Food Processing - July 2008 - (Page 35) P L A N T O P E R AT I O N S gentle handling solutions,” says Heat and Control’s Barr. “We generally try to make sure each transition from hopper to hopper is very gentle and gradual. We can reduce the slopes or angles, and minimize drop distances to avoid any degradation of the product while you’re feeding it through the system.” • Temperature extremes: High heats can cause oils and greases to build up, particularly for deep-fried foods. The solution comes with more frequent washdowns and cleanings. Air conditioning units may be used to cool control cabinets. In freezing environments, washdown presents its own problem: freezing. Some processors may cycle their machines “dry” until they’re ready to run product in order to prevent machines from freezing and seizing. • Fine grains: Tight-closing “sift-proof hoppers,” as Ishida calls them, ensure that fines don’t get through the hopper openings when in the closed position. There’s a learning curve to adopting new technology, even for what might appear to be a simple machine. Simply put, replacing a slow, old machine with a new one that runs twice as fast “doesn’t mean you can use your old packaging materials. You can’t just buy a faster machine and have it magically make everything faster,” Triangle’s Bergholt says, noting that an old set of packaging jaws may need more dwell time. Both the supplier and the food processor share the responsibility to ensure such issues are addressed long before a purchase is made and that the solution meets application requirements. This is often alleviated by the nature of the supplier or OEM; many offer services and equipment for both mechanical and electronic integration to upstream and downstream product handling, processing and packaging components. And while the heart of the high-speed logic that controls weight combinations is proprietary, vendors are increasingly offering connectivity features and services to help processors transfer and access data through Windows interfaces and Ethernet connections, which are but two of the standards food processors expect. more on the web Typing “weighing” into the search bar at www.FoodProcessing.com brings up 54 articles, nine individual products and seven news items. We’ll do weighing as the theme of a new vendor product round-up in our November issue. And some of the communications standards referenced in the above article are covered in our April feature “iPlant,” at www.foodprocessing.com/articles/2008/083.html. Got A New Chip In Your Future? We’ve got the frying and conveying systems needed for tomorrow’s chips. Fried To Perfection Maintain oil quality and ensure taste, freshness and shelf life with the Multi-Flow™ Fryer. Careful Handling Reduce product breakage and improve flow control with our conveying solutions. Flavor In Every Bite Our coating and seasoning solutions apply consistent coating to guarantee your chip of the future will be just right every time. We Fry and Convey So Many Ways. +1 503 538 3141 www.ppmtech.com PPMhalfpgAds-V2_foodProcess.indd 1 12/21/07 9:29:46 AM foodprocessing.com July 2008 food processing • 35 http://foodprocessing.com http://foodprocessing.com http://www.foodprocessing.com/articles/2008/083.html http://www.ppmtech.com http://www.ppmtech.com http://foodprocessing.com
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