Grocery prices are high (year over year) and are decreasing, but not equally across product categories. For example, whereas the food price index fell for the fifth straight month, the price of fresh fruit has risen between July and August 2022. So, while the overall price of a basket of food commodities has fallen, prices are fluctuating among those items in the basket. This is despite the food price index being much higher than it was in the same month of the previous year.
Keeping retail prices high right now are the price of raw goods being higher than forecasted, supply chain issues persisting, and difficulties with attracting and retaining employees. In addition, there are plenty of consumers who are looking to make value purchases that can allow for a nutritious meal on a budget. This means that food processors can benefit from knowing how Marlen’s food processing equipment can provide cost savings during manufacturing. As it concerns vegetables and fruits specifically, Marlen’s food processing equipment provides turnkey solutions for delivering high-quality products to consumers while saving on production costs.
Slice and Dice Your Fruit and Vegetable Products Continuously
Food processors will benefit from understanding how Marlen’s line of size reduction equipment can slice and dice their fruit and vegetable products to the perfect size. Marlen’s DuraKut 6000 will convey product to be cross-cut with a spiral knife prior to being fed through a circular gang knife cartridge, resulting in a two-dimensional cut at the desired size. For larger products, the optional Horizontal Slicer can be attached to the DuraKut 6000 to provide a three-dimensional dice. Being able to process fruits and vegetables continuously with the DuraKut 6000 saves time on labor hours where these products would otherwise be cut by hand.
The DuraKut 6000 also saves labor hours by being easy to take apart for cleaning. The design has eliminated, as best as possible, any bacteria harborage points on the machine. Cleanability is particularly important when processing ready-to-eat products, such as cubed fruits and vegetables that might then go immediately into packaging. This is why Marlen followed principles of hygienic design when expanding its size reduction equipment solutions and designing the DuraKut 6000.
Pump Fruits and Vegetables Hygienically with Aseptic Processing
Pumping products such as diced tomatoes, peach slices, pitted cherries, and diced carrots will benefit from modern hygienic processes to reduce overall labor time and maximize product safety. Marlen’s Opti series of pumps use a reciprocating piston pump design for integrated aseptic processing. Aseptic processing (also referred to as high-temperature-short-time processing, or HTST) uses high temperature water to sterilize food processing equipment prior to use and between product changeovers. This patented Marlen Pre-Sterilization Recirculation System Option incorporates water control valves, which allows food processors to pump water through the system at the same rate and pressure as the processed product with zero slippage—which means that food processors can switch immediately between water and product. This allows for ease of flushing the system between products and prior to end-of-shift cleaning. These labor savings and process efficiencies can reduce overall labor cost in the plant, and these cost-savings can go a long way for keeping prices low for consumers.
Develop Surface Effects on Fruits and Vegetables and Flame Peel Onions
Fruit and vegetable processors can also benefit from Marlen’s line of surface treatment machines for their value-added products. For fruits and vegetables that processors want to grill, such as for ready-to-eat food products or ready meals, the Marlen Afoheat™ Flame Grill is specifically designed to minimize product weight loss. Since the grill requires no flip to grill mark both sides of the product, the Afoheat™ Flame Grill is much quicker than having to grill mark each side individually. Grilled carrots, pineapple slices, and more will be much quicker with this continuous surface treatment solution from Marlen.
In addition, Marlen has a continuous process for peeling onions with flames. The Marlen Flame Peeler is an upgraded Flame Grill that pasteurizes the surface of a food product by using a flame pasteurization technique that transfers heat to the outer layer of the food product as it is carried along the conveyor belt. Multiple ribbon burners are positioned at regular intervals above and below the belt. Each ribbon burner can be independently controlled, either on or off, to achieve the optimal operating condition. The flames engulf the surface area of the outer layer, then the product is deposited into a washing container. This washing container, arranged at the exit point, removes the raised temperature outer layer and stops the heat transfer to the adjacent inner layers. The pasteurizing and washed product retains the same color and flavor as that of the unpasteurized product. This technique saves on material cost by enabling processors to run production with varying sizes of onions, since the flame pasteurization step applies to onions of all sizes on the belt regardless of product variability, saving on yield losses which can occur due to product variability during mechanical separation processes.
Marlen Has the Solution for Your Fruit and Vegetable Processing Needs
Whether it’s dicing, pumping, developing surface effects, or cooking continuously or in batch, Marlen has the solution for your fruit and vegetable processing needs. Marlen has been trusted by leading food brands for over 60 years, and they assure value to their customers through the highest consistency, accuracy, and product integrity. Marlen’s teams of experts, including engineers, designers, and technical personnel, consult, collaborate, and partner with food processors around the globe to create custom innovative solutions for their food processing business. Marlen’s food processing equipment solutions are backed by a global network of certified technicians who are equipped to perform installation, start-up, preventive maintenance, emergency service, and any on-site equipment service required. With parts, sales, and service operations in Riverside, Missouri, Nieuwpoort, Belgium, and Bangkok, Thailand, we’re prepared to deliver the quality and performance expected by a true process partner.
