Process development of a controlled environment dryer designed to fit within, or at the end, of any processes used for extending the shelf life of fragile products such as Blueberries, Strawberries, Cherries, Blackberries, and Raspberries. Although primarily designed for fruit, this process can be easily adapted for other products such as Chillies and Green leaf produce.
The unit is made up of several modules each of which has it’s own environment with a high degree of control to suit the particular product.
Varying drying profiles can be programmed to suit each application. ie
| Heating and then cooling | For rapid drying of slightly more robust products while leaving the core temperature of the product unaffected by the heating process. |
| Constant temperature drying | For temperature sensitive products. |
| Reducing temperature drying | For reducing product temperature prior to packing. |
The modules can be fitted with UV air sterilizing equipment on request.
There are no belt conveyors within the machine, and in most cases, very few moving parts. The Dryer components are easily removed without tools for cleaning and a CIP system is available on request.
The main advantages of this system is that it can replace the Cooling portion of a Sterilizing process and, along with our pre-dewatering unit, can greatly reduce the high costs by incorporating Anti-oxidant recovery and deleting the requirement for large drying rooms. The produce can be packed directly from the dryer into their respective retail packs, placed in Refrigerated Containers, and then shipped within hours. This can save at least 24 hours of valuable shelf life time as well as the need for large drying warehouses.