Today’s meat processors are navigating unprecedented challenges from supply chain disruptions to labor shortages in their effort to meet consumer demand for the highest quality products at an affordable price. Bringing efficiency to the manufacturing floor is key.

Let’s take bacon, for example. The beloved breakfast staple is more popular than ever. In fact, the global bacon and ham market is expected to grow in volume by 30% over 10 years, reaching 1.8 billion tons by 2030. To streamline production and improve yields, manufacturers are eyeing automated systems that can help them do more with less.

One system that’s generating excitement is Protech’s Automated Spiral Cooking, Smoking, Freezing System. This fully automated system for bacon and other smoked meats drew crowds at IFFA 2022, the world’s largest trade fair focusing on technology for meat and alternative proteins. 

Optimizing The Labor That’s Available 

Able to continuously process product, the Automated Spiral Cooking, Smoking, Freezing System can cook and freeze as much as 8,800 pounds of product per hour, making it the ideal system for meat processors who want to boost production capabilities and product quality, improve yields, and optimize labor.

“Typically, bacon operations are manual and can require up to 40-plus employees to operate,” said John Bobak, founder and CEO of BAK Food Equipment, the exclusive distributor of the Protech system in the United States. “But our automated system takes just two people to fully operate.”

The industry has struggled to find labor for a while now, but the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated this pain point, and processors are now finding it even more difficult to staff their operations. In fact, meat plants in the United Kingdom are running 10-15% short of full labor capacity, and their U.S. counterparts aren’t far behind. 

As the industry continues to be challenged by the labor market, the Protech system allows processors to run their plants at 100% capacity with the personnel currently available. Additionally, processors can save as much as $1,261,106 with a reduction of 38 laborers at an average annual salary of $33,187, as of June 2023. 

Going beyond labor optimization, this system also helps improve on-the-job safety and liability claims. Billions of dollars are spent every year on liability claims and lawsuits related to food production injuries. And bacon production is one operation that includes several injury risk factors, including the process for removing belly combs and the process for inserting sharp hooks into bellies for hanging. Protech’s conveyor system eliminates the need for both operations, thus dramatically reducing the number of claims related to the process. 

BAK food equipment 2.jpgSource: BAK Food Equipment/Protech

 

Consistently Improved Product Quality 

With a linear combination of integrated technologies, the Automated Spiral Cooking, Smoking, Freezing System transforms bacon from raw pork belly into a perfectly seasoned, cooked, and smoked product — from start to finish. 

The process begins with a Nowicki MH-516 SAS Injector, a 516-needle dual-head injector that’s designed to precisely penetrate the bellies. The bellies are then flipped and enter the liquid smoke tunnel, where they can be drenched and/or submerged in smoking liquid. Next, Spiral #1 dries the bellies via forced air circulation generated by a heavy-duty centrifugal fan that is controlled by a frequency converter to ensure exact air flow. This enables users to set the precise air flow that produces the optimum result for each individual product. Next, Spiral #2 handles natural smoke application and the final cooking process. And finally, Spiral #3 efficiently freezes the pork bellies, which are then ready for pressing, slicing, and packaging. The spirals are equipped with circular belts using Ashworth PosiDrive Spiral technology that maintains product orientation and decreases belt tension. The patent-pending design also ensures that the spiral systems are not hindered by grease generated during cooking, which can cause the belt to slip.

Reliable output is a major benefit of the Protech system, and it accomplishes consistency by ensuring that every piece of raw product enters and exits the system in the same orientation and at the same temperature, which is monitored and controlled throughout the cooking, smoking, and freezing processes. The system prevents overlapping or “low” smoke zones, resulting in even cooking, smoking, and freezing. 

Going a step further, product loss is also reduced, as a conveyor system moves product through the prep stations and all three spiral systems, reducing the potential of falling or dropping of product during processing. 

System Versatility Goes Beyond Bacon

Protech’s Automated Spiral Cooking, Smoking, Freezing System is ideal for more than just bacon processing. The spiral system can also be used for smoking, cooking, and freezing any meat to produce a high-quality smoked meat product, including hams, smoked brisket, and more.

Even pet food can benefit from this system. Today’s consumers are demanding pet food options with more natural, higher-quality ingredients. As the line between pet food and human-grade food blurs, pet food manufacturers are also in need of processing equipment that prioritizes quality and sanitation. The system’s highly controlled environment allows pet food processors to ensure consistent, even cooking of pet foods. 

“The Protech system is versatile enough to be used by food processors in a variety of segments,” BAK Food Equipment’s Bobak said. “Any process in need of evenly cooked, smoked meat should consider this solution.” 

The Edge You Need 

With its integrated technologies, Protech’s Automated Spiral Cooking, Smoking, Freezing System delivers a high throughput of uniform product with minimal manual labor, bringing critical efficiencies to the plant floor and giving food manufacturers the edge they need to meet and overcome market challenges.

Spiral oven technology isn’t new to the meat processing industry — but a fully automated, all-in-one system is, and Protech is the first and only manufacturer to offer it. Specifications can be tailored to each customer’s needs and optimized for various products and production environments.