Fresh fruit must render a fresh look

APPLICATION

Preserving fruits with a wax coating

Fruits engaged on a long journey are best protected with a thin organic film

Updated Jun 03, 2022 - 10 min Read

BASE

Core products

Fruits with smooth surfae prone to mould growth : apple, citrus, mangoe

RECIPE

Ingredients

The coating ingredient is generally an emulsion :

  • Water
  • Wax
  • Surfactant to lower the surface tension
  • Additional substance with an antioxydant property.

PROCESS

How does it work?

Upstream

The fruits are cleaned of dust wich may hinder the coating process and washed

Process

The whole fruit surface must be in contact with the emulsion. Partial tipping and tumbling enhance the the dispersion.

Downstream

The fruits are drained from the excess of the emulsion, partially dried by air blowing

 

1.

Fruit positionning
on a single layer

5

2.

Emulsion spraying

5

3.

Blowing with air knife
(emulsion removal)

PROCESS

Coating system

The coating system consist in dipping in a batch, overhead curtaining, spraying.

PROCESS

Coating system

Typically, the fruits are continuously run in a conveyor.

PRODUCT EVALUATION

How do you measure your success?

Key quality features

The fruit should obviously display its freshness

Homogeneity

Even coating of the fruit, the coating holds on the surface

Integrity

No damaged surface, no dent

Key quality parameters

The process is rather straigthforward and consists mostly in flow management : fruit and emulsion

Composition

The rheology of the emulsion adapts to the surface type

Productivity

Given the large volume of the fruits themselves and of the quantity to process, the design of the handling system is important

Recycling

As a large volume of emulsion is recovered, it needs filtering to be reused