Video: Progress in drying and cooling of organic products
The SusOrganic project aims to improve the drying and cooling/freezing processes for organic products in terms of sustainability and product quality. In this video, SusOrganic coordinator Barbara Sturm from the University of Kassel summarizes some of the most important preliminary results.
Superchilling of organically grown salmon eliminated the demand for ice during transport, resulting in both, a reduction of energy costs and a better value chain performance in terms of carbon footprinting. This is mainly due to the significantly reduced transport volume and weight without the presence of ice.
The superchilled cold chain is only a few degrees below the refrigeration chain, but it has a significant impact on the preservation characteristic. While the product quality is not different, the shelf life is extended. This means that we can preserve the high quality of organic salmon over a longer time period, which can be helpful to reach far-distant markets. We see the same trend for superchilled organic meat products like pork or chicken.
The consortium is also developing innovative non-invasive measurement and control systems and improving drying strategies and systems for fruits, vegetables, herbs and hops. Particularly the producers of herbs and hops have shown great interest in the participation within the project.
Through auditing campaigns as well as pilot scale drying tests, it has been possible to develop optimisation strategies for both types of commodities, which can help reduce microbial spoilage and retain higher levels of volatile product components whilst reducing the energy demands. These results can be applied with modifications to the other commodities under investigation.
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| SusOrganic improves drying systems for fruits, vegetables, herbs and hops. | Producers of herbs and hops are especially interested in the project. | Superchilling of salmon reduces energy costs. |
Visit the project website of SusOrganic
Contact:
BARBARA STURM,
UNIVERSITY OF KASSEL, GERMANY
MAIL: barbara.sturm@uni-kassel.de
Phone: +49 5542 98-1603