Project overview
This project aims to improve the efficiency, sustainability and safety of bagged salad production, worth over £450M retail sale value in the UK, through more effective processing of fresh produce. A novel hydraulic shock washing process designed to be installed in commercial washing systems will be investigated. The process has the potential to extend the shelf life of prepared salads and other foodstuffs prone to microbially driven spoilage. The process can also reduce the total amount of water used, and the environmental impact of toxic biocides used in many wash systems. The consortium will be led by a leading salad producer, and involve members of the salad packaging, retailing, and equipment manufacturing industries, supported by one of the UK's leading surface biofilm research teams, thus demonstrating integration across the food manufacturing industry, and the research base. The existing laboratory Pulsifier works on the principle of a plastic bag containing food and diluent inside a metal ring which is cycled to generate the required shock waves. This project will build on the success of the laboratory equipment to remove biofilms with minimal tissue damage, to develop a robust continuous flume system. The innovation therefore is in developing a system which will work in a continuous mode, and can be assimilated into a typical contra-flow washing process (rather than the batch process in which the lab Pulsifier works). There is no such system in place today, and hence the new equipment and process will be completely novel. UoS will lead the laboratory validation and be involved with on-site factory testing when hydraulic shock prototypes are being evaluated. Overall the project will involve 9 WPs with UoS involved in WPs 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9: WP1. Assess the Pulsifier in the laboratory (determine effects of varying Hz, amplitude and duration parameters on physical performance and microbial removal) WP2. Develop prototype 1 WP3. Assess prototype 1 in the laboratory (benchmarked against the Pulsifier performance) WP4. Develop prototype 2 WP5. Assess prototype 2 and consider scale up challenges WP6. Installation of equipment in factory line WP7. Factory testing WP8. Final assessment of performance WP9. Project management (Quarterly review meetings, assess business plan and risk register)