PRODUCTION
system to create a safe cooking environment .
“ The clean-in-place technology is engaged at the end of each cycle , which can be very important ,” says Peter Muriana , Ph . D ., Food Microbiologist Professor at the Robert M . Kerr Food & Agricultural Products Center , Oklahoma State University ( Stillwater , OK ). “ One of the problems with ovens that do not incorporate a clean-in-place function , including the linear microwave version with the big belt systems , is that they could get contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes . That is a big problem with readyto-eat products such as bacon .”
Dr . Muriana adds that Listeria has always been troublesome and a persistent contaminant in meat processing facilities , especially in equipment where the processing regimen doesn ’ t eliminate it by heating ( i . e ., chilling tunnels , microwave tunnels , etc .) because Listeria can become lodged in the nooks and crevices of the equipment .
“ In my experience , microwave beams work by ‘ line of sight ,’ which may heat unevenly , and are more focused onto what is on top of a conveyor belt in a linear commercial microwave oven . It is conceivable that a chamber that processes raw meat ingredients ( raw bacon ) other than by heating the chamber , may have contamination issues that need to be addressed ,” says Dr . Muriana . “ Also , the microwave beam may not completely penetrate particles such as those that can drop off bacon slices and fall onto the belt . That can possibly result in Listeria or some other form of contamination that gets mixed in with the finished product when it exits the oven . The high-temperature steam of the clean-in-place spiral oven virtually eliminates that possibility .” Unitherm Mini Spiral Oven using freezer sliced bacon
Improved Energy Efficiency Available in electric or gas models ,
14 November 2014