Producing perishable foodstuffs hygienically

Bizerba presents the CWP Neptune checkweigher at the IFFA 2010

Balingen, June 15th 2010 – Organic products have become a focus in our society. But doing without preservatives makes products more susceptible to bacterial contamination during the production process. It is therefore now more important than ever to design all machines which come into contact with foodstuffs in such a way that they fulfil the ever-increasing requirements regarding hygiene. With the CWP Neptune, Bizerba has made an important step in the right direction. The checkweigher weighs and sorts unpackaged foodstuffs, is perfectly suited to the requirements for perishable foodstuffs thanks to its hygienic ergonomics, and lowers operation costs to a minimum through the reduction in components and parts subject to wear.

Customers’ diets are becoming increasingly healthier and include more and more organic food, that is an easily-identifiable market trend. According to a representative study by the German Federal Ministry of Food, around 53% of Germans purchase organic products at least occasionally. The term “organic” is legally defined by the EU and requires, amongst other things, that the products contain less food additives in direct comparison with conventional foodstuffs.

So when foodstuff producers dispense with preservatives during production, the danger that products become contaminated with bacteria increases. The solution here must lie in designing all machines which come into contact with perishable foodstuffs ergonomically and in such a way that the bacteria are not allowed for and that they are easy to clean.

The Bizerba CWP Neptune checkweigher is designed to weigh and sort unpackaged and perishable foodstuffs, such as minced meat. It has been designed in compliance with the hygienic design criteria of the European Hygienic Engineering and Design Group (EHEDG) and only requires the use of one single drive belt. “The belt is the widest part of the system,” explains Dieter Conzelmann, Director of Industry Solutions at Bizerba. “Should parts of the product fall off the belt, they cannot finish up either in another part of the machinery, or back in the product stream. The weighing cell is also tightly welded.

The system can be cleaned with pressured water and the drive belt can be disassembled quickly and easily. “In the unpackaged foodstuffs sector,” Conzelmann continues, “our competitors offer checkweighers with single motorised conveyors, so already at the transitions from feeding belt, weighing belt and discharge belt, there can be hygiene problems. In these areas, parts of the foodstuff fall from the belt drive and collect in hard-to-reach parts of the system. Therefore, with the CWP Neptune, we have deliberately reduced the number of single components.”

If nothing else, this reduction in component parts makes the operation of the system more economical for the user. “The system only has one single motor and does not have any driving rollers or deflection rollers. Cleaning cycles can therefore be kept short, the operating costs reduced to a minimum thanks to less parts subject to wear and a high level of availability be secured,” says Conzelmann.

About Bizerba

Bizerba is a company operating globally and is a market-leading multi-sector technology company for professional system solutions in relation to weighing, labelling, information and food service technology in the retail, food, commercial trade and logistics industries. Sector-specific hardware and software, high-performance network-compatible management systems and a wide range of labels, consumables and business services cater for the transparent controlling of integrated business processes and the high availability of Bizerba-specific performance.

Bizerba has a presence in over 120 countries all over the world – with 41 investments in 23 countries and 54 national representation. Company turnover in 2009 decreased by around 9% in comparison with the previous year. The main headquarters of the company are located in Balingen, Germany, where around 3,000 members of staff are employed. There are further production sites in Meßkirch, Bochum (both Germany), Vienna (Austria), Pfäffikon (Switzerland), Milan (Italy), Shanghai (China), Forest Hill (USA) and San Luis Potosi (Mexico).

For enquiries:
Bizerba GmbH & Co. KG
Claudia Gross
Director Global Marketing & Communication
Wilhelm-Kraut-Straße 65
D-72336 Balingen
Tel. +49 7433 12-33 00
Fax +49 7433 12-5 3300
E-mail: claudia.gross@bizerba.com

nic.pr
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Patrick Schroeder
Coburger Straße 3
53113 Bonn
Tel. +49 228 620 43 84
E-Mail: patrick.schroeder@nic-pr.de
Telefax +49 228 620 44 75
E-Mail: patrick.schroeder@nic-pr.de

This release was published on openPR.