Reducing waste and enhancing safety of fresh produce by hydraulic shock washing

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This project aims to improve the efficiency, sustainability and safety of bagged salad production, worth over £450M retailsale value in the UK, through more effective processing of fresh produce. A novel hydraulic shock washing processdesigned to be installed in commercial washing systems will be investigated. The process has the potential to extend theshelf life of prepared salads and other foodstuffs prone to microbially driven spoilage. The process can also reduce the totalamount of water used, and the environmental impact of toxic biocides used in many wash systems. The consortium will beled by a leading salad producer, and involve members of the salad packaging, retailing, and equipment manufacturingindustries, supported by one of the UK's leading surface biofilm research teams, thus demonstrating integration across thefood manufacturing industry, and the research base.The existing laboratory Pulsifier works on the principle of a plastic bag containing food and diluent inside a metal ring whichis cycled to generate the required shock waves. This project will build on the success of the laboratory equipment toremove biofilms with minimal tissue damage, to develop a robust continuous flume system. The innovation therefore is indeveloping a system which will work in a continuous mode, and can be assimilated into a typical contra-flow washingprocess (rather than the batch process in which the lab Pulsifier works). There is no such system in place today, and hencethe new equipment and process will be completely novel.UoS will lead the laboratory validation and be involved with on-site factory testing when hydraulic shock prototypes arebeing evaluated. Overall the project will involve 9 WPs with UoS involved in WPs 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9:WP1. Assess the Pulsifier in the laboratory (determine effects of varying Hz, amplitude and duration parameters onphysical performance and microbial removal)WP2. Develop prototype 1WP3. Assess prototype 1 in the laboratory (benchmarked against the Pulsifier performance)WP4. Develop prototype 2WP5. Assess prototype 2 and consider scale up challengesWP6. Installation of equipment in factory lineWP7. Factory testingWP8. Final assessment of performanceWP9. Project management (Quarterly review meetings, assess business plan and risk register)