A datalogger provides effective temperature monitoring, claims study
FRPERC's Christian James said that dataloggers are traditionally not used to record temperatures in food processing. However, he said that the devices can record the temperature of the filling during the cooking and can also indicate the best position for the product within an oven. "The use of a datalogger can optimize the cooking process to eliminate the problem of overcooking as well as reduce the amount of energy used," according to James. Cooking trials Trials were conducted using a datalogger in meat pies as part of two year project between FRPERC and UK gourmet pie manufacturer, Pieminister into the measurement and modelling of heat and mass transfer from complex foodstuff. According to James, Pieminister had switched to a rotary oven to boost production levels but found it difficult to measure the high temperatures associated with this type of oven. Overcooking "Companies often rely on measuring core temperatures immediately after, and not during, cooking of pastry-filled products. However, this can result in substantial overcooking of the pastry to ensure an adequate core temperature of 70°C has been reached," said James. "To overcome this hurdle, we decided to put a low cost ultra small datalogger inside the pie, to record its temperature while cooking and during ambient cooling prior to de-thinning. Crucially, we found that temperatures continue to rise substantially during cooling," added James. Increasing productivity Tristan Hogg, Director of Pieminister said that: "working in a Knowledge Transfer Partnership with the University of Bristol enabled us to take the business one step further - and has already put Pieminister ahead of our competitors." Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTP) is a European-wide programme helping businesses to improve their competitiveness and productivity through the better use of knowledge, technology and skills. Each partnership employs one or more high calibre associates (recently qualified people) to work on a project, which is core to the strategic development of the business.
