food Marketing - Technology 2/2023

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