SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT: Bacon Trends + Technology - March 2023 - 7

Equipment manufacturers can provide
wider margins, higher throughput, consistency
and labor reductions in more than one way.
Automated innovations in slicing, packaging, flavoring,
cooking, and process design provide avenues
to achieve better overall bacon processing.
" Bacon processors, like most food processors,
are looking for ways to reduce the need
for labor, " said Craig Souser, president and CEO
of JLS Automation, York, Pa. " In addition, there
are yield increases to be had with a properly
designed process. "
Peter Jongen, president of Thurne, a Middleby
Ltd. subsidiary, Norwich, United Kingdom, pointed
to automatic loading of sliced drafts into the packaging
machine as an easy way to immediately
eliminate human error and increase throughput.
Billerica, Mass.-based Wilevco offers another
avenue to improved processing through automation.
Bacon moved beyond breakfast food
long ago. Along with its growth in uses and daypart
applications, processors add many different
coatings and flavorings to bacon. Wilevco developed
an automated process to coat and flavor
bacons without dipping or paper transfer.
FASTER FABRICATION
Wilevco's Spinning Disc Applicator (SDA) applies
coatings with a wide degree of viscosity without
airknives, dips or waterfalls. Its nozzle-less design
provides consistent and accurate application
including particulates, a key factor to providing
flavored and coated bacon products, said Robert
Reiser, president of Wilevco.
" The old process is messy, inefficient, wastes
coating, requires tons of labor, and has a high
risk of foreign material inclusion, " Reiser said.
" ...The SDA's completely enclosed design recovers
unused coating, saving producers up to 60%
versus conventional systems. Ensuring that you
apply the correct amount, not too much, not too
little, is the only way to both provide the customer
experience you want at the cost required
to be price competitive. "
In January of this year, Burr Ridge, Ill.-based
BAK Food Equipment announced it is offering a
new technology from food equipment manufacturer
Protech AB, Lönsboda, Sweden. The Spiral
Bacon Smokehouse system uses a linear combination
of processes from raw belly to seasoned,
cooked and smoked product. The system can inline
inject, has optional liquid smoke drenching,
can dry, smoke naturally and freeze pork bellies
that are ready to press and slice.
With bacon
growing at
an annual
rate of better
than 3%,
the need
for more
throughput in
the available
space is
paramount. "
Jarrod McCarroll
" Spiral oven technology isn't new to meat processing,
but fully automated spiral oven cooking,
smoking, and freezing technology specifically
developed for smoked meats such as bacon
is only available from Protech, " said John Bobak,
founder and CEO of BAK Food Equipment.
Reiser and manufacturer Fomaco, Køge,
Denmark, offer many automated systems to
improve bacon processing and achieve the processor's
goals. Systems include brine mixing,
combo dumping, conveyors and infeed conveyors
to the injector and combing systems.
" The brine mixing system can be done with a
human machine interface (HMI) that can hold
individual brine recipes, " Steinman said. " This is
done by a bar code scanner, built-in scale system,
automatic draft, preset mixing times for each
individual ingredient, and confirmation when
each ingredient is done. This system executes
automatically as well as in the correct order,
with exact weights, exact times and confirmation
when done. "
Fomaco's IWC system requires no personnel
and ensures the injector maintains and regulates
pump pressure within the accepted range of percentages
during production. Automated filtration
systems, the CBF 500 Continuous Belt Filter and
FM80 Continuous Filtration System of the injector
filter debris from the return brine and secondarily
eliminate any debris that may pass through
the belt respectively.
" This also requires no employee interaction, "
Steinman said. " When the pump is on the filtration
system is on. The result of this superior filtration
system is a more consistent pump pressure
during the entire production shift. "
Weber's automated bacon systems provide
efficient and innovative slicing, transport and
packaging. The company strives to understand
a processor's unique needs and goals through
consultation before preparing a custom solution.
Solutions include Weber's knowledge of the
industry and processes and provide weight-accurate
slicing, careful transport and precise infeeding
to the desired presentation in the packaging,
according to the needs of the customer.
" Our automated retail solution, which facilitates
growth while reducing both line labor and
required floorspace, seems to be shining above
all the rest, " Bearson said. " We believe it's truly a
game changer for retail bacon producers. "
Fitting an automated system into an existing
plant will always be a significant obstacle, said
Springman. Kerres USA offers a wide range of
MEAT+POULTRY 2023 BACON TRENDS + TECHNOLOGY
7
SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT: Bacon Trends + Technology - March 2023

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