JBT FoodTech has been perfecting its ability to process seasonal potato products for ready meal components and convenience foods, in response to the growing demand for different processed potato variations.

 

The company’s Double D Continuous Protein Oven features a unique impingement system which can be finely adjusted to suit seasonal variations in the potatoes’ sugar content which affects its ability to develop colour, according to Ian Wallace, JBT FoodTech’s Double D international sales support and marketing manager.

 

“Potatoes are an important component for frozen or ready meals and, as manufacturers develop more convenience food varieties, they need to be able to process potatoes efficiently, without losing their taste, appearance or texture,” he says.

 

“However, the sugar content in raw potatoes can differ significantly between seasonal varieties, and this can alter its ability to take colour.  For example, old potatoes have more sugar and will develop colour more easily than new potatoes.  By finely adjusting the fan speed we can ensure that each potato is the desired colour, no matter the season.”

 

Diced, baked and roasting potatoes can all be treated evenly with the system, with equally good results on very thin slices for toppings or Potato Dauphinoise.  The oven’s impingement system is also key when processing jacket potatoes.

 

“During some parts of the season the skins on jacket potatoes are more delicate and need to be treated with extra care to avoid blistering or skin separation.  This is another challenge that we’ve been addressing with the oven’s airflow system.”      

 

JBT FoodTech can now provide a complete in-line potato processing system by integrating the Double D Continuous Protein Oven with a Frigoscandia GYRoCOMPACT® spiral freezer.

 

The company’s full range of custom-built Double D ovens and Frigoscandia freezers is available for tests at its Broxburn-based Food Technology Centre in the UK.

 

JBT FoodTech has restructured its European sales force to form a new sales team, specifically dedicated to developing business for its range of portioning, coating, cooking and frying systems.

 

The new Portioning, Coating, Cooking and Frying sales team will focus on marketing JBT FoodTech’s range of further processing products which includes the Stein range of ovens, breaders, fryers and coating equipment, the Double D high impingement multi-purpose cookers, ovens and searer/grill markers, and the DSI slicing and portioning systems, all of which can be integrated to form multi-phase in-line processing solutions.

 

JBT FoodTech’s sales team in the UK will continue to be led by Barry Jackson.

UK agents, Richard Burke and Byron Davies from BFS Europe, will continue to be responsible for the sales of the Double D range of custom-built ovens and searer/grill markers to the UK protein industry.

JBT FoodTech’s leading brand, the Frigoscandia range of spiral freezers, chillers and proofers, will continue to be managed by members of its existing sales force in Europe.

 

Heading the new European team as sales director will be Bob Petrie, who is also managing director of JBT FoodTech’s UK headquarters near Edinburgh.  Petrie commented:

 

“As the JBT FoodTech portfolio of products expands we are becoming more aware of the need to provide fully integrated solutions by adding further processing products to the already highly successful line of Frigoscandia spiral freezers, chillers and proofers.

 

“The opportunities in this area are so diverse and wide-ranging that we made the decision to form a dedicated sales force to concentrate 100% on developing this side of the business, where each region can focus on its particular further processing requirements and applications.  The team will work closely with the current sales teams which will continue to focus on developing business for the Frigoscandia range.”

 

The new sales team consists of Nigel Brunyee, systems manager; Ian Wallace, Double D international sales support and marketing manager; John Kelso, Double D product line manager; Ian Burns, food processing development engineer; Branimir Pancer, area sales manager, Central Eastern Europe; Manuel Diaz, area sales manager, Spain and Italy; Kenneth Malmqvist, area sales manager, Nordic and Baltic; Andre Hammouya, regional systems manager, France, Middle East, Iberia and Italy; and Marcelo Scharlack, regional systems manager, UK, Russia and Central Eastern Europe.  European sales for DSI equipment will be handled by Peter Glensmark.

 

JBT FoodTech recently re-located its UK headquarters to the former Double D Food Engineering factory at Broxburn in the UK, a 4,000 square metre site near Edinburgh which houses its combined UK manufacturing, sales and servicing operations.  JBT FoodTech also has Food Technology Centres in Helsingborg in Sweden and Sandusky in Ohio, where customers come to test equipment at first hand with a trained technical team.

 

 

JBT FoodTech has introduced 'multi-phase cooking' to its range of solutions, with the aim of authentically emulating the different processes involved in cooking at home, but in a factory environment.

Aimed primarily at ready meal or finished product manufacturers, 'multi-phase cooking' can integrate any combination of processes and in any order, to produce exactly the required taste, texture and appearance of finished product. That includes any combination of coating and frying, cooking and roasting, steaming, infra-red cooking, searing and grill marking, proofing, baking, chilling and freezing.

Nigel Brunyee, JBT FoodTech's systems manager, commented:

"The competition to create ever more authentic ready meals is increasing. If you cook at home or go to a restaurant, the food is prepared using a number of different processes to produce the finished result. For example, chicken or meat might be marinated then seared, before being cooked or roasted to provide a particular flavour or appearance.

We can now provide all these processes and more in a factory setting, by providing different phases to produce certain finished products. Multi-phase cooking can be as flexible as required, and is as close as possible to what a chef or home cook could achieve."

Traditionally, says Brunyee, processors would consider cost and footprint as the key factors when introducing new product lines. Now they should equally consider exactly how they want a product to look and taste to maintain their competitive edge.

"Multi-phasing can be adapted to achieve different results. If you wish to produce grill-marked hamburgers, you could first sear, then cook and then grill mark the product in a Double D Continuous Oven. Equally, if you were to move the grill marking to the front of the process you would end up with a completely different flavour. You can make or break a product by not cooking it in the correct way." 

JBT FoodTech has developed an industrial bar marker, under its Double D brand, for the retail and foodservice sectors, designed to mark bulk quantities of Panini bread in any required configuration. 

The Panini Bar Marker, which was developed in response to demand from Double D customers, is able to produce bar marks on the breads in whatever manner customers require. Double D has designed three specific executions to enable bar marks to be imparted straight across the breads or at an angle. The machine has also been designed to work with continuous ovens and to accept the breads for bar marking no matter how they come off the oven.

Ian Burns, JBT's food processing development engineer, explains.

"On a continuous oven, the product is normally positioned horizontally across the band and the Panini Bar Marker would mark the breads at 45 degrees. However, if this is not required, we can adjust so that the bar marking can appear in any way across the bread."

The technology is based on Double D's Searer/Grill Marker which was built for the meat and poultry industry, where a bar marking unit produces an authentic branded effect across meat, burger and poultry products.

The stand alone Panini Bar Marker is now available for trials at the JBT FoodTech Tech Centre.    

The JBT FoodTech Tech Centre is located within its factory near Edinburgh. Access by road, rail and air is easy: it’s just off the M8 at Junction 3, 12 miles from Edinburgh City Centre and only five miles from Edinburgh Airport.

JBT FoodTech invests heavily in innovative technology and has recently perfected its fat removal and Clean In Place systems to provide added benefits when cooking 'heavy cook' products. "For instance, bacon can lose around 70% of its raw weight during cooking," says Barry Jackson, UK Sales Manager, "This fat residue is automatically removed from the Double D Continuous Protein Oven through a drainage system, to a collection vessel. Air knives can also be fitted which remove any surplus fat from the surface of the bacon slice prior to cooling. The result is a consistent, high quality visual finish.

"Fat can the be repackaged and sold," continues Barry. "At the same time water can be recycled whilst effluent produced during the cleaning process is safely drained out of the oven."

Like all Double D products, these special features can be custom-built to suit requirements, and many can be retro-fitted.