Food & Drink Processing & Packaging Issue 40 2022 | Page 16

HACCP International

Food Safe Certified Flaking Knives

Drum dryers and flakers are used within the food industry to convert a liquid food slurry into dry solid flakes . The process is commonly used to produce ingredients such as potato starch . On a drum dryer producing potato starch , a scraper blade is required , this is otherwise known in the food industry as a flaking knife . Typically , flaking knives provided by OEM ’ s are designed to be reground to allow the knife to be reused . However , reground knives could negatively impact food safety . The reground knives are transported to a workshop and then typically stored in a production area increasing the risk of contamination . In addition , reground knives increase the risk of metal contamination in the end-product .
Kadant offers a line of HACCP International certified flaking knives and knife holders that are manufactured in compliance with EC1935 and FDA regulations . By using a combination of advanced material technology and expertise within scraper blade technology , Kadant provides a single-use knife that offers significantly increased lifetime , eliminating the need to regrind the knives . Furthermore , less loading force is required when using Kadant knives resulting
16 FDPP - www . fdpp . co . uk in extended drum life . The knives are typically changed within two minutes which reduces production downtime and equates to higher yields . Product quality and consistency are improved with a Kadant knife compared to a traditionally re-ground knife . Kadant also offer knife holders for easy retrofit of existing clamp style OEM knife holders .
Kadant recently concluded trials with a manufacturer of drum dried infant cereals who confirmed that metal contamination within the food product was greatly reduced when using Kadant flaking knives . Additionally , they found the single-use knives were much easier to handle , safer , and quicker to change .
This also improved general health and safety for their operators .
In certain applications and operating conditions , the return on investment can be met in as little as 12 months **.
The following HACCP International certified knives are specifically available for flaking :
• Carbon Steel™ blades *
• ProFlake™ blades
• Stainlessflex™ blades * Available in the U . K . with release coating . ** ROI has been proven within 12 months in European countries
dcf . kadant . com