Superchilling of organic food

The present report is a part of the ERA-NET project SusOrganic: Development of quality standards and optimised processing methods for organic produce. The superchilling concept and the state-of-art of the technology are summarized with focus on potential implementation for small scale organic production. Production of processed organic food is mostly carried out by small and medium enterprises in demanding, competitive market conditions due to competition from highly cost-efficient large scale producers of conventional products and producers of locally grown food without certification requirements. The superchilling concept can be applied for organic meat and fish products, hereby helping the producer to supply the market with high-quality organic products. The extended shelf life of superchilled products will be beneficial during storage with respect to production and seasonal variations and transportation in order to reach new and far-distant markets. Strict control of the chilling process as well as storage temperature and time, is necessary in order to apply the concept. For these reasons, it might be difficult to apply superchilling towards the end of the cold chain at the retailer or consumer without significant alterations to the cold chain

Superchilling: Aspetti generali e potenziale della tecnologia

1. Antefatti 2. Super-Chilling 3. Metodo per il Super-Chilling 4. Tecnologie per il Super-Chilling 5. Vantaggi per l‘industria 6. Vantaggi per l‘ambiente 7. Vantaggi per i consumatori 8. Le sfide 9, Potenzialità future 10. Conclusion

Superchilling: risultati della sperimentazione

1. Indagine sperimentale: super-chilling dei filetti di salmone 2. Indaggine sperimentale: super-chilling di 7 lombi di maiale conservati sette giorni 3. Conclusion

Superchilling of organic food. Part 2: Storage test with superchilled organic salmon and pork chops

Superchilling of organic salmon and pork chop was investigated and the potential of the concept was documented for the organic sector, especially SMEs.Relative shelf life extension of 14 days compared to chilled product, were documented for both products. The colour of the product showed no significant changes between the superchilling and conventional chilling processes. However, the superchilled products shod an increased drip loss and reduced water holding capacity, whic was caused by the partial freeze damage. The shelf life of the superchilled product will depend mainly on sanitation, processing and cold chain conditions and not on the organic origin of the product. The performed investigations demonstrated the potential of the superchilling concept for organic products. The needed technology is available at the market and implementation of the technology for the organic production lines is possible

Development of the natural working fluid‐based refrigeration system for domestic scale freeze‐dryer

In this work, the analysis of the refrigeration system designed for the FrostX 10 freeze‐dryer is presented. The main goal of this study was to experimentally investigate the reference R452a freeze‐dryer and prepare recommendations for a machine based on the R290 refrigeration unit. In order to guarantee the temperature requirements and efficient operation of that unit, the analysis of suitable natural refrigerants was performed. Consequently, propane (R290) was selected. In addition, a number of modifications were introduced for the prototype system. System analysis showed that the replacement of the refrigerant in the existing system improves the system energy efficiency by approximately 18%. During the experimental campaign of the basic refrigeration unit, an unstable operation of the evaporator was found. The concept of a new cooling system for a prototype device was presented. The configuration and type of heat exchanger to maximise the performance of the ice trap of the freeze‐dryer were proposed.Development of the natural working fluid‐based refrigeration system for domestic scale freeze‐dryeracceptedVersio

Development of smart, low energy input heat pump drying for increased sustainability in organic food chain

The quality of a product and sustainability of production depend on the cumulative impacts of each processing step in the food chain and their interplay. The future generation of organic food products will depend on both. The Norwegian part of the Era-Net Cofounded project SusOrgPlus has focused on the design, construction and testing of a heat pump dryer running on natural refrigerants and the development of smart drying concept for high quality organic products. This report is summing up the main results from this project.Development of smart, low energy input heat pump drying for increased sustainability in organic food chainpublishedVersio

Improved process control by surface temperature-controlled drying on the example of sweet potatoes

Convective drying of food has a big impact on the quality of the product in terms of sensory quality and energy consumption. The temperature of the product during the drying process is a major parameter since exceeding can cause damages to the product. The surface temperature of the product can be measured non-disruptive and contact-free with IR-sensors and this information is used as input parameter for the dryer control. A convective drying chamber was modified with modern sensors and a smart control system to control the surface temperature during the drying process and evaluate the influences on the product in terms of sensory quality parameters like shrinkage, deformation and colour alternation. The dehydration rate in the first drying period of the constant surface temperature-controlled methods is about 1.5 to 2.5 times faster than the conventional method where the air temperature is kept constant and the quality parameters are not significant affected.publishedVersio

Integration of the control strategies for a heat pump dryer : D2.3 SusOrgPlus project

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Rasjonell klippfiskproduksjon

Prosjektet Rasjonell klippfiskproduksjon hadde som hovedmål å anbefale en rasjonell produksjon av klippfisk med jevn kvalitet for økt produksjon, effektivisering av arbeid samt reduserte drifts- og energikostnader. Prosjektet tar utgangspunkt i eksisterende produksjons anlegg og de nye tiltakene ble verifisert gjennom industrielle forsøk. 20 anlegg ble kartlagt og evaluert. Anleggene ble delt inn i 4 kategorier hvor løsninger for effektiv drift ble synliggjort for hver enkelt kategori. I tillegg til enkelttiltak som øker effektiviteten ble det satt stort fokus på utnyttelse av tilstøtende lager for å redusere belastningen på tørkesystemene. Ved å avrenne saltfisk, mellomlagre slakkfisk, og slutt-tørke fisk i lager utenfor tørkene er det synliggjort opptil dobling av kapasitet og tilsvarende reduksjon i energiforbruk per tonn produsert klippfisk. Videre ble effekt av fersk kontra frosset råvare evaluert, i tillegg til effekt av hard innledende tørking.publishedVersio