Intelligent Peeling Equipment, a Must Have
Breakthroughs in the potato peeling sector have been numerous over the past few years. The main players of the industry often ask how fast, how thin and how long can a piece of equipment allow them to peel potatoes. In this respect, peelers are categorized by their method of action: steam, abrasives, or knives.
Steam peeling has emerged as the preferred peeling method for the French fry industry. As time goes by and changes are made by equipment manufacturers, it is also becoming the method of choice in other areas such as freshly peeled potatoes, pasteurized potatoes, and the flake industry.
To keep the quality top shelf and remove unwanted items from the line, the best steam peeling equipment works in conjunction with state-of-the-art optical sorters.
Such is the case of the 11 Tomra Steam Peelers operating in seven Lamb Weston/Meijer processing facilities worldwide, which help the business handle a huge 255 tons of potatoes every hour so they can fulfill the orders of their global customer base.
“The peel loss rate is highly dependent on the potato's variety and the time of the year it is harvested, but average levels would fall between 0.5% - 2.0% for Lamb Weston/Meijer, which is quite a masterpiece,” the companies representatives mentioned.
On the other hand, abrasive peelers come in many shapes, depending on whether it is part of a continuous or batch processing, then by the style and aggressiveness of the abrasive used. Abrasive options include soft and stiff bristle brushes, carborundum, aluminum oxide grit coated surfaces, and diamond dust for long wear with tough surface conditions.
Vanmark, for example, offers continuous abrasive peelers and custom configured rollers to each processor’s product and application.
“The feasibility of custom designs is dependent on the relationship between an OEM and processor, as collaboration, additional time and budget are necessary throughout conception and development,” the company's experts added on this matter.
You can read the rest of this article in your complimentary e-copy of Issue 3 of Potato Business Digital magazine, which you can access by clicking here.
