Freezing technology: X-ray inspection of frozen scallops

FRENCH seafood packer Packopale has installed an Ishida X-ray inspection system to monitor frozen scallops before they enter the packing process. Aside from its contribution to quality control, the new system is seen as an important marketing tool because of the reassurance it provides to customers.

Every year Packopale, based at Boulogne-sur-Mer, packs up to 8,000 tonnes of frozen seafood, including shrimp, seafood cocktail and various forms of salmon. Frozen scallops account for about one-third of its production, and they have to be in perfect condition for customers, which include France’s top supermarket s and wholesalers.

Whilst scallops will largely be free of shell fragments and of grit from the sea floor when they arrive at Packopale via a refrigerated tunnel (from Norfrigo, the associated company next door, which is the leading cold storage centre for seafood in Europe), the company introduced a new level of certainty by adding the high-performance Ishida IX-GA-4075 to its packaging line.

In addition to grit and shell, the IXGA- 4075 is also capable of detecting, at very low levels, much rarer contaminants such as steel, aluminium, tin, glass, stones, hard rubber, plastic and bone.

Four product channels

The belt that passes through the IXGA- 4075 inspection chamber is divided into four 100mm-wide channels. A separate 400mm-wide belt, at a slightly higher level, brings the product to the inspection system. As the product falls off the end of this single belt, a set of funnels divides it into four streams, each feeding one of the four inspection channels.

This arrangement means that the location of any foreign matter can immediately be boundary layer of insulating air which holds heat around the product. This results in extremely fast freezing times. Freshness and quality in delicate seafood products like raw peeled shrimps and scallops are quickly encapsulated to give a superior product every time.

JBT FoodTech says the solid belt system will eliminate mesh and ‘wrinkling’ with the straight belt layout, whilst reducing dehydration by 1 percentage points or more, and drip loss by up to 4 percentage points.

The infeed of the solid steel belt is ‘wet’ – not frozen – as it’s defrosted as it travels around from the outfeed, said Barry Jackson, JBT FoodTech’s regional sales manager for the UK. “This means that it’s possible to move the product around once it’s been placed on the solid belt ensuring it retains its shape, and resulting in a much better-looking end product. The solid belt is particularly useful for large delicate products such as king scallops, which deform easily, and flat fish as it prevents any head-to-tail U shapes,” he explained.

Apart from seafood, the new solid belt freezer has many uses. For example, pureed peas or sauces can be frozen as droplets and used in small quantities by chefs or in the QSR sector. Extruded seafood, particularly shrimp, can be re-formed and re-shaped into shrimp-shaped nuggets before being coated and fried. The solid belt can also be used for marinated chicken breasts, or any soft, sticky products which would normally sink into, or drip through, a mesh belt.

Anticipating the future

A full, global ban on chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) will mean that refrigeration systems and replacement parts using CFC refrigerants willAir Max