Salad Processing On A Big Scale

As a reputed worldwide machine supplier for catering, convenience, fine foods and food industries, the Kronen company designs and produces complete production lines for preparing, washing, peeling, cutting, drying, dicing, mixing and packing foodstuffs in the fruit, salad and vegetable sector. Recently, Kronen delivered an extended salad production line to the largest food processing company in Finland – „Caternet" (based in Helsinki). Caternet produces and delivers ready-to-use fresh fish, fruit and vegetable products for professional kitchens in the hotel, restaurant and catering sector throughout Finland.

The salad production line supplied by Kronen is able to process up to 2000 kg salad per hour. The production process starts by a Multicorer, a machine quartering and coring lettuce, Chinese cabbage, Iceberg and frisee lettuce. The Multicorer is equipped peripherally with a raw product infeed belt as well as an outfeed belt. The "good" product is carried by the infeed belt to the newly developed belt cutting machine GS 30; the waste is discharged by an outfeed belt. Due to the ingenious cutting technology the GS 30 is producing perfect square cuts of lettuce which are more and more in demand by customers.

The cut produce out of the belt cutter is than carried by a further conveyer belt to the large and high-performance washing machine GEWA 5000 V Plus equipped with a insect removal system. At the vibration outfeed the produce is gently rinsed under a fresh water shower and the latest small particles are flushed out by a lateral fines removal drum. Furthermore, the washing machine is equipped with an efficient water recycling system, hence the filtrated water is returned to the washing process.

As a next step, the cut and washed produce is then automatically conveyed and gently spin-dryed by the FE 800-centrifuge.

Pointing out the space-saving washing technology of Kronen, the compact washing machines permit maximum space and smaller foot print compared to other manufacturers. Due to the HELICAL-System the produce travels the equivalent of 20 meter in a wash tank of only 3 meter length, yielding gentle and efficient washing.

Wherever crisp salads, fine vegetables and appetizing fresh fruit are beautifully prepared in quantity – Kronen machinery is there, around the world – often in the most extreme conditions.

SOURCE: Kronen