Ziegra Ice Machines has recently supplied a Lancashire, England, BRC6 A-Grade, EEC approved fish wholesaler with a new up to date ice machine to replace its existing scale ice machine.
The company supplies to the high class catering industry in the North West of England and needs around three tonnes per day, so a Ziegra applications engineer recommended a UBE3.500-2 model granular flake ice machine to address its needs.
The UBE3.500-2 has twin refrigeration and control circuits, which means the machine can be sanitised and maintained while still producing ice. If a problem should develop in the future, only one half of the machine will be affected, which gives time for a repair while still maintaining 50% of ice production.
The twin controls also allow the two halves of the machine to be operated independently, so during quiet periods when full production may not be needed, one half can be switched off.
The UBE3.500-2 has a closed, single pass water system that minimises the contact of the water with the air until the ice is produced and ejected into the ice storage bin. This has two effects: firstly this intrinsically hygienic design helps to keep the ice as pure as the mains water; and secondly, it makes sanitising the machine a quick and easy operation. The fully enclosed design helps to keep contamination out of the machine and the stainless frame and panels offer an easy to clean surface.
The customer tested the ice for microbial contamination every week for the first six weeks after commissioning and during this period of frequent testing no contamination was found in the ice.
Ice level detectors stop the machine when the ice bin is full, without ever touching the ice. Once the ice bin is removed, the ice machine starts back up again automatically, filling the next bin.
This fully automatic operation ensures that the only thing the operators need do is remember to change the bins around periodically. Full bins are usually stored in a cold room above 2°C to minimise melt loss.
The customer selected the midi size of granular flake ice as the flakes were large enough to minimise melting loss during extended storage, while the smooth granular flakes with no sharp edges means the fish will not be damaged. Granular flake ice maintains it shape and remains free flowing, even after storage in ambient conditions.
