OPTIMAL WASTE MANAGEMENT
This controlled dispensing is very important , as Sparc ’ s European Sales Manager Charlie Graham explains : “ We have regularly observed that sieving inclusions onto products manually or even the waterfall technique results in the majority ending up on the floor or conveyor . It ’ s especially prevalent with fine powders like spices and dried herbs , which also becomes a health & safety issue for co-workers . Naturally , this wasted product cannot be reworked due to cross contamination and hygiene practices .”
For many years , the poultry specialist performed the task manually . Seasoning 250,000 birds each week required a lot of labour . An issue further compounded by shortages in seasonal workers .
Looking back , Charlie recalls that every chicken used approximately 11 grams of herbs . Yet only around five-grams actually ended up on the chicken . Introducing Hera onto the company ’ s poultry line instantly reduced the weight of herbs scattered on each chicken to 0.9 grams . Roughly equating to a saving of 225 kilos in spices and herbs every week . Improving product throughput and optimising quality control using state of the art technology was also a key driver .
Eliminating labour intensive manual tasks like this plays a big role in workforce satisfaction continues Charlie : “ The consistency of presentation with Hera means that fewer product trays are spoiled and each line is more productive . An additional benefit of automating processes like this is it opens up more opportunities for skilled roles too .”
SATIATING DEMANDS FOR NEW FLAVOURS AND FUSIONS
As consumers seek more adventurous flavours , the food industry is increasingly turning towards inclusions to add new tastes and textures to products . Forecast to be worth USD 14.73 billion by 2026i Sparc ’ s Hera loss-in-weight depositor streamlines the process and controls the concentration when adding dry ingredients to prepared foods .
Capable of programming and storing up to 500 different product codes , Hera calculates the weight dispensed to the exact milligram . Digital data of the
The consistency of presentation with Hera means that fewer product trays are spoiled and each line is more productive .
volumetric deposits is captured and stored by the management control system .
Charlie concludes : “ Many of our customers are keen to streamline processes and cut down on unnecessary waste which can arise at all stages of the production process . As is often the case , waste and giveaway can easily be avoided if a more diligent approach to prevention planning and checkweighing is taken . Intelligent automated systems like Hera tackle this drain on resources and profitability and transforms efficiency .”
For further information , please visit sparc-systems . com
Issue 52 PECM 73