The present invention relates to systems and methods for the processing and packaging of fresh fruit in a controlled environment chamber. In particular, the present invention provides a temperature and microbial content controlled work space, while preserving visual and tactile access to the fruit being processed.
The shelf life of fresh cut fruit is influenced by the initial microbial content and the storage temperature of the fruit. A low initial microbial count on the surface of the processed fresh fruit in conjunction with the suitable storage temperature will result in a longer shelf life of the fresh cut fruit. However, once the fresh cut fruit becomes contaminated with microorganisms, the microorganism count tends to grow exponentially under favorable temperature conditions. For instance, fresh cut cantaloupe is extremely susceptible to microbial spoilage due to its lack of acidity and richness in sugars and other nutrients. Under abusive storage conditions, which are typically defined as where the temperature exceeds 40° F., the fresh cut cantaloupe develops detrimental spoilage characteristics such as off-flavors and off-odors within days, rendering the fruit unacceptable to a consumer.
Microbial contamination exists naturally on the whole fruit surface that is brought into a plant for the processing. However, fruit contamination can also be increased during the in-plant processing because of the microbes transferred from the fruit processing tools and operators onto the fruit. The incoming, natural microbial contamination is typically reduced by subjecting the raw fruit to water, water steam, and disinfectant showers. One or more of these contamination reduction steps may be used, depending on the type of fruit, contamination level, type of available equipment, and established practices. From this point in the process, the fresh fruit is typically peeled, cut, and deseeded, which may introduce new sources of microbial contamination from the processing tools or the operators, which, in turn, leads to the accelerated fruit spoilage. Minimization of the microbial contamination during fresh fruit processing leads to extended shelf life for the fruit.
The need for the microbial isolation of the in-process fruit and vegetable has been recognized in the food processing industry. Some existing devices and methods attempt to provide a physical barrier between the operator and in-process vegetables, especially onions, such that the fumes released by the cut vegetable are isolated from the operator's eyes and nose, but those devices provide no microbial reduction on the surface of the processed fruit or vegetable. Other devices and methods are based on the enclosures which kill microbes at high temperatures just prior to packaging the fruit or vegetable into sterilized containers, but they do not allow for the hand access to the interior of the enclosure. Some other devices and methods reduce the microbial counts by submitting vegetable or fruit, or their seeds, to a liquid or gas sanitizer showers, but no hand or mechanized cutting or other processing occurs. Some enclosures use a liquefied inert gas to maintain sanitized conditions of the chamber interior, which is very expensive.
Thus, there exists a need for devices and methods for fresh fruit processing which will minimize microbial contamination of the fresh cut fruit during the in-plant processing of the fruit in a practical and cost effective way. The reduced microbial contamination results in longer shelf life and more consistent quality of the fresh cut fruit.
The present invention provides an apparatus and a method for fresh fruit processing that minimizes the exposure of the fruit to microbial contamination, while providing visual and tactile access to the fruit, and also enabling easy removal of the processing byproducts through waste discharge portals. The inlet and outlet portions of the apparatus can be sealable, and can be configured for receiving containers with the fresh fruit and for the removal of the processed fruit containers, but without directly touching the contents of the container. Similarly, the unwanted fruit processing byproducts can be removed through a sealable discharge trap without directly touching the byproducts. The tactile access to the interior of the sealed chamber is provided through the access portals on the chamber, which can be outfitted with soft, sealed sleeves. For instance, pairs of latex gloves attached around the access portals in an airtight manner can be used as the sealed sleeves. Visual access is provided by panels of transparent material, like glass or acrylic panels, which are sealed against the chamber. The work space may use a temperature control unit for maintaining pressure, temperature, and purity of the air inside the chamber.
In one embodiment, the apparatus for processing fresh fruit includes: a controlled environment chamber having an inlet portion configured to receive whole fruit and an outlet portion configured to deliver processed fresh fruit; a floor that is sloped downward from the inlet portion toward the outlet portion; an access portal on a lateral side of the controlled environment chamber, which is configured to provide access from the outside of the controlled environment chamber to the inside of the controlled environment chamber through a sealable barrier; an outlet portion comprising a container inlet that is configured to receive a container into the interior of the controlled environment chamber and a container outlet that is configured to deliver a container filled with processed fresh fruit out of the controlled environment chamber.
In one aspect, the access portal is one of a plurality of access portals, each access portal being disposed on a lateral side of the controlled environment chamber.
In another aspect, the controlled environment chamber is sealable against the outside environment.
In yet another aspect, the controlled environment chamber is a sterilized chamber.
In another embodiment, a method for processing of fresh fruit includes: delivering fresh fruit to an inlet portion of a controlled environment chamber, the controlled environment chamber being sealable against the outside environment, the controlled environment chamber having a floor, the floor being sloped downward from the inlet portion toward an outlet portion of the controlled environment chamber; processing the fresh fruit on the floor of the controlled environment chamber without directly touching the fresh fruit through an access portal disposed on a lateral side of the controlled environment chamber, the access portal being configured to provide access from the outside of the controlled environment chamber to the inside of the controlled environment chamber through a sealable barrier; receiving via a container inlet of the controlled environment chamber a container without directly touching the container into the controlled environment chamber; and packing the container with processed fresh fruit pieces without directly touching the fresh fruit pieces through an access portal disposed on a lateral side of the controlled environment chamber, where processing is conducted within the controlled environment chamber, while maintaining the interior of the controlled environment chamber at a higher pressure than the outside environment.
For a further understanding of the nature and advantages of the invention, reference should be made to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying figures. It is to be expressly understood, however, that each of the figures is provided for the purpose of illustration and description only and is not intended as a definition of the limits of the embodiments of the present invention.
The following drawing description is common to
The embodiments of the present invention are directed toward systems and methods for the processing and packaging of fresh fruit in a controlled environment chamber. The advantages of the controlled environment chamber for fresh fruit processing and packaging are numerous. For example, the chamber isolates the in-process fruit from the microbial contamination coming from the operators and the tools. Although typical in-plant fruit processing procedures strive to implement high levels of cleanness of the operator's clothes and the tools, a certain level of microbial contamination at the fruit surface still occurs, leading to a gradual decay of the fresh fruit. Irrespective of the post-processing temperature conditions of the cut fresh fruit (i.e. below 35° F. considered favorable and above 35° F. considered unfavorable) the initial microbial contamination will still influence the overall microbial count at a future time.
The details of an exemplary embodiment of the present invention are explained with reference to
The fresh fruit which was received at inlet portion 101, either through inlet port 102 or inlet port 103, is moved into the interior of controlled environment chamber 104 for the processing, like, for instance, top and tail removal, halving, deseeding, slicing, etc. The fresh fruit is moved from one processing step to another along the chamber interior, while the waste is removed from the chamber using a method explained in detail below. The processing is done by the operators who are on the outside of controlled environment chamber 104, but who also have a visual and tactile access to the interior of the chamber, as explained below.
As the fresh fruit processing is finished, and the processed fresh fruit product is ready to be taken out of controlled environment chamber 104, the processed fruit is moved to outlet portion 110, which has tray inlet 115 and tray outlet 116. Empty trays are received at tray inlet 115, the processed fruit is loaded on the trays, and the trays are taken out through tray outlet 116. It will be clear to a person skilled in the art that the tray inlet and outlet can be arranged in many different configurations, including having multiple tray inlets and outlets, as well as sharing the same opening for both the inlet and outlet functions. Tray inlet 115 and tray outlet 116 can be sealable against the outside environment to prevent microbial contamination of the controlled environment chamber. The trays can take many different forms depending on the type and volume of the fruit processed. The trays function as a temporary storage medium for the processed fresh fruit, and they need not necessarily be rigid, but can be plastic bags, wiremesh, or similar.
Controlled environment chamber 104 can be outfitted with an air handling unit 240 which filters the air, therefore reducing microbial and dust contamination inside the chamber. Air filter 245 can be performing to HEPA standards. Air handling unit 240 can be configured to maintain the required air temperature and moisture settings. Thus, the control of the air filtration, temperature, and moisture level is now localized to within the interior of the chamber, which is a much easier control task than the air conditioning of the entire fruit processing floor. The air handling unit can be programmed to maintain positive pressure inside controlled environment chamber 104, which will minimize microbial and dust intake from the outside of the chamber, since the positive pressure inside the chamber will reduce seepage of the dust and microbes into the chamber interior. Furthermore, the operators standing or sitting on the outside of controlled environment chamber 104 do not have to suffer at uncomfortably low temperatures which are maintained inside controlled environment chamber 104, as, for instance, below 35° F. for a preferred fresh fruit environment inside the chamber.
Controlled environment chamber 104 can have one or more top windows 250. The windows provide better visibility inside the chamber. A light source 255 can be positioned above windows 250 to further improve visibility inside the chamber.
Controlled environment chamber 104 can have legs 260 upon which the chamber is mounted and elevated to the height appropriate for the operators' comfort. The legs can have casters 270 for the of chamber repositioning on the processing floor. The casters 270 can be lockable for the stability of the chamber and the safety of the operators.
The cross-sectional view A-A on
Controlled environment chamber 104 has a manifold 360 for fluid distribution to a system of nozzles which are distributed inside the chamber. Manifold 360 delivers a washing or pasteurizing fluid to the nozzles, as described below in connection with
Controlled environment chamber 104 can be equipped with wash manifold 360, which feeds wash fluid to one or more spray nozzles 430. Wash fluid can clean and pasteurize the fruit at different process phases, but it can also be used to clean and sterilize the interior of the chamber and the cutting tools. To achieve these multiple purposes, the nozzles can be selected such that they spray up and down, and also such that they are rotatable. The position and angle of spray nozzles 430 can be adjusted either automatically, through a positioning mechanism 440, or manually. A person skilled in the art of wash nozzles would know how to select the nozzles with the required functions from a wide variety of nozzles available on the market. In case of the manual adjustment, an operator would use gloves 410 to access nozzles 430 in order to set the nozzles at a proper angle for washing the in-process fresh fruit or for the periodic cleaning and sterilizing of the interior of the controlled environment chamber. The processing tools can also be cleaned and sterilized using nozzles 430 in conjunction with appropriate washing fluid. Sealable openings 305 are used to release washing fluid and waste that accumulates at sloped floor 330 of controlled environment chamber 104.
The controlled environment chamber provides many advantages for the processing of fresh cut fruit. For instance, temperature and moisture regulation is localized to a smaller space, the chamber itself, as opposed to the entire processing floor. This saves energy and also provides for improved operators' comfort, because they do not have to suffer at sub 35° F. temperature in order to keep the fruit in the process in the favorable temperature range. Proper workspace lighting and sanitation is also easier due to the localized requirements. If equipped with legs and caster wheels, the chamber can be easily repositioned as the process needs change and new equipment arrangements are needed on the floor.
Some advantageous features of the controlled environment chamber as they relate to reduced microbial contamination and increased shelf life of the fresh cut fruit are discussed below and summarized in
At the end of the processing, fresh cut melon pieces were packaged in the industry standard plastic packages, and shrink banded. Next, the packages produced in both the standard and the controlled environment were transported to an independent research lab for the storage and quantification of the microbial level. The storage temperature was set at 35° F. for the first 24 hours, followed by 45° F. for the next 9 days, for a total duration of 10 days. Industry standard microbiological tests were used in measuring Aerobic Total Plate Count and Yeast and Mold Count. Subjective sensory evaluation of the fruit appearance and acceptability were done on the hedonic scale of 1 to 5, where 1=poor, 2=fair, 3=acceptable, 4=good, and 5=excellent. The evaluations were conducted on the days 1, 6, 8, and 10. For all the graphs in
As will be understood by those skilled in the art, the present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the essential characteristics thereof. These other embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of the present invention, which is set forth in the following claims.