New products were rolling off the production line for meat processors at Foodpro. Here's just a small sample of the some of the new offerings on show.
Heat and Control's new defroster
Heat and Control was demonstrating its Stalam In Line Rapid Defrosting system, which uses radio frequencies to defrost large blocks of frozen meat, for the first time at Foodpro.
The system takes just 30 minutes to defrost blocks of meat of 20 kilos and more, instead of the days taken when defrosting the traditional way in an air conditioned room. This method also reduces the amount of protein lost during traditional defrosting through drop losses, which means the yield of the product is also higher, and some say it tastes better too, he said.
“It works like a giant microwave, but at lower frequencies, so it’s safer and easier to control,” Bond says. “Radiowaves also have better penetration that microwaves,” Bond said.
“That means companies can go from pre-planning production to pulling meat out of the freezer that morning for production that day.”
That in turn reduces the potential exposure of companies, as product can’t be re-frozen once it’s been defrosted.
And product does not have to be taken out of its carton to be defrosted, Bond said.
Scott Automation & Robotics rolls out AGV
Scott Automation has rolled out a new Automated Guided Vehicle tailored for the meat industry. According to Stuart Shaw, the company’s red meat business manager, the vehicle has been specifically designed to meet the needs of the sector.
The unit can move and accurately track large pallet loads around a meat facility, removing human handling from end-of-line tasks, which can help to cut contamination risk and extend shelf life.
The company has also announced enhancements to its BladeStop automated safety technology. The updates have reduced the blade's stopping time to within 9 milliseconds and improved its reset/restart capability. Scott has also rolled out a larger model - the BladeStop 600 Series II.
Vemag snags new casing
Vemag was showcasing new sausage processing and packing equipment designed to reduce human handling and speed processing.
Its Alginate casing machine creates a continuous process for filling sausages using a vegetarian gel derived from algae which is solidifies into a casing during processing.
This reduces costs by eliminating the steps required to create natural and synthetic casings. The company has also recently launched an automated sausage packing line to completely replace manual handling. Both machines were being demonstrated at FoodPro 2017.
