Nuts and seeds have many nutritional benefits. They contain polyunsaturated fatty acids, vegetable proteins, easily usable carbohydrates, fibres, sodium, potassium, calcium, phosphorus, niacin, essential amino acids, fluorine, iron, copper, magnesium, B vitamins and vitamins A, C, D and E.
They contain the water-soluble vitamin B1, essential for the metabolism of carbohydrates in the human body. Additionally, they contain mineral nutrients and micronutrients such as sugar, linoleic acid, manganese and folic acid.
However, the long-chain fatty acids and the volatile or heat-sensitive constituents make nut products sensitive to thermal treatment processes. The fatty acid chains are easily destroyed, especially in roasting processes, resulting in significant reduction in durability.
The nut products will go off less quickly if treated. The Kreyenborg FoodSafety-IRD provides this protection using infrared light. Traditional convective treatment methods involve a simple burning procedure from outside.
Roasted products are heated up from inside and subjected to additional heat input from outside. This is a more gentle roasting procedure that achieves homogeneous heat distribution. Moreover, the roasting time and energy consumption are reduced significantly.
The constant mixing of the roasted material facilitates the creation of an absolutely regular roasting result. The product is mixed and conveyed gently, continuously and at low rotational speed.
In this way, even brittle products such as cashews, peanuts, and almond slivers are preserved.
It is possible to spray in fine water mist during the treatment procedure, if required. The surface evaporation of the water spray adds an additional protective effect to the product, due to the re-cooling process.
This effect may also be utilised for coating of the nuts e.g. with salt (salt water), for instance.
The process is also useful for hygiene. Insects and their oviposition can be destroyed when exposed to 80˚C for a short time. The FoodSafety-IRD does this particularly quickly. The risk of formation of salmonella colonies is also excluded, verified in more than 8,000 individual independent analyses.