Hygienic injector design improves food safety, reduces costs

Bottom injection chills food faster, more effectively and at a lower cost than other cooling methods because there’s no loss of cooling power through the air, as there is when cryogenics are deployed through the top of a mixer.

Linde’s patented self-sealing cryogenic injectors (see inset image) are designed to prevent food product from penetrating nozzle orifices.
Linde’s patented self-sealing cryogenic injectors (see inset image) are designed to prevent food product from penetrating nozzle orifices.

A patented nozzle design that prevents food and moisture from entering the cryogenic injection systems used to chill products is helping processors reduce production costs and improve food safety. Detailed in a new white paper from Linde LLC, the self-sealing injectors prevent food product from penetrating nozzle orifices, where bacteria could grow.

Linde has incorporated the new nozzles into a bottom-injection design that deploys either liquid nitrogen or carbon dioxide to chill products in mixers, kettles and other food processing equipment. Bottom injection chills food faster, more effectively and at a lower cost than other cooling methods because there’s no loss of cooling power through the air, as there is when cryogenics are deployed through the top of a mixer. Cryogenic bottom injectors are installed at strategic points to maximize chilling efficiency.

“The injector nozzle deploys a plunger that achieves a positive shutoff at the orifice, which is only open when cryogenics are being injected under pressure,” explains Mark DiMaggio, head of food and beverage for Linde Americas. The orifice also stays flush with the inside of a mixer.

The new injection system is available with an option that allows processors to switch between liquid nitrogen or CO2 as needed for greater flexibility in supply and production. It can also be custom-engineered to work in existing equipment.

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