Tomra reveals core confectionery sorting machinery for Interpack showcase
pic: Tomra
The Tomra equipment group has confirmed it is set to place a spotlight on a broad array of its sorting solutions at this year’s Interpack, including systems designed for the confectionery sector, reports Neill Barston.
As the business explained, this also includes applications handling dried fruit, which will play their part in the key industry event taking place between 4-10 May in Dusseldorf, Germany.
Moreover, as the company explained, meeting consumers demands for higher grades of food safety poses a number of challenges. There are a number o factors to consider, including foreign material can get into processing line’s product stream and product can be damaged by both external and internal defects, which can be almost impossible to detect. Yet, these threats must be eliminated to protect processors and retailers from product recalls and reputational damage.
To face the specific nuts & dried fruits challenges, Tomra Food will showcase its advanced optical sorting machines (TOMRA 5C, TOMRA 5B, TOMRA 5X and TOMRA 3C).
Furthermore, the company’s processors can also grade to specification, minimise false rejects, increase removal efficiency, reduce or eliminate the need for manual intervention, help solve the labor problems (scarcity, cost, effectiveness), reduce downtime, and provide data about the product being sorted.
Though its systems have been devised with a high level of technology, comparative ease of use for operators is of strong importance. Consequently, these machines are remotely controllable and easily networked, and some even possess self-learning abilities to continually refine their sorting accuracy. As a result, false rejection rates are low, yields are high, and nut processors are empowered to conquer even the most daunting of operational challenges.
Additionally, Tomra Food’s solution is meeting great success in the confectionary segment for its ability to provide advanced technology for the reliable sorting of sweets. Product colour and structure is checked by laser scanners.
In addition, the scanners identify contaminated products or foreign objects that are not visible to the naked eye. When augmented by an Advanced Foreign Material Detector (AFMD), sorting can be supplemented to include product-specific properties. TOMRA has developed special high-resolution cameras for optical food sorting on the basis of color and outline. A further module for shape recognition ensures that, through scanning, individual products comply with the desired dimensions and shapes.