Supermarket Perimeter - January 2021 - 58

SPOTLIGHT

Q&A with ASTRA'S RYO TAKESHITA

What separates Astra peeling machines from other methods
of peeling fruit?
Astra fruit peeling machines can peel the skin off the fruit
faster and more beautifully than hand peeling or an ordinary
peeling machine.
Name three ways in which Astra machines help your
customers achieve their goals?
1. With saving the labor cost, the costs for the machine can
be recovered in a few months.
2. It prevents juice dripping from the fresh-cut fruit. The fruit
looks better and the shelf life will be longer.
3. Yield rates will be increased. In other words, it decreases
food waste.
Is there increased demand for fresh-cut fruits and vegetables
at the commissary and retail grocery levels?
Talking about Japan, yes. Since every fruit need to be peeled,
buying fresh-cut fruit can save one's time and can answer to
the demand of someone who wants to eat fruit, but a whole
fruit is too much for them.

Based on the Tomra's Orbit and
Eco Steam Peelers, the Odyssey
Steam Peeler incorporates
Tomra's control software, an
enlarged steam peeling vessel,
and a weigh hopper, enabling
customers to process a wide
range of vegetables and fruits
efficiently. The vessel is bottleshaped to allow large volumes of
fruits and vegetables to be peeled
all at once.
Using a simple steam supply
and exhaust arrangement, the
Odyssey Steam Peeler features
low maintenance, low operating
costs, and delivers highly efficient
steam peeling performance.
58 - JANUARY 2021

That make it an ideal choice
for many low-cost processing
environments, such as those in
emerging markets and customers
who only produce for 4-6
months each year, according to
the company.
The new peeler's user
interface is simple to ensure
that customers can easily make
changes and achieve the correct
performance and production
volumes. The Odyssey Steam
Peeler is easy to operate, is
available in multiple languages,
and features intuitive controls to
manage and adjust your peeling
requirements easily.

Ninety-four SKUs
and counting
Charlotte, N.C.-based Dole Food
Co.'s lineup of fresh-cut fresh
produce currently includes
94 SKUs, said Bil Goldﬁeld, the
company's director of corporate
communications. That includes
65 packaged salad kits and blends
and 20 RTE Bowls (single and
multi-serve), three Mini Meals, four
fresh-cut pineapple products and
two fresh-cut carrot products.
" From an innovation standpoint, and as part of our mission
to increase America's nutritional
health through a diet rich in fresh
fruits and vegetables, Dole's product developers, nutritionists and
marketers maintain an 'always-on'
commitment to launching compelling new added-value fruit and
vegetable products, including
fresh-cut, " Goldﬁeld said.
The need for quick and
convenient is not going away, he
added, and eating patterns are
shifting - more on-the-go, more
snacking, more ready-to-eat.
" Dole is actively expanding
its branded fresh-cut product
offerings, including those
featuring pineapples, carrots
and other fruits and vegetables,
both to balance our leadership
in packed salads and to satisfy
growing customer demand for

supermarketperimeter.com

convenient nutrition. " Dole has
a number of fresh-cut fruit and
vegetable products in the pipeline
nationally and in partnership
with speciﬁc retailers that it will
announce in 2021.
Dole is working on a number
of new fresh-cut products in the
" fresh-snack " and " fresh-side "
categories, both nationally and in
partnership with certain retailers,
he added.
Early in the pandemic, frozen
fruit saw a big lift due to fears
of bare shelves and the need to
stock up, Goldﬁeld said.
That said, the resurgence of
home cooking and meal prep,
not to mention the continued
need for time-saving solutions,
impacted convenient fresh-cut
produce.
" Similar to our value-added/
packaged and commodity
businesses, the net impact of
the coronavirus on fresh-cut
was positive as consumers
recognized the need for
nutritious foods during shelterin-place orders and as stores
remained open and operational, "
Goldﬁeld said.
Dole experienced increased
demand in fresh-cut at the onset
of the pandemic, he said. By the
end of the year, movement had
returned to more normal levels.

DOLE

What technology solutions does Astra provide for fresh-cut
fruits and vegetables?
The large, industrial model (FAP-1001) is used in fresh-cut
food factories, apple pie factories, hospitals, luxury ships, inﬂight meal factories and more.
The small, tabletop model (KA-700H) is used in juice bars,
cake shops, fruit stores, supermarkets, restaurants, hotels,
school lunchrooms and more.

http://www.supermarketperimeter.com

Supermarket Perimeter - January 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Supermarket Perimeter - January 2021