Fleischwirtschaft 6/2012 Deutscher Fachverlag GmbH, Mainzer Landstrae 251 60326 Frankfurt am Main, Telefon 069 7595-1852 Injection

curing

Precision in injection
The controlled injection of small quantities of curing brine is a complex challenge.
In the manufacture of raw cured goods the injection of small quantities of highly concentrated brine is taking on greater significance. This technology requires a particular design of the devices used for mixing, conveying and injecting the brine. Despite the varying firmness of the cured goods, the injection quantities used must have extremely tight tolerances.

he requirements of the market for cured food products are subject to a great deal of change. While injection rates of 25% and more are still common practice, low injection rates in the range of 10% and less, along with their technical implementation, are increasing being discussed and demanded. The required salt concentration for the technical curing process is not taken into account, meaning that there is a special challenge in the brine mixing and conveyance within the scope of brine production and its saturation with salt. In the area of raw cured goods, such as cured pork tenderloin or bacon, attempts are increasingly made at introducing salt to the greatest extent possible already in the injection phase using highly saturated brines. Specially adapted system modules of the Brimax series made by Schrder in Werther are geared toward this task. Already during the mixing stage, special pumps ensure not only that the brines are optimally homogenised; special fast-spinning impeller wheels within the pumps reduce the undissolved salt crystals to small pieces by means of high number of revolutions and thereby enable them to remain suspended for a sufficient period of time (Fig.1). Crystalline components must not settle out. Through their special opening, the injection needles developed just for these brines ensure that the brine flows

By Peter J. Danwerth through quickly and unhindered in order to give the crystalline components no opportunity to settle. If the brine valves are closed between the injection phases, bypasses ensure that the brine constantly flows and that the suspension behaviour of the solids is not interrupted. This is also ensured in the brine pool and the filter system through powerful pumps and nozzles that are located at the bottom of the pools; they effectively counteract sedimentation. In the course of the injection, the returning brine, as well as the escaping meat juice, is captured in the brine pool, reducing the concentration of the original brine. This process can be effectively monitored through constant measurement of the conductance; when the preset critical value is reached, the operator is warned by a corresponding alarm. Equipped with these extensive detailed solutions, Schrder systems that produce and inject brine with a salt concentration of more than 30%

Fig. 1: The fast-spinning impeller wheels of a shear pump enable the brine components to remain suspended.

tion and special brine production, the technical conditions for certain pieces of meat represent major challenges for producers. These problems are wellknown for products including bacon, which naturally has a structure that differs greatly, Cuts of meat absorb brine with brine absorption properin different ways. ties in the area of the belly that differ completely from those of Depending on the technical other harder parts. If one of the requirements for precise injec- brines described above with a salt concentration of far more than 30% is used with an injection rate of 10%, an injection rate tolerance of just 1% in sections of the muscle can have crucial consequences for the quality of the end product. Such a task also needs to be mastered for curing of pork tenderloin (Fig.2). The tissue of this muscle changes significantly from one end to the other. On the ham side, the meat is solid, making it impervious, while in the direction of the Fig. 2: nape side, the meat becomes Pork tenderloin possesses a varying muscle structure.

are in use. These systems are also used when critical brines with heavy sedimentation are involved, such as in brines with a high proportion of starch like those used for the injection of cutlet pieces.

softer and looser in its structure. A normal injector works here with a single pump pressure that is as even as possible, providing an identical volume flow rate of brine. However, it is unavoidable that the meat is not able to absorb this brine volume evenly. The ham side inevitably receives less brine, a certain intermediate area receives the correct quantity at best, while the salt content on the nape side will surely be too high. During checks, the average injection rate will appear correct, but the product produced will have completely different qualities within the individual piece. The good news is that these peculiarities of the muscle are very evenly distributed. The size, that is, the length of the muscle and the way it changes in structure from one end to the other are largely the same. The patented ACI technology from Schrder Maschinenbau makes use of this fact. ACI (Area Control Injection) makes it possible to adjust the pressure of the injector pump steplessly from one cycle to another in relation to its position. The background for this is the mechanical transport of the pork tenderloin through the injector. A cycle of the injector consists of lowering the needles and of the injection, along with subsequent

advancement of an adjustable length. In this way the pork tenderloin moves through the injector on a step-by-step basis. The following happens in particular: The muscle is divided up into different zones. In practice, three to five zones have been found to be optimal. These zones are saved in the program of the injector. The program also stores the number of steps that the injector needs to convey the tenderloin through the injection zone. The operator can use the program to assign a separate pump pressure to each individual zone (Fig. 3). If the pork saddle is now being conveyed through the machine, the injector automatically changes the pump pressure when the next zone is reached, thereby providing each individual zone of the problematic muscle with its own quantity of brine that can or must be absorbed by the respective muscle section. The injector itself recognises the location of the correct zone. The pork tenderloins are placed on the grill of the machine longitudinally to the direction of flow; depending on the operating width of the machine, up to nine pork tenderloins can go through the machine at once. The operator leaves a distance of just a few centimetres between the individual pack-

Quelle: Danwerth

Fleischwirtschaft 6/2012

Fig. 4: Zone injection enables a tailored treatment of cuts of meat with varying brine absorption capacities.

ages when loading the machine (Fig. 4). When the packages are running through the machine, this distance provides orientation to the injector in its use of mechanical or electronic detection. This allows the program to determine the beginning of the next pork tenderloins and thus the position of the respective zones. Two registers operate for high capacities. The rest of the sequence occurs on a fully automatic basis. If the special register with a width of 200mm is used, the advancement of 50 or 100 mm between the individual injection zones allows an especially smooth transition between the injection quantities for the product to be achieved. In case of high capacity requirements, injectors work with two registers, that is, two injection heads. If ACI technology is used, a separate pump is assigned to each register in this case. The pump module within the controller exists in duplicate, that is, a separate specific pump pressure is assigned to each register and the respective zone detection is relayed. The brine is also conveyed independently and on an automatic and separate basis for each register, meaning that the Schrder principle of zone injection functions reliably even in case of large capacity requirements.

Address of the author Peter J. Danwerth, Schrder Maschinenbau KG, Esch 11, 33824 Werhter

Peter J. Danwerth worked at the Horstmann Group from 1993 in bakery machine construction. In 1998, he became the Managing Director of Weber. Since 2003, he has been a co-partner and, since 2008, Managing Director for Schrder Maschinenbau in Werther.

Fig. 3: The pressure of the individual injector zones can be adjusted separately.