Steam Infusion Shortlisted for FDF Innovation Award
Steam Infusion from Olympus Automation (OAL) has been shortlisted for the Food and Drink Federation (FDF) Innovation Award based on its ability to deliver significant and innovative change to the food industry.
Steam Infusion is a revolutionary heating and mixing process that uniquely infuses steam into liquid food products in a vacuum. Early adopters of Steam Infusion include Greencore and Larco Foods who have generated significant business benefits from the technology. Mark Carnagahan, Factory Manager, Greencore explains,
“Steam Infusion has allowed us to nearly double our previous throughput rates in sauce production. On top of this our meat sauce quality and consistency has improved dramatically.”
Further research and development is being undertaken in a £1million UK government funded Nutrition for Life project at the Steam Infusion Test Centre in the National Centre for Food Manufacturing, Holbeach.
The unique Steam Infusion environment has been found to increase the flavour profile of food products in commercial trials indicating salt and other ingredients can be reduced without having a negative impact on flavour. The Nutrition for Life project seeks to provide the scientific understanding of the level and nature of the changes brought about by the steam infusion process and the nutritional advantage to be gained.
All field devices and process instruments are seamlessly integrated into the control system using a new Siemens S7-1500 PLC on the Steam Infusion test system ensuring system reliability and performance.
OAL will be presenting initial findings from the Nutrition for Life project at the PPMA show 2014 running from 30th September to 2nd October 2014. As well as the OAL team, academics from the University of Lincoln will be on the stand to answer questions on Steam Infusion and the project. Register a meeting on their stand B40 to learn more.
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