It may have been Sunday, but that didn’t deter visitors to the four-day food industry exhibition, foodpro 2014, when it opened its doors in Melbourne yesterday.
According to some of the exhibitors who spoke to Food & Drink Business, the dairy industry was well represented among the visitors, along with the small to medium business sector, and sales enquiries were encouraging.
foodpro exhibition manager Peter Petherick is predicting 9,000 visitors will head to the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre over the next few days to see the latest innovations in food industry equipment, ingredients and services.
Meat processing equipment is especially well represented at the show, and one of the new products on display is the Qvision Analyser, a new in-line fat, protein and moisture analyser for ground meat, diced meat and small pork trim from Tomra, which is represented locally by Heat and Control.
Unlike other fat analysis tools, Qvision uses transflection technology which penetrates deep into the meat, according to Tomra's market unit manager for meat, Matthias Gessner, who was on hand at the Heat and Control stand on foodpro's opening day.
Also, combined with the fact that the full width of the belt is scanned, processors can gain a much more accurate measurement, and boost efficiency, at a lower cost that with x-ray technology, Gessner says.
The Qvision can also analyse protein, collagen and moisture, he says, which means it has a broader application in product development and quality control.
“The improved accuracy also makes it easier for meat processors to stay within regulatory guidelines,” Gessner says.
The dairy industry is also well represented at foodpro, thanks to its location, and SPX is giving the APV Cavitator, a dispersion mixer, its first airing in Australia.
This new product enables scale-free heating, mixing and dispersing of liquids, which makes it especially well suited to egg processing as well as dairy because of its ability to stop burn-on, according to SPX.
This is because APV Caviator uses the process of cavitation - the formation of vapour cavities in a liquid - to blend ingredients.
For processors, this results in a longer run time without needing to clean equipment, which in turn equates to big cost savings and improved food safety, according to SPX.
The latest packaging technologies also have a high profile at the show, and among them is the InvisiPac Tank-Free Hot Melt Delivery System from Graco. This product, which is distributed in Australia by Phillro, has a tank-free design, which prevents the problem of downtime caused by char-filled hoses, and means it can reach operating temperature in less than ten minutes.
The InvisiPac Tank-Free Hot Melt Delivery System was launched last year and has was the recipient of a Gold Visionary Award by UBM Canon's Packaging Group in the US.
