Named after Clarence Birdseye, who invented the fast freezing process in 1924, Birds Eye is the leading frozen food brand in the UK and is synonymous with high-quality, great-tasting food. Birds Eye has been providing healthy, freshly frozen food since 1946 when the first frozen peas were produced.
Low in saturated fat and made using real potatoes, potato waffles have been a staple of family meals since 1981, and it was the production of potato waffles that led Birds Eye to contact LIMAB UK.
Nigel Jackson, Process Technologist at Birds Eye comments: “I first contacted LIMAB UK in May 2021, when I was trying to source a moisture and fat analyzer, that could measure the fat content of a freshly fried potato waffle, after the fryer, in a range of 5% – 8%.”
The quest to produce waffles more efficiently
“The reason that we were looking to implement an analyzer was twofold: firstly to speed up our analysis process, and secondly to attempt to make cost savings,” says Nigel Jackson.
“At the time, we were sending potato waffle samples off to an external lab, and it could take up to ten days or more for us to get the results back, which just isn’t efficient enough. We also wanted to gain greater insight into our processes and more effectively control the amount of oil absorbed by the waffles.
“After finding LIMAB UK online, I got in touch and was promptly contacted by Kevin Goodison, the NDC product specialist. After a telephone call with Kevin, we decided that the best option would be to look into implementing an InfraLab Food Analyzer. Kevin did some initial sample tests and then came to our site to do a demonstration.”
“Kevin’s industry experience and product knowledge were evident and it has been great to have one point of contact throughout the process. Kevin even wrote our standard operating procedure (SOP) for us, which was much appreciated,” said Nigel Jackson.
The demonstration went well, and Birds Eye proceeded with the order.
The InfraLab Food Analyzer
Nigel Jackson notes that Birds Eye is very happy with the InfraLab Food Analyzer. They are now able to perform more tests in a shorter time frame (a few seconds) and have already made significant cost savings.
The InfraLab Food Analyzer is designed to give production and quality management personnel rapid access to reliable, repeatable and accurate data from samples collected from the process.
The InfraLab Food Analyzer is a cost-effective viable alternative to the time-consuming gravimetric or loss-on-drying methods used for moisture analysis, as well as the chemical methods used for parameters such as fat or protein.
The InfraLab Food Analyzer has a 5-second measurement speed – even for multi-component analysis and every measurement is stored in the substantial onboard memory, recording the measurement value and standard deviation for each parameter as well as who made the measurement and the time and date.
Each InfraLab Food Analyzer is optimised for the required measurement parameters in the products to be measured and is delivered with linear factory calibrations over the desired measurement range. The InfraLab Food Analyzer can be used as a stand-alone device, networked to your factory network, or incorporated into a LIMS network.
“We have been using the InfraLab Food Analyzer for ten months now, and we can honestly say that there has been a massive improvement in our production processes and ultimately the quality of the end product,” says Nigel Jackson.
“The potato waffles are now the crispiest that they have ever been and are now Birds Eye’s star product, thanks to the InfraLab Food Analyzer and the guidance and support provided by LIMAB UK.”
If you would like to find out how the implementation of an InfraLab Food Analyzer could benefit your company, please visit the InfraLab Food Analyzer product page, or contact our product specialist.
A source: https://www.potatonewstoday.com
