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Twin ice machine for fish processor

Hygienic, gentle ice that never freezes together
     
  In 2016 a fish processor contacted Ziegra about an ice machine for packing their high value products. The machine had to be hygienic, the ice had to be gentle on the fillets and remain free flowing after extended storage. Granular flake ice was the obvious choice and the midi size flake was selected as it is gentle on the product while having good extended storage characteristics. A UBE 3.500-2 ice machine was chosen due to its twin refrigeration circuits, which allow the ice machine to be serviced one half at a time without interrupting the ice production and giving some fall over protection.
     

Hygiene was of paramount importance to this customer, so the machine was upgraded to stainless steel frame and panels for easy cleaning and the legs were extended to facilitate cleaning underneath. This in addition to the intrinically hygienic design of Ziegra granular flake ice machines and the Ziegra Triple water filtration system which is fitted as standard.

For maximum performance in summer and winter temperatures, remote weatherproof condensers were installed outside the building so the heat is discharged outdoors. This also prevents cold air being sucked through the machine in winter, preventing freeze-ups.

 
     
  The ice is discharged into the customers existing poly insulated boxes via short food quality ice hoses that are insulated against condensation. The hygienic design is continued by using non-contact level control sensors that work by remotely sensing the ice height in the box. Once the ice reaches the pre-set height, the sensor cuts the production off without the ice coming into contact with any machine components. Once the ice is removed, the machine restarts automatically. A 7 day timer is also built into the machine that the customer uses to automatically switch the machine on at pre-determined times in the morning.
     
The customer is a UK fish processor, who are well known for secondary Salmon processing, but also process a wide variety of other species. They have high standards of hygiene on site so the machine had to meet those standards.  
     
  Once the products are processed on the production lines, they are then moved into the packing area...
     
Where the boxes are iced with a shovel of ice per box...  
     
 

The fillets are delicate, so midi sized ice flakes were selected as it is gentle on the fish, while storing well.

The excellent storage characteristics of granular flake ice mean that there are no frozen lumps in the ice that need to be broken up. Just free flowing, discrete flakes of ice that settle into an even spread of ice on the product.

This makes icing the product an easy, fast operation.

     
Once packed, the iced boxes are then moved into refrigerated holding while they wait loading onto transport.  
     
  Even when stored in bunkers for several days, the ice remains loose and friable, making extraction from the bunker into the insulated boxes effortless.
     

 

Published on November 22, 2017 at 03:53 PM
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