RAYNBOW optical sorting machine for unwashed potatoes: Felbermaier’s case
“Raytec’s Dryce is our second optical machine. With this machine we made a step over in terms of technology. Thanks to Raytec’s Dryce we managed to remove more hidden defects from the product. For example, it is very good at finding stones that are similar in size to a berry but the same color as a berry. This machine also helps us increase the productivity of the process.”
Tecofood is a family-run company with a highly trusted reputation based in Lublin, Poland and production facilities in Western Ukraine. The company has been operating in the frozen food sector since 2011 and its production focuses on high-quality berries and fruits from Poland and Ukraine like blueberry, raspberry, strawberry, blackberry, and other fruits and berries.
Tecofood production meets the highest European quality requirements and is certified with ISO9001 and ISO22000 HACCP standards. Among their most relevant customers, we can mention Danone, Zuegg, Materne, Andros and Hipp.
The plant in Ukraine decides to equip itself with an optical sorter as this technology allows to better identify the defects present in frozen berries such as black spots, damaged products, overripe or unripe products and foreign bodies.
Color analysis is essential as most contaminants differ from the good product precisely in color. In the frozen food sector, the biggest challenges in terms of food safety consists in detecting invisible defects in the product.
In the last few years, Raytec has been focussing much of its resources on the development of a selection-optical processing technique that has led to implement the Decaray technology on its DRYCE machines. Decaray is a combination of 10 pulsed led lights that include color and infrared analyses.
The achieved goal of this new technology was to:
- Include in one machine the technologies that other manufacturers typically do on separate platforms.
- Simplify at the same time the use of the system that, due to its nature, was not easy to simplify operationally.
- Improve continuity in time of selection efficiency, avoiding continuous calibrations.
- Overcome the limit of LASER technology without losing its advantages.
- Significantly reduce yearly maintenance costs.
For all these reasons, the sorting machine Dryce is becoming more and more interesting for the companies working in the frozen food industry.
