GEA Food Solutions
One of the machines GEA Food Solutions was focusing on at the show was a defrosting solution called Coldstream T – essentially a tumble dryer for meat. The machine is based on the GEA ScanMidi tumbler and is capable of defrosting whole muscle and bone-in products in six to eight hours. You can also defrost and marinate in the same tumbler, said the firm.
Bjarne Lyngoe, product sales manager, said GEA’s first tumbler was sold in 2000. He said this model was more flexible and took more than half the time to defrost than other options on the market. It also helped reduce companies’ need for storage, as they can defrost what they need on a faster basis. The meat is defrosted with steam in a vacuum. In a vacuum the boiling point of water is reduced: for example in a 95% vacuum (0.05 bar) the boiling point drops to 33°C, so the steam does not scald or damage the meat. The steam also condenses on the cold meat, and efficiently transfers its thermal energy, significantly reducing the speed it takes to defrost, said the firm. Lyngoe said the vacuum system in the machine meant the bacteria growth was also less than alternative defrosting options, and the payback after installation was generally around nine months. In terms of market trends, he said, Asia has always been about fresh meat, "but that is also changing. People in this region are buying lots of poultry from South America."
Luuc van Lankveld, product expert processing, told GlobalMeatNews that there was a trend for ‘homestyle’ (southern fried) – the style of fried chicken you get in restaurants like KFC. "This kind of product is really growing in the Middle East, particularly in Saudi Arabia," said Lankveld. He explained that, previously, this had been very expensive to produce, and that problems existed when bringing products on to a conveyor, into a drum and then also spreading the product back out after it had been in the drum. "So we have separated the streams," he said. The process used by its GEA MultiDrum also requires less vibration, which is what causes less damage to the product, he said. "Companies would prefer to make these products on an industrial scale, but it has been very difficult," he added. "This machine has been available on the market since the beginning of the year. We’ve been surprised by the level of interest in the Middle East."