SAIREM, a world-leading specialist in microwave (MW) and radio frequency (RF) industrial solutions, will showcase the company’s innovative seafood and fish processes at the Seafood Expo held from 26-28 April 2022 in Barcelona, Spain. Headquartered in Lyon, France, the company has perfected food safety and process efficiency. From tempering and defrosting to the production of ready meals, Sairem’s solutions leads to consistent high quality and extended shelf life.

MW and RF technologies for seafood and fish: preserved the proprierties of the ready meal production

Thanks to the speed of MW and RF processes, Sairem’s technologies maximise food safety, which is of paramount importance for seafood and fish products. The use of microwaves enables a thermal process and is authorised in the processing of organic food by most international organic certification bodies.

In addition to shorter cooking times due to the fast heating, MW technology heats from the inside out, eliminates cold spots and enables precise temperature control. The right chosen time and temperature of the process also ensures that bacterial growth is limited, thus contributing to the safety of the final product. The properties of the food, in terms of colour, weight, taste, vitamins and nutrients are perfectly preserved, without any use of additives. A further advantage: The Sairem technology is energy efficient and 100% electric – resulting in no greenhouse gas emission at the production plant.

Defrosting and tempering – maximizing yield

Defrosting and tempering by MW or RF has many advantages compared to traditional processes. Due to the speed and uniformity of MW and RF, defrosting only takes from 3 to 20 minutes with minimum drip loss. By eliminating the drip loss and degradation, the raw material yield is improved significantly.
Moreover, temperature homogeneity throughout the food block allows for better post processing of products and can be continuous or in batches – tailored according to the customers’ production needs.

With MW and RF defrosting and tempering Sairem enables their customers to deliver the perfect raw material for a perfect final product.
For fish tempering process, Sairem is the only company to offer both Microwave or Radio Frequency technologies in its portfolio. The delivered power varies for each equipment, from 5 up to 300 kW.

Ready meal production: pasteurisation for safe, delicious seafood and fish

Sairem’s new generation of pasteurisation tunnels are suitable for all types of ready meals or single components. Depending on the ingredients and the customer’s process, the tunnel can either pasteurise only, or cook and pasteurise at the same time. The latter is more suitable for fish and seafood as they have short cooking times. The more sensitive the ingredient, the better MW technology is suited to it.
The tunnel pasteurises at a maximum temperature of 95-100°C depending on the product. It processes all types of trays no matter the size or the composition – plastic, glass or paper based. It can also be used for thermoformed packs and pouches.