Fresh Food / Salad Packaging
VOLVAC provides solutions for the preparation, processing, and packaging of fresh foods and salads. The international companies that manufacture food processing machinery, represented by VOLVAC, produce machines for every need. Companies that produce fresh vegetables, fruits, and salads are now required to carry out certain washing, cleaning, drying, and packaging processes before bringing their products to the market. VOLVAC offers seamless and continuous service and support in these areas.
Perishable ready-to-eat foods require controlled heating/cooling conditions and minimal processing and storage combinations to prevent the growth of pathogenic organisms and ensure microbial safety. These are critical points in food safety technology. Our packaging solutions for leafy and root products include pre-processing, slicing and dicing, staged washing, insect-fly separators, alternative drying, peeling root vegetables, and cubing, which meet the needs of both small-scale and industrial production.
To reduce microbial load, washing water should contain some chlorine. Washing systems can be single-stage, or two-stage if the product is coming from the field and contains mud. Each unit performs turbulent washing with two pumps, followed by rinsing with a shower and washing with cold water. The water is filtered and reused. A small amount is also discarded to prevent contamination. After washing, products are dried using the centrifuge method. The product must be completely dry before packaging, as water droplets on the product can lead to faster spoilage and a shorter shelf life. Additionally, for salads to mix well with dressing, the salad ingredients must be dried after washing.
Minimal processed foods are produced using a series of modern technologies aimed at minimizing nutritional losses and ensuring as little change as possible from production to consumption, while also ensuring an adequate shelf life during the process. To prevent the growth of pathogenic organisms in foods and ensure microbial safety, safe food production is achieved through a combination of controlled cooling conditions, minimal processing, portion packaging, thermal treatments, and storage.
Each potential risk from production to consumption is identified individually for each product. By examining and controlling these critical points, problems can be addressed. This is also known as HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points), which involves identifying “Critical Control Points (CCP)”, reducing risks, and thus preventing hazards. Initially introduced for space missions, this concept was later adapted to industry in the U.S. and spread to Europe, where it became mandatory in some sectors.
This system is based on identifying preventive measures from the beginning to prevent potential hazards that could arise from delays or irreversible negative outcomes in the final product.
