The German Agricultural Society (DLG) has announced the winners of the International FoodTec Awards. This year, the prestigious accolade will be presented to 18 innovations in the international food production and supplier industries, of which nine will receive the gold medal and nine the silver award.
A notable award for the frozen food industry has been granted to Linde, for its Cryoline SI – IQF immersion freezing equipment, whose modular combination of immersion bath and post-cooling tunnel is designed mainly for high-grade, loose-rolling food and has an approximate operational capacity of up to 1,000 kg per hour. In a controlled process, the product is fed directly into the immersion bath by a vibrating conveyor belt that reduces the risk of product clumping. The cold liquid nitrogen instantly crust-freezes and stabilizes the product surface, thus locking in the moisture and maintaining product yield and quality, critical for value-added IQF products.
The DLG awarded, among others, gold medals for innovation to Fritsch GmbH (Germany) for its Multitwist twisting machine, a dough processing system which allows decorative bread products to be prepared in a fully automated process.
Intralox has been recognized for its patented DirectDrive System, in which the conveyor belt is driven directly by the drum, which works like a central cog, instead of by frictional force. This obviates the need for overdrive because the edge of the conveyor belt and the drum are directly connected. Slippage of any kind is eliminated because there is no longer any friction between the edge of the conveyor belt and the drum.
Another gold medalist is GEA Food Solutions, for its MultiDrum, an innovative homestyle breader that splits the product stream and feeds the products evenly into multiple drums, thus reducing the labor costs by up to 80%.
Finally, EasyLid® by Sealpac GmbH (Germany) has won the gold prize for its method that delivers quantifiable savings in materials and time, by combining lidding and sealing in a single step, during packaging.
The award ceremony will take place on 24 March 2015 at Anuga FoodTec, the international trade fair for food and drink technology in Cologne.