You can get e-magazine links on WhatsApp. Click here TOP NEWS Equipment used for slicing, dicing and shredding food getting smarter Tuesday, 22 October, 2019, 08 : 00 AM [IST] Abrar Khan and Mohammad Irfan Size reduction machinery may appear unchanged, but advancements under the hood result i process improvements. Planned obsolescence is a sales concept reserved for consumer goods. I the world of industrial equipment, durability usually is a given, and a well-constructed machine should continue to perform long after the perso who originally bought it has retired. That’s certainly the case with machines that slice, dice and pulverise food products and raw materials. Heavy duty and industrially hardened, this equipment class takes a licking and keeps o ticking. The bigger, faster, cheaper mantra does not define the incremental improvements i these machines. Greater precision, for example, that reduces waste and improves yield characterises the advances i many machines. Tool-less disassembly for cleaning and sanitising that takes less time and is more thorough is attractive to virtually all food processors. And with consumptio trends constantly shifting and new opportunities arising, the flexibility to produce a range of products is highly desirable. 1. Slicing Slicing is the cutting of food into thin, relatively broad slices. Slices may be used as they are or processed further to produce other speciality cuts such as rondelles, diagonals, oblique or roll cuts, and lozenges. Slicing may be accomplished by hand or machine. Mechanised slicers include rotary slicers and food processors with a slicing attachment. # Technique A The tip of the knife rests o the cutting board while the food item is held with the other hand. The knife is rocked up and down. O the downward movement, the blade moves dow and forward to slice through the item, keeping the tip o the cutting board. If the item is too large to rest the tip o the work surface, the same motio is used but the tip points toward the cutting board while one pushes the knife dow and forward through the food i one movement. Do not saw backwards and forwards. # Technique B Gripping the item with one's fingers curled under as described, use the wrist as a fulcrum and the second joint of one's index finger as a guide. With the heel of the knife o the cutting board, the tip is lifted and one slices by drawing the knife slightly back toward you and dow through the item, using the knuckle of the index finger to adjust the thickness of each cut. The motio of the knife should be almost entirely from the wrist, not from the elbow.    Safety Always ensure that mechanical slicers and other electrical cutting equipment are disconnected from the power supply before disassembling them for cleaning. Whe using a mandolin, use the foodholder which is supplied with it. If it did not have one whe you bought it, it is quite likely being illegally sold i your jurisdictio which probably requires that they be sold with a holder included. Whe slicing food by hand, always grip the handle of the knife firmly. A loose grip ca lead to accidents. The food item is held firmly with the other hand, the fingers curled under, so that the side of the blade is against the knuckles.    2. Dicing Dicing is a culinary knife cut i which the food item is cut into small blocks or dice. This may be done for aesthetic reasons or to create uniformly sized pieces to ensure even cooking. Dicing allows for distributio of flavour and texture throughout the dish, as well as a somewhat quicker cooking time. Dicing usually applies to vegetables prepared i this way but it ca also apply to the preparation of meat or fish and fruit. 3. Shredder Shredder is a machine used for reducing the size of all kinds of material. Some examples of materials that are commonly shredded are food, metals, car wrecks, wood, plastics leathers, papers and garbage. There is no commo use of a shredder as they ca shred food materials, paper as well as wood, plastic, including whole food products depending o the size and desig of the industrial shredder or products. Smart Slicing, Dicing and Shredding     New automated slicing, dicing and shredding machines ca cut labour costs because they are fast, accurate and easy to clean.     New slicers are removing the need for huma labour, so long as companies are willing or able to invest i them.     “With labour rates increasing across the country, processors are looking at ways to save, and these machines offer a profitable way to cut labour,” says Chris Fuller, president of Fuller Consulting, a Sa Diego-based red meat advisory firm.      Slicing machines ca dramatically increase a processor’s throughput. “There are some great slicers out there that ca slice extremely thin, and some cutters that will portio meat and steaks with great accuracy — both using advanced software and programming to be both user-friendly and profitable,” says Fuller. “Also, the yield is good, sometimes better tha a huma butcher.”     The variety of cuts that ca be made by a cutter is always growing with developing technologies. “The latest software ca allow processors to program various sizes and cuts from a single piece of meat, utilising the whole sub-primal cut to its fullest potential,” says Fuller. “This helps to minimise waste and improve merchandising options.”      “Preventive maintenance programs ensure blades are sharpened, so blade fragments don’t fall off into the meat,” says Monica Smith, food safety, quality and product development consultant with Whole Brai Consulting.      “Sharper blades prevent a piece of meat from coming through the line and shredding (dull) equipment or grinders,” she says. “USDA inspectors ca only help keep companies accountable and assist them with any equipment concerns.”     Utilising digital scales, conveyors, chilling/freezing units and mechanised portio separators are just some of the ways operators ca increase automatio i conjunctio with slicers, dicers and cutters.      “Again, as labour rates increase, processors will be looking for ways to invest i robotics and machines to replace workers,” with the ever-improving technology and software, these investments ca really increase profits through improved throughput, increased yields and improvements i food safety.”      Food safety ca only improve with less of a huma touch. “Sanitary desig as well as better control and oversight for foreign-material contaminatio are two ways that these pieces of equipment ca improve the overall food safety record of a operation,” says Fuller. “Both benefits are a result of decreased product handling.”      Equipment desig should facilitate a easier cleaning method, too. “A smooth, impervious surface like stainless steel will still need to be cleaned of course, but it’s made to be easily cleaned.     Sanitary desig is driving innovatio and improvement i slicing.     “Robotic loading of loose, fluffed or shingled product into the packaging machine has also improved greatly. The cost for this type of automatio continues to drop, which ca reduce product touches and cost, as well as ergonomic issues associated with manually loading product.”     Cost is always a factor whe processors weigh whether to invest i new equipment, and the same holds true for slicers, dicers and cutting machines.     “Each year, we budget money for a new horizontal slicer, which would help us increase efficiencies for certai kinds of accounts, but we’re waiting to purchase one until we see more advancements with bone-i cutting.”     While new equipment becomes more mechanised, there will always be a need for standard equipment that requires trained employees.            (Kha is Halal lead auditor and Irfa is quality executive (trainee) at Gandour India Food Processing Pvt. Ltd. They ca be contacted at shareef.foodtech@gmail.com)   This page allows you to send the current page to your friend. 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