Food Processing Technology Evolves

His group is currently designing a food-processing robot that can survive the high-pressure wash down and chemical cleaning agents used at plants. The robot’s first application is loading raw meat into trays. The group is also working on getting the robot to do a precise shoulder cut of bird carcasses in order to maximize efficiency.

Another project under McMurray’s wing, so to speak, is the development of a prototype sensor that automatically detects chlorine levels in poultry chiller water. That’s important, because each year the U.S. poultry industry processes 20 billion pounds of chicken.

In one of the closing steps in first-processing, eviscerated and defeathered carcasses are dropped into an immersion chiller, which rapidly chills the carcasses to 40°F or below. To further ensure microbiological safety, processors add chlorine to sanitize and disinfect the chiller water. Because the level of chlorine can affect product quality and taste as well as disinfection efficiency, the chiller water must be constantly monitored.

“Image processing and automation are having a huge impact on the food industry,” McMurray says. “Key players need to maintain open eyes to the potential and focus on a vision of more efficient processing plants requiring fewer people and generating less waste.”

Computational Fluid Dynamics

The implementation of early-stage simulation tools, specifically CFD, is a burgeoning international and interdisciplinary trend that allows engineers to computer-test concepts all the way through the development of a process or system, according to Da-Wen Sun, PhD, director of Food Refrigeration and Computerised Food Technology at the National University of Ireland in Dublin.

“With the enhancement of computing power and efficiency and the availability of affordable CFD packages, the applications of CFD have extended into the food industry for modeling industrial processes, performing comprehensive analyses, and optimizing the efficiency and cost effectiveness of the new processes and systems,” says Dr. Sun, who has edited a book on the topic (“Computational Fluid Dynamics in Food Processing”).

Using a computational grid, CFD solves governing equations that describe fluid flow across each grid cell by means of an iterative procedure in order to predict and visualize the profiles of velocity, temperature, pressure, and other parameters.

CFD facilitates prediction of heat, mass, and momentum transfer, as well as optimal design in industrial processes. Specific applications of CFD in food processing industries include drying, sterilization, refrigeration, and mixing.

Robin Connelly, PhD, a food scientist with the University of Wisconsin-Madison, is using CFD to understand the flow and mixing action of industrial mixers as they impact wheat flour dough. “Simulation is not a replacement for experimentation but has been shown to offer several advantages over experiment-based approaches,” she says. “You can test new equipment designs without building prototypes. You can study systems where controlled experiments are difficult or impossible to perform.”

Additionally, scientists can conduct safety studies or accident scenarios without inducing unsafe experimental conditions. They can run detailed parametric studies to optimize equipment performance. And they can obtain extremely detailed results, which can then be easily post-processed to calculate a wide range of dependent results.

“As with any new thing, CFD simulation technology must be tested in carefully defined situations that allow us to validate the results before it can be trusted with the more complex situations typical of food processing systems,” Dr. Connelly says. “As that trust is established, and as computational techniques and computing capabilities continue to advance at an amazing rate, the use of realistic CFD simulation to test equipment designs, process models, and new ideas has the potential to revolutionize the way food engineers operate.”

Leake is a food safety consultant and writer based in Wilmington, N.C. Reach her at [email protected] or (910) 799-4881.