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PROCESSING SOLUTIONS
Rotary Dryer Roaster for nuts and meat snacks
The quality of the final product is key to the success of Heat and Control’s Rotary Dryer Roaster. Food & Beverage Industry News explains.
The latest innovation in roasting technology from Heat and Control, the Rotary Dryer Roaster (RDR), will provide snack and prepared food operators with an end-to-end solution for the dry roasting of nut, seed and dry meat products like beef jerky.
The RDR multizone convection dryer/roaster system uses the technological advances in dry roasting so food processors can continuously process high volumes of foods.
“This latest addition to Heat and Control’s catalogue reinforces our strength in thermal food processing technology and provides snack and meat manufacturers with even more options, as well as confidence, that they can consistently produce high-quality product,” said Jim Strang, CEO for Heat and Control International.
“We have been offering the latest technology and the highest quality equipment since 1950, and the Rotary Dryer Roaster is the latest example of our continued commitment to develop solutions that empower our customers,” said Strang.
RDR for nuts The RDR advances Heat and Control’s snack li ne capability, enabling food manufacturers to take advantage of the cost saving benefits a single source supplier can offer with a solution for seasoned and coated nut snacks, including frying, dryer/roasting, seasoning, coating, conveying, weighing, packaging, case packing, inspection, and controls.
The RDR gives operators control to dry or to roast in a continuous, gentle, and sanitary manner with optimal quality and uniform results.
“The RDR provides high volume convective airflow combined with gentle rotary motion that ensures that all product is uniformly treated with heated air. Operators have full control over the roasting or drying process variables, enhancing the finished products’ colour, flavour, and texture,” said Greg Pyne, Heat and Control sales manager, Australia.
“While this is new equipment for the industry, processors see the potential,” explained Pyne. “They recognise the benefits of the continuous process, the
The RDR is suitable for such products as beef jerky.
consistency and repeatability of the process, and the savings resulting from reduced labour and floor space requirements.”
Unlike static rack ovens, as product is gently tumbled in the RDR, heated air circulates through the product bed to facilitate uniform drying/moisture removal or roasting. The design handles the raw product in a continuous, high-density manner through a unique flighted drum that ensures positive motion.
Features include a drum design that facilitates continuous firstin-first-out product flow and independent fans and burners in multiple convection zones, which provide complete process control that can be tailored to various products. An externally mounted drum drive design provides access for internal clean-in-place piping and nozzles which provides for automated thorough cleaning.
RDR for meat products Along with nut products, the RDR is also suitable for applications such as the dry ing of meats and poultry to create jerky and meat chips, as well as drying pet products to create food and treats.
While Australia has yet to see the same levels of growth as other markets for natural/protein based snacks, consumers are looking for different food options, with demand for jerky on the rise. According to intelligence agency Mintel, the UK and US have achieved 50 per cent growth in the jerky market from 2011 through to 2016. Australia is poised to follow suite for similar growth, with a wave of niche, start-up operators entering the market. Australia is also home to the fourth largest paleo-market in the world.
Jerky snacks are rich in protein, and are becoming more readily available in retail outlets and
The RDR facilitates uniform drying/ moisture removal or roasting.
online as a substitute for cooked meats. Different product flavours, such as chili and lime, teriyaki or smoky chorizo, are also attracting consumers into seeking jerky as a protein rich option when its snack time.
Globally, the meat snack market was worth $6.4 billion in 2017, and is estimated to exceed $29.5 billion by 2025, according to PR Newswire. The growing middle class across Asia are seeking more premium meat-based snacks that are sold in accessible locations for time-poor customers. As the Australian beef market has a reputation in Asia for being a high-quality product, there is demand for the export of Australian beef jerky products, providing manufacturers the opportunity to grow their business internationally.
One of the biggest issues in jerky production is lack of efficiency in the drying process, due to the amount of time it can take to dry the product with consistent taste and quality. Food processors can expand their portfolio to capitalise on new opportunities because the RDR gives operators control to dry or to roast product in a continuous, gentle, and sanitary manner with optimal quality and uniform results. F
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Apprenticeships program key to ongoing industry success
Melissa Tinetti was an architect and then decided to join the faculty at RMIT University. Food & Beverage Industry News talks to the associate dean of industry programs about why she had a career change.
Melissa Tinetti didn’t start out thinking she would be the associate dean of Industry programs at RMIT University. But it’s a fulfilling job that she enjoys and there is plenty to do, with literally hundreds of students to look after.
Tinetti’s first 10 years in the workforce had her utilising her architecture degree before she took time out to start a family.
“As a kid, I was always building things such as treehouses and I was making things with my hands,” she said. “And I did a drawing class at school in Year 9 and from that point on I realised I loved drawing and understanding how things could fit together. I started technical drawing from Year 10, so would have been 15, in a class with all boys. From that point I had a real passion for building and design and I pursued that as a career.”
She returned to the workforce to work in a small practice as a project architect.
However, it wasn’t long before Tinetti thought she would give teaching a go, and secured a role within the Building and Construction faculty at RMIT University.
“I thought that it would be really great to give something back, to an industry that had given me so much,” she said. “I applied for a teaching role in Building and Construction at RMIT University and that is where it all started.”
Ten years later, Tinetti’s current role at the School of Vocational Engineering, Health & Science at the same university keeps her busy. It was in this role that she was nominated as a Rising Star of the Year at the 2019 Women in Industry Awards.
Tinetti’s role is a big one. She heavily involved in looking after the apprenticeship program at the university, which she describes as a mini-school within the campus, as well as the Cert II, III and IV courses, plus diplomas and advanced diplomas.
Apprenticeships in particular, have been a hot topic recently due to a looming skills shortage. So much so, that at the beginning of August, the Queensland government announced that it was putting aside $32 million to offer free apprenticeships to any person under the age of 21 who had left school. The government was hoping that up to 60,000 young people would take
Melissa Tinetti overseas the apprenticeship program at RMIT University.
up the offer.
“I find this role challenging. I came to RMIT as a teacher in Building and Construction and while that is my passion and I taught in that program for four years, I needed more of a challenge which I found in a coordinators role,” she said. “That led me onto the program manager’s position. That doesn’t sound like a big role, however there were nearly 700 students and 25 teachers, which was almost a small school within itself. I was part of a strong team that helped to grow it to that size.”
“I managed that program for four years ,and then I found myself looking for something else. This was the next step for me in my career. I have now got a couple of little mini schools if you like, operating their own programs, which is very different for me.”
She does find the role challenging on many levels, from dealing with the numbers of students and all their needs and wants, through to issues such as those being disruptive in class, as well as meeting the expectations of the industries that will be receiving the graduates. As well as electrical, plumbing and carpentry apprentices, she also looks after those in the instrumentation and refrigeration sectors, both of which are relevant to the food and beverage industry.
“We have a lot of students who come through the program and end up working for Woolies and those types of companies that are doing the refrigeration for their outlets, which I think is a pretty big job in itself,” she said. “There a not a lot of them around, which makes it difficult to get teachers in that space, too.”
Although some of the courses could do with a few more students, there is a silver lining for those who are in the apprenticeship program. With some TAFE courses – and a few university ones, too – there is an oversupply of graduates. Engineers, instrumentation specialists and refrigeration electricians don’t fall into those categories. Tinetti gives a recent account of where she thinks the
current lie of the land is as far as graduates. It’s good for those who are thinking of going to TAFE over the next couple of years.
“Recently, we were looking at starting a new advanced diploma and needed students to run a pilot program.
“This would have been a pathway for our current students so I thought that filling this would be easy,” she said.
“I thought, ‘I’ll sit down and ring them all and see where they are now that the year is over’. So I sat down one afternoon and rang all 120 of them. Fifty-four per cent of them had decided to pathway into a higher education program. The other 46 per cent had a job already, or were travelling. There was no-one who said, ‘no, I don’t have a job’. I am also lucky enough to work in areas where students can walk into a job and also be able to continue with their studies.
“The students who are doing Cert II don’t have jobs yet, they are doing their pre-apprenticeship,” she said. “If we can encourage these students at this stage to continue with that trade, then we have something to work with. We’ve had some really large numbers of those students come through this year, that will help industry, which is the whole point of free TAFE.”
And the future? Tinetti is positive that industry will be well served by the graduates that are coming through her doors.
“Over the next three or four years I’d like to see our trades program having a footprint that will provide opportunities not only for students, but help industry, too,” she said. F
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More apprentices are needed in many of the main trades including refrigeration technicians and instrumentation specialists.
