-hour cook can be completed in 75min creating huge savings in time, cost, labour and energy.
The adaptability and cooking speed of BCH’s latest range of steam jacketed pressure cookers coupled with their ability to mix and cook simultaneously, enables customers to produce a high-quality finished food product in exceptionally fast times. With methods such as steam jacketed open kettles or steam injection, large amounts of additional water are added to the product and then evaporated off again, which can be costly when energy and water usage are a significant consideration. Pressure cooking retains moisture and locks in the flavour and nutrients, which can sometimes be lost during atmospheric or steam injection cooking. It also guarantees that the entire contents of the kettle have been cooked evenly at the same temperature for the time specified in the recipe. This pressure method also improves processing times with vegetarian options, such as pulses, beans and chickpeas.
BCH systems offer a unique horizontal style agitation that gives exceptional particulate distribution and mixing during the cooking process, keeping the particulates in suspension before and during transfer to the next process.
COOLING
BCH can offer several types of cooling such as scraped surface units and pouch cooling tumble chillers. However, the addition of a BCH vacuum cooling system ensures a complete high-performance system, providing the fastest and most effective means of heat removal from a batch process. Their vacuum cooling solutions can typically cool products from 90°C down to 5°C within 45min without the need for expensive refrigeration used on scrape surface, pouch and the traditional blast chilling rooms. A vacuum cooling system operates at around 30% of the refrigeration costs and it can be supplied with a seal water recovery system, thus reducing operating costs further. The speed of cooling in a sealed environment offers excellent food safety attributes and swift passage through the temperature danger zone.
The combination of BCH cooking and vacuum cooling into one complete system means you can guarantee foods are cooked and cooled rapidly with repeatability and food safety while benefitting from a smaller footprint with reduced labour and energy costs. •
High pressure processing: healthier, additive-free and more sustainable products
The demand for minimally processed foods has been rapidly increasing around the world, and the continent of Africa is no stranger to this trend. Here’s a closer look at this trend.
CONSUMERS ARE LOOKING for natural, nutritious, additive-free ingredients without excessive heating. This trend is motivated by the consumer’s new consciousness, since the consumer is now more aware of the effects of excessive heat in food that can often damage the ingredients and lead to a sensorial and nutritional loss. Therefore, the food industry has been adapting to this challenge, and in recent years, there have been multiples advances in the development of innovative non-thermal preservation techniques.
In this context, High Pressure Processing (HPP) stands out as the most efficient technique for food processing. HPP is a food and beverage non-thermal preservation technology that applies highhydrostatic pressure (600MPa) for some seconds or minutes to packaged products. It is synonymous with:
• Minimally processed products
The nutritional and organoleptic characteristics of food products are kept intact, maintaining the freshness of the original product.
• Longer shelf-life
From a few days up to weeks or even months, under refrigeration conditions, reducing the use of preservatives such as salt.
• Guarantee of food safety
The inactivation of spoilage pathogens and microorganisms (lactic acid bacteria,
yeasts and moulds) guarantees high sensorial quality.
• Wide variety of products
It can be applied in traditional sectors such as juices and beverages, avocado products (guacamole), meat (sliced deli meats, dry-cured products) or seafood to more trendy categories like ready-toeat meals, plant-based dips (hummus), baby food or wet pet food.
• Development of plant-based products
The increased concern for health and for the effects of meat production on the environment and animal welfare has led to the rise of plant-based products, along with HPP technology as its main ally. In addition, since it is a non-thermal preservation method, which inactivates pathogenic and spoilage microorganisms in already packaged products (avoiding the risk of cross-contamination), it offers producers a solution for the development of clean label foods. This technology helps meet the growing demand for cleaner label products. In fact, now, up to 70% of consumers are likely to seek out products that meet clean label requirements: no chemical additives, present a simple and recognisable ingredient list and have been minimally processed.
Contact Hiperbaric to know more about the use of HPP to develop healthier foods and the multiple benefits that this technology can provide to companies and products. •
To watch a video about Hiperbaric High Pressure Processing In-Pack, visit the digmag.
Moira´s products processed in a Hiperbaric unit
Hiperbaric - www.hiperbaric.com
Green beans being sorted in the Tomra 5B
Helping vegetable processors achieve food safety and product quality
Guaranteeing food safety. Protecting brand reputations. Complying with product specifications. Minimising food waste. Maximising yields. Protecting profitability. There are too many challenges for the growers, processors and packers of fresh, fresh-cut, canned, frozen and dried vegetables.
THE CHALLENGES THAT food producers, growers and packers face would be so much easier if foreign materials didn’t get mixed up with freshly harvested vegetables, if every batch of vegetables didn’t contain sub-standard product and if the presence of these unwanted materials on the processing line weren’t sometimes almost impossible to detect.
Worse still, these challenges are intensifying because the market is changing. Increasing demand for both fresh and frozen vegetables - a trend accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic - puts processors under more pressure to handle greater volumes at higher throughputs. It is also increasing demand for organic foods - expected to rise by 50% in the next five years - which means that more vegetables grown without pesticides or herbicides are arriving at processors mixed up with toxic weeds, vermin and insects.
The good news is that optical sorting machines can deal with all these challenges. Thanks to ongoing technical developments and innovations by Tomra Food, there are highly effective sorting solutions for every type of vegetable product.
What’s more, in addition to ensuring food safety and product quality, today’s sorters also deliver a multitude of other benefits. They grade to specification, increase removal efficiency, minimise false rejects, reduce the need for manual intervention, help solve labour problems (scarcity, cost, effectiveness, knowledge and training), reduce line downtime, and - through the Tomra Insight cloud-based data platform - provide valuable data about the product sorted. Through all of these capabilities, sorters improve sustainability by cutting food waste while enhancing yields and profits.
PRE-SORTING FOR FOREIGN MATERIALS AND CRITICAL DEFECTS
You name it, and in a load of freshly harvested vegetables, you’re likely to find it. Clods of earth, rocks, stones, sticks, stalks, vines, toxic weeds, field mice, plastic bottles, fragments of glass - all of these things and others get mixed in with vegetables delivered to processing lines. The extent of this problem varies with crop type and field location, but there’s no getting away from it.
This necessitates pre-sorting to remove foreign materials before the vegetables are fed onto the processing line. The more it is possible to sort out at this preliminary stage, the less it will be necessary to do later, enhancing throughputs. Tomra offers four different optical sorters for vegetable presorting: the Sentinel II, Halo, Tomra 3A
and Tomra 5A. The Tomra 3A is used mostly for unwashed potatoes (and unpeeled onions), which we’re not considering here, but we’ll take a look at the other three machines.
The Sentinel II combines Tomra’s pulsed LED/sensor arrays with a simple
user interface to remove a broad range of foreign materials, rodents, defects, discolouration, damage and undersize product. The Sentinel II’s superior technical specification enables it to outperform competitors in sorting efficiency and sorting capacity. With three different sizes giving a wide capacity range, it’s ideal for seasonal and year-round processors.
Also popular for pre-sorting many types of whole vegetables is the Halo, a high-performance machine that sorts according to size, shape and quality. The Halo uses top and bottom sensor banks to view each individual object in flight using a combination of LED, CCD camera and near-infrared. This performs targeted spectroscopy to 1mm precision. The Halo is suitable for carrots, beets and onions as well as fresh pack carrots, parsnips, cucumbers and gherkins. Depending on the application, this sorter increases yield by up to 4%, increases throughput by up to 25%, and reduces labour requirements by up to 80%.
Another machine often used for presorting and removing foreign material is the Tomra 5A. This belt machine employs top and bottom sensor banks to view each individual object in flight using a combination of pulsed LED, camera and near-infrared. Targeted spectroscopy is precise to 1mm, achieving a superior foreign object removal rate of more than 98%. These high efficiencies combined with low false reject rates are often a key requirement to protect the cutters in the processing line.
SORTING NEXT FOR FOREIGN MATERIALS AND QUALITY
For IQF processing, removing as many product defects as possible at this stage will save on freezer space and associated electricity costs. However, there will be another opportunity for sorting after the vegetables have passed through the freezer tunnel. For fresh pack and fresh cut vegetables, though, there are no second chances: it’s now that the product has to be fully sorted to ensure food safety and meet required standards.
The Genius, a belt sorter that is lowmaintenance and easy to use, offers different technologies for different inspection zones. High-resolution cameras and lasers can be combined with fluorescent lighting or LED in one area and ultraviolet or infrared in another. This machine is typically used for sorting fresh-cut, blanched or dried/dehydrated vegetables.
More sophisticated still is the Tomra 5B. Also a belt machine, this combines 360° surround view camera technology with advanced shape algorithms for object processing and laser technology. Capable of sorting according to colour, shape, structure and biological elements such as chlorophyll and solanine, this sorter is ideal for the targeted identification of individual defects in high-volume production flows. It is typically used for peas, carrots, green beans, spinach, corn and bell peppers, and is capable of detecting and ejecting toxic weeds such as Datura and Nightshade from peas and green beans. It has an unrivalled ability to remove core from Iceberg lettuce. This machine is also exceptionally well designed for fast and efficient cleaning with an open system, which results in fewer unreachable areas and a lower risk of waste material building up.
END-OF-LINE QUALITY CHECKS
When processing IQF vegetables, there is a final quality check to be made, either immediately after the freezing tunnel, on the mixing line or just before the product is packed. This is an additional opportunity to find and remove unwanted materials that were not visible or were missed when sorting before the product was frozen.
Three machines are typically assigned to handle these checks: the Ixus Bulk, Blizzard, and Nimbus BSI+.
The Ixus Bulk scans product in bulk to detect dangerous foreign materials, such as metal, glass and small rocks that may be free-flowing in the product stream or embedded in the product. This machine has been engineered around the best performing x-ray detector for unmatched image resolution, resulting in the ability to find the smallest defects at high throughputs.
The Blizzard, a free-fall sorter with a small footprint, does its detection work with pulsed LEDs and a combination of cameras. Optimally positioned after IQF tunnels or on packaging lines, this machine’s lighting system generates little or no heat in the cold environment and needs very little calibration or maintenance. The LEDs’ different wavelengths detect unwanted foreign material, misshapen product and discoloured product.
The Nimbus BSI+ is used in applications where it will do an even better job than the Blizzard in sorting-out some types of difficult-to-detect foreign materials or extraneous vegetable material. This machine’s way of ‘seeing’ combines multiple high-resolution lasers with unique Biometric Signature Identification (BSI) technology. In addition to seeing the colour of objects it scans, this machine also detects their biometric characteristics. It instantly compares these characteristics with features stored in its database to determine whether the objects should be accepted or rejected.
Thanks to the various tasks performed by all of these sorters, all major operational challenges are addressed. Processors can assure food safety and product quality with total confidence. •
Tomra 5B processing spinach
Tomra - www.tomra.com/en
Uncovering the latest trends and challenges facing the food processing industry
The challenges facing food producers are always evolving, but with resource management, food safety and rising to the demand of an expanding population all now top-of-mind, the need for flexible, efficient food processing equipment has never been greater. Food Manufacturing Africa sat down with Magdy El Dessouky, tna solutions’ newly appointed general manager for Algeria, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia, to get his perspective on the issues dominating today’s food processing market.
Magdy El Dessouky, tna solutions’ General Manager for Algeria, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia
Q TAKING INTO ACCOUNT THE CURRENT CLIMATE, HOW IMPORTANT IS SUSTAINABILITY AND RESOURCE MANAGEMENT FOR THE FOOD PROCESSING INDUSTRY?
As one of Africa’s largest and most economically significant sectors, the food processing industry has a vital role to play in helping safeguard the continent’s natural resources.
Manufacturing the products that fuel people, businesses and entire nations can be a very energy and raw-material intensive process. However, with the effects of climate change becoming more and more pertinent, and the region’s population rising at a rapid rate, we’re all acutely aware of the need to make processes more efficient – both to meet consumer demand and protect the planet. Improving the sustainable credentials of their offering can also help businesses boost consumer appeal, as research demonstrates that almost half of global shoppers say that reducing their environmental footprint is more important to them post-pandemic.
Q WHICH TECHNOLOGIES CAN HELP MAKE FOOD PRODUCTION MORE ENERGY AND RESOURCE EFFICIENT?
When it comes to resource management, tna always recommends brands focus on making small, incremental changes that add up to meaningful improvements in waste reduction and efficiency.
The sophisticated software featured with the latest processing and packaging equipment can be helpful here. The tna
robag® FX 3ci packaging system, for example, delivers energy savings of up to 20% through its intuitive power saving modes.
Advanced control and monitoring systems, which are often included as standard with today’s food processing equipment, also help minimise energy and material usage. For instance, they can help tightly control the temperature and oil levels within frying machines or automatically adapt conveying equipment performance to reduce product breakage.
Q WHAT ARE THE MAIN CHALLENGES TO FOOD SAFETY DURING THE PRODUCTION PROCESS, AND HOW CAN ADVANCED EQUIPMENT SOLUTIONS HELP OVERCOME THEM?
Today, hygienic food production is as pressing an issue for global consumers as it has always been for site managers, with 57% citing food safety concerns as a major influence on their purchasing decisions.
The main challenge facing food producers in this area is keeping processing equipment scrupulously clean to prevent cross-
The tna florigo conti-pro PC 3 The tna intelli-flav OMS 5.1 The tna robag® FX series-high performance VFFS System
contamination. To ensure food safety, producers should look for hygienicallydesigned processing equipment with minimal moving parts and features that make it easy to sanitise between product runs. tna solutions’ range of vibratory and horizontal distribution conveyers is constructed using food grade stainless-steel with a 2B natural finish that can withstand aggressive fats, oils and flavours, but is also resilient to caustic cleaning materials. Meanwhile, the leading tna intelli-flav OMS 5.1 on-machine seasoning system and portfolio of Florigo frying equipment are similarly designed to be thoroughly, yet quickly sanitised day after day, batch after batch for complete safety and optimal food quality.
Q HOW CAN PRODUCERS IMPROVE EFFICIENCY AND THROUGHPUT ACROSS THEIR PRODUCTION LINES?
In my opinion, the single most effective step producers can take to boost efficiency is to focus on line integration. Every one of our processing and packaging solutions is designed to work in harmony with one another, both physically and through smart connected operating systems.
This has a profound effect because it minimises all the factors that can slow down production. For example, with complete line integration, blockages or errors in the conveying system can be automatically communicated to the seasoning, frying or weighing equipment, preventing product waste and alerting operators to the issue before it can cause costly delays. •
SOUTH AFRICAN MANUFACTURER OF SPECIALISED FOOD PROCESSING EQUIPMENT
With our experienced design team and Paarl based factory, our production capabilities are endless.
With over 45 years experience in the production of Industrial Cooking Equipment, we have extensive expertise to custom design and manufacture quality, highend equipment to meet your food production needs.
Our range is not limited to:
• Steam Jacketed Kettles ranging from 20-2000 litres available in various configurations • Vacuum Cookers • Sauce / Jam Pots • Mayonnaise Plants • Continuous Conveyor Fryers • Transfer Vessels • Holding Tanks • Steam / Electric Tilt Frying Pans
2000Ltr Cooker/Mixer pot in production
• Pressure Kettles • Bin Hoists • Combi-Ovens • Conveyor Ovens • Homogenisers • Confectionery Cutting Tables • Foot Operated Wash Hand Basins • High Shear Blenders and more….
CAPDAN AND ALLIED EQUIPMENT (PTY) LTD
Benoni Office: +27 (0) 11 969 3407 Paarl Office: +27 (0) 21 862 6110 sales@capdan.co.za www.capdan.co.za
Reduce your carbon footprint with the Cook Quench Chill ‘Adapt’ series. This cooking and cooling system for rice, pasta and vegetables gives food manufacturers optimum performance, while using the minimum amount of energy and water.
DC NORRIS’ RESEARCH and development team have been busy during the pandemic, using the time to develop fresh ideas and re-design existing equipment to streamline processes and improve efficiency for their customers. The company have paid particular attention to helping customers minimise their carbon footprint by reducing the amount of water and energy required to run their equipment.
The Cook Quench Chill ‘Adapt’ system is just one of these new launches. This versatile, user-friendly machine is manufactured to suit the highest demands of the food industry. All areas of the process are designed with optimum performance in mind without compromising on product quality, hygiene and maintenance. The Cook Quench Chill process uses a series of vessels arranged in-line, which can have a low-to high-risk divide. The product is contained in baskets that tip into each other and ultimately, into a suitable receptacle at the end of the line. The standard Cook Quench Chill is made up of three main parts, namely, cook, quench and chill. However, the versatility of the ‘Adapt' series means that modules can be added or removed according to throughput, which allows manufacturers greater flexibility for expansion. It is also streamlined in construction and is simple to install.
ENERGY EFFICIENT
Products such as pasta, rice, potatoes and vegetables are cooked or blanched continuously at faster speeds due to the addition of two patented jet heat direct steam heat systems.
The use of DCN’s patented Jet Cook technology allows manufacturers to speed up cooking and cleaning times. It operates by collapsing steam into the product at high velocity through a specially designed nozzle. As the steam collapses it pulls the product (liquid) through, creating a recirculating effect (partial vacuum) in the recirculating pipe. 99.5% of the steam is utilised and then collapsed into the product ensuring huge energy savings. Jet Cook also replaces tube and tube type heat exchangers that are inefficient and take up valuable space.
Recent trials in DCN’s product development kitchen showed the ‘Adapt’ producing 195Kg of cooked and cooled basmati rice in 23min (65kg dry weight), 50kg of diced carrots in just 18.5min and 110kg of cooked and cooled spaghetti in just 15.5min.
WATER-SAVING DESIGN
The ‘Adapt' is designed to achieve maximum water savings with smaller tank capacities and variable water levels to suit different batch sizes.
A Weir starch removal system means the same water can be re-used for a new batch. Internal heat exchangers continuously chill and control the Quench and Chill water temperature, saving more water as it recirculates through the stainlesssteel heat exchangers.
HIGH QUALITY PRODUCT
Product quality is assured with the variable wave agitation system, which ensures that the product is always kept in suspension producing a damage-free product and preventing product clumping. The rapid heating and cooling of products such as rice, pasta, vegetables and pulses is critical to maintain nutritional values and both visual and taste quality. Rapid and even heat treatment reduces the loss of nutritional values of certain foods and reduces the damage in plant cell wall structure, which effects eating quality and shelf-life.
Cooling the product at speed is just as important so that bacteria can’t grow and cause illness. It is critical that products pass through the temperature danger zone quickly to reduce the growth of pathogens.
LOADING/UNLOADING
A DCN designed hydraulic tipper makes loading of the product easier and quicker, tipping directly from the floor. A stainless-steel trough vibrating conveyor drains water from the product before discharging into a standard tote bin or customer product trays.
FULL TRACEABILITY WITH DCN PROCESS MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE
DCN’s process management software controls the entire system. The user-friendly system allows customers to create a step–by–step cooking and cooling process with individual basket agitation speed control and useraccess security with all processes stored to a relational database.
Each product has its own unique cooking and cooling parameters written in to give precise repeatable times and temperatures. These can then be recorded for full traceability using the virtual chart recorder.
DCN has a product development kitchen in South Africa at the Cape Town Peninsula University and can also assist African manufacturers remotely. •
To watch a video about the Cook Quench Chill ‘Adapt’ series, visit the digmag.
DC Norris - www.dcnorris.com Courlanders - www.courlanders.co.za
