Rockmelons kill 30 in the US
19 December, 2011 by Janette WoodhouseWith a final death toll of 30 people, including one miscarriage, the US’s most deadly outbreak ever of food poisoning has been declared over. In total, 146 people across 28 states became ill after eating Listeria monocytogenes contaminated whole rockmelon. While the number of deaths was not the largest ever recorded for a food poisoning outbreak, the greater than one in five death rate makes the outbreak of listeriosis the deadliest food poisoning incident in the US. The outbreak was also the first caused by whole, unprocessed produce.
Oranges and mandarins are inspected using artificial vision
18 October, 2011Scientists at the Valencian Institute of Agrarian Research in Spain have created a machine that automatically detects and separates rotten oranges, another that classifies mandarin segments according to their quality and another that helps citrus fruit pickers out in the field.
Vegetables still the heart of the frozen food industry
07 October, 2011 byMore than 50 years ago, Wallace McCain, a young Canadian, had a pioneering idea: McCain and his brother Harrison invested in the still relatively uncommon technology for frozen food and began immediately to produce frozen French fries.
Yield control for salads and fresh fruits producers
06 September, 2011 byUK-based salads producer Flavour Fresh, has recently taken delivery of an additional 11 station Marco YCM (Yield Control Module) system.
JBT FoodTech Single Pass Dryer and Smart Dryer system
05 September, 2011 byFresh fruits and vegetables are washed and sanitised after they are harvested - a process that enhances food safety but can remove the natural wax coating from the produce surface. To lock in moisture and maintain freshness of the produce, a postharvest protective coating typically is applied. Two critical aspects in the coating application process ensure that the entire surface of the fruit or vegetable is covered evenly and that the coating is thoroughly dried and set. Without uniform setting or curing of the coating, moisture in the produce can evaporate and cause dehydration, which can quickly deteriorate the overall quality of the produce and impact its marketability.
Kronen AS 16 automatic apple peeling and slicing machine
26 August, 2011 byThe Kronen AS 16 automatic apple peeling and slicing machine is suitable for processing apples with diameters from 60-120 mm. It is able to peel, slice or segment and core up to 2000 apples/h. Switching from one apple size to another size can be easily set within 2 min online at the machine during the peeling process (no further auxiliary tool is needed).
Heat and Control MasterTherm batch fryer
26 August, 2011 byHeat and Control’s MasterTherm batch fryer can produce 225 finished kg/h of batch fried potato chips of almost any style with high consistency.
Kronen Vortex sanitising waterflow system for fresh-cuts
26 August, 2011 byThe Kronen Vortex sanitising waterflow system claims germ reduction on fresh-cut products.
Dosing oil into vegetable trays at Lea Green Foods
26 August, 2011 byUK-based Lea Green Foods is using innovative peristaltic pump technology to dose oil into vegetable trays with both precision and cleanliness.
Heat and Control Universal Product Cooker
24 August, 2011 byHard bite-style potato chips get their desirable extra crunchy texture from the unique oil temperature profile produced by batch fryers. But the limitations of producing such chips in batches of only a few hundred kilograms per hour has previously required processors to install multiple batch fryers.
The global foodborne disease crisis
02 August, 2011Recently, a virulent strain of enterohaemorrhagic E. coli caused around 50 deaths and sickened more than 4000 across Europe, the majority in Germany. The source of the infections is believed to have been organic fenugreek sprouts grown from contaminated seeds. As a result of this deadly outbreak, new regulations, improved surveillance and disease prevention strategies, particularly pertaining to produce, will likely emerge throughout the world.
Key Technology Manta sorter with three-way sorting capability
30 June, 2011 byKey Technology has added three-way sorting capability to its Manta sorter. Featuring two ejector systems, three-way sorting allows food processors to automatically eject product that can be reworked and recovered separately from material sent to waste, typically foreign material. Good product continues through the camera/laser sorter unaffected as usual. This capability allows processors to produce a high-quality finished product without losing recoverable off-grade product to the waste stream or requiring additional sorting expense to separately rework product.
Improve potato strip quality and yield
06 January, 2011Turkish processor Konya Seker decided to try something different on its potato strip production line. Unlike other potato processors that use optical sorters to remove defects on their primary lines, Konya Seker relies on an ADR5 automatic defect removal system from Key Technology. This application, called the ADRFirst solution, maximises product quality and increases yields at Konya Seker.
Chemical residues in fresh produce
06 October, 2010 byResults from a New Zealand Food Safety Authority (NZFSA) study looking at chemical residues in fresh, unwashed produce has found no health or food safety concerns.
Reduce water use while peeling fruit
06 October, 2010 byA recently developed system that uses air, rather than water, to blast peels off fruit could reduce water use by 80%.
