Tag fresh produce

Banana Tray Packaging filling and sealing packaging line. S-30 Fresh banana Tray packaging line.

Bananas were originally marketed in bunches and the leaves were used as padding to minimize the marking and bruising in transit to markets. In the early 1900s wood cases were introduced, with all of the bananas packed as single fingers, and weighing around 90 LBS.  Eventually the wooden crates were replaced by the cardboard cartons we still see used today. and lately you can find smaller packages that comes in plastic trays.

Once the trailers of newly harvested bunches reach the packing shed, either the top of the trailer, which is demount able, is slid onto a rail like system and pushed into the shed, or the trailer is reversed into the shed

Bunches are then lifted onto an overhead conveyor system using an air ram for easier lifting for the operator. Bunches generally weigh around 75-100 LBS  and each day an operator may lift up to 500 bunches. The bags are removed to be recycled and used for upcoming crops.

The overhead gantry system then takes the bunches through a high pressure wash to clean the fruit.

Next the hands of bananas are removed from the bunch stem in a process called “De-handing”. A special thin, straight bladed De-handing knife is used to remove the hands, which each contain from around 25 to 30 individual bananas or finger from the bunch stalks.

Care is taken at all of the above processes to ensure any “passengers” that come into the shed, especially green tree frogs and tree snakes which like to live in the bunches are not harmed and returned to the plantation. Occasionally, some of these passengers do manage to make a long trip to markets, where they are retrieved and sent to local zoos, or returned to the farm from which they came.

After the hands have been removed, they are cut into clusters of between 3 and 9 individual bananas, to make it easier for retailers and consumers further down the supply chain. It is these clusters that you would be used to seeing at your local retailers.

Once cut from the bunch into clusters, the bananas are placed into a fresh water wash tank, or placed onto a packing wheel, for further cleaning, removing of excess sap.

After the wash, and before bananas get to the packing station they are placed onto a conveyor belt where they are graded, sized and sorted to remove any with deformities, blemishes, cuts, bruises or marks that render them unmarketable. This conveyor belt will take the clusters to the packing stations.

The rejected bananas are put on another conveyor belt and will either become stock feed or be chopped up to be reused as plantation fertilizer.

At the end of the conveyor belts are the packing stations, where packers place clusters into banana trays in preparation for journey to markets. The two most common grades or sizes of bananas are “Large “and “Extra Large”

Orics vegetable tray filling and sealing machine

  Watch Orics SLTS Tray Sealer Fresh Produce.

Watch Orics S-30 tray Sealer Fresh Produce.

Orics will Get you the most out of your fresh produce with  packaging solutions and proven controlled atmosphere packaging technology.

Fresh Produce Packaging by Orics Industries

Fresh produce is more susceptible to disease organisms because of increase in the respiration rate after harvesting. The respiration of fresh fruits and vegetables can be reduced by many preservation techniques. Modified atmospheres (MA), i.e., elevated concentrations of carbon dioxide and reduced levels of oxygen and ethylene, can be useful supplements to provide optimum temperature and relative humidity in maintaining the quality of fresh fruits and vegetables after harvest.

Modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) technology is largely used for minimally processed fruits and vegetables including fresh, “ready-to-use” vegetables.                                                        Extensive research has been done in this research area for many decades. Oxygen, CO₂, and N₂, are most often used in MAP. The recommended percentage of O₂ in a modified atmosphere for fruits and vegetables for both safety and quality falls between 1 and 5%. Although other gases such as nitrous and nitric oxides, sulphur dioxide, ethylene, chlorine, as well as ozone and propylene oxide have also been investigated, they have not been applied commercially due to safety, regulatory, and cost considerations. Successful control of both product respiration and ethylene production and perception by MAP can result in a fruit or vegetable product of high organoleptic quality; however, control of these processes is dependent on temperature control.

orics vegetables tray sealing

orics fresh produce packaging

ORICS- Fruit cup and tray sealing.

Watch Orics Fruit Cup Filling and Sealing.

The average consumer rarely thinks about how their strawberries, asparagus or yogurt got to the supermarket aisle. They simply peruse the items and select the ones they want. But those strawberries have been on a journey of many steps, considerations and challenges to arrive fresh and ripe on that supermarket shelf.

Because of the many variables involved in packaging and shipping, getting perishables from point A to point B is one of the most challenging aspects of food manufacturing. Buyers – whether it’s a grocery store or the end-consumer – expect a safe, attractive, fresh product.

There are hundreds of ways to package perishables – but there are a few guiding factors to packaging perishables successfully. In this post, we will outline some of the challenges associated with packaging perishable foods and how to overcome each.

When it comes to a product line at any food manufacturer or distributor, efficiency, flexibility and speed are the hallmarks of a well-run warehouse. With perishable foods, efficiency becomes even more important as the safety and freshness of the product is at stake. If production warrants, elements of automation, including automatic (or semi-automatic) packaging machines and conveyors,would be worthwhile investments.

whether you decide to Package your fruit in cup or in tray, you need first to make sure that you have the right filler and sealer for that product. it could be a Rotary machine or linear one, here at Orics, our  equipment and video page will surely give you the right solution for your Fruit Cup Tray sealing and filling machines.