With the growth in demand for ready-to-eat fresh foods, so awareness of the importance of achieving optimum hygiene and food safety has increased across the processing industry. JBT’s Frigoscandia FLoFREEZE® M Sequential Defrost (SD) now features new innovations in accessibility and design; all with the goal of the system quicker, simpler and smarter to clean.
An IQF freezer designed to operate up to six days non-stop, the FLoFREEZE M SD utilizes an airflow process that prevents product debris build-up on the freezer’s evaporator, saving hours of cleaning and minimizing the risk for food contamination. Proven and leading JBT IQF (Individual Quick Freezing) technology with true fluidization helps ensure a consistent out-put quality and efficiency for vegetables, soft fruits, fish and other high-value products.
Improved accessibility
But even a sequentially defrosted freezer needs to be defrosted eventually and it is then crucial to have full access to the entire freezer during the defrost turn-around cycle so that any eventual product debris in the freezer can be cleaned out totally and not pose a food safety hazard. The food safety hazards come from that when the freezer is defrosted the temperature in the freezer will reach a level where microbiological growth can occur.
In JBT’s new update of the FLoFREEZE M SD, we have worked hard on improving the accessibility, alongside design improvements focused on making the freezer easier, quicker and smarter to clean and inspect difficult areas after cleaning.
Easy inspection
Hatches and walkways have been added, enabling hard-to-access areas to be inspected following cleaning. As an optional extra, JBT’s automatic Clean-In-Place (CIP) system will be available for the first time with the FLoFREEZE M SD.
According to Stefan Paulsson, JBT’s Director of Value Stream & Global Product Line for Frigoscandia, the FLoFREEZE M SD’s innovations mean accessibility is even more vital to the process as a whole. “Quick and easy access for inspection and cleaning is important with today’s tight operational schedules so that all potential food safety hazards from product debris can be taken care of,” he explains.
For customers aiming to take hygiene and food safety to the next level, JBT also offers the FLoFREEZE M SD with a Fully Welded Enclosure, which enables optimal steam sanitation to ensure all in-freezer contamination risks are removed.
Optimum hygiene
New demands on reaching optimum levels of hygiene in freezers are being driven by changes in consumers’ eating behaviour, according to Paulsson, with the growth in the ready-to-eat category bringing greater awareness across the food industry of the risk posed by bacteria. As a result, companies in the fruit and vegetable processing industry across Europe now have even-higher standards to meet when it comes to hygiene and food safety, which has emphasized the need for further advanced cleaning systems and other hygienic options.
“JBT freezing equipment is hygienic by design down to every detail, with sloping and minimized overlapping surfaces, so that when you flush the freezer during cleaning, you don’t have any hidden surfaces with risk of bacteria growth,” says Paulsson. “We have now further updated the design for even better cleanability and quicker turnaround times. All with the customers and their customers’ best interests at heart.”
LEARN MORE about the JBT Frigoscandia FLoFREEZE M Sequential Defrost
