food Marketing - Technology 2/2023
food Marketing & Technology is the international magazine for executives and specialists in the food industry.
food Marketing & Technology is the international magazine for executives and specialists in the food industry.
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Processing<br />
steam peelers are something else.<br />
Technical innovations have greatly<br />
improved operating speed, peeling<br />
efficiency, controllability, energy use,<br />
and safety. Peeling quality is higher,<br />
uniformity greater, <strong>food</strong> waste usually<br />
lower than 10% and sometimes as low<br />
as 6.5%. On some lines this prevents<br />
the loss of an estimated 1,000 kg of<br />
vegetable material every hour. That’s<br />
an estimated saving of €200,000 per<br />
year.<br />
And the fourth reason? Taking action<br />
to reduce <strong>food</strong> waste demonstrates<br />
a commitment to sustainability. This<br />
matters both for economic and<br />
environmental reasons. Because<br />
the global population is growing so<br />
fast, <strong>food</strong> production will need to<br />
increase by 70% by 2050, according<br />
to the United Nations’ Food and<br />
Agriculture Organization (FAO). Yet<br />
the <strong>food</strong> sector already accounts for<br />
about 30% of the world’s total energy<br />
consumption and 22% of greenhouse<br />
gas emissions. To make matters<br />
worse, some 14% of <strong>food</strong> produced<br />
is lost between harvest and retail.<br />
And it’s not only the UN that cares<br />
about these things: <strong>food</strong> buyers do,<br />
too. Consumers increasingly expect<br />
<strong>food</strong> businesses to adopt sustainable<br />
practices, and <strong>food</strong> retailers expect<br />
the same from their suppliers.<br />
Peeler versatility is a big<br />
advantage<br />
The standard-setter in designing and<br />
manufacturing steam peeling machines<br />
is TOMRA Food, best-known for its<br />
world-leading optical sorting and<br />
grading technologies. The unmatched<br />
effectiveness of TOMRA’s solutions<br />
results from the company’s significant<br />
ongoing investment in research and<br />
development, a deep-rooted culture of<br />
innovation, and decades of experience<br />
working closely with processors to<br />
truly understand their operational<br />
challenges.<br />
More than 500 TOMRA steam peelers<br />
are currently in operation around the<br />
world. Approximately two-thirds of<br />
these process potatoes and one-third<br />
process other vegetables – mostly<br />
carrots, but also beetroot, butternut<br />
squash, kohlrabi, parsnip, pumpkin,<br />
and root celery. Some processors<br />
peel all of these products in the same<br />
factory, sometimes on the same line.<br />
This is made possible by the versatility<br />
of TOMRA’s sorters and steam-peelers;<br />
by these machines being designed to<br />
be easy to clean, which helps prevent<br />
cross-contamination; and by the<br />
machine controls having menus which<br />
allow operators to switch easily from<br />
one type or size of vegetable to another.<br />
Machine versatility is also important<br />
on lines that process only one type of<br />
vegetable because the crops coming<br />
out of the ground can be so variable.<br />
It’s not easy achieving consistent<br />
product quality when vegetables are<br />
irregular in size, shape, and quality.<br />
This challenge has become tougher<br />
in recent years because of climate<br />
change: once-predictable seasonal<br />
temperatures and rainfall are now<br />
erratic, affecting crops. This makes<br />
it even more important to have a<br />
peeler with processing flexibility – an<br />
advantage that has to be designed into<br />
the peeler’s batch weighing module,<br />
pressure vessel, steam exhaust<br />
system, and control program.<br />
Peeler performance depends on<br />
design<br />
In addition to versatility, another key<br />
for unlocking greater yields is peeler<br />
performance. Best performance is<br />
attained by peeling at high steam<br />
Eco Peeling Line Vanmark With Platform<br />
30 <strong>food</strong> <strong>Marketing</strong> & <strong>Technology</strong> • April <strong>2023</strong>