Allpax Products, powered by Pro Mach, said today the company is celebrating more than two years of success with the patented Shaka® retort, with nine production size units along with several R&D size retorts installed at customer sites and more bookings expected. Shaka’s rapid sterilization of shelf-stable food, up to 90 percent faster than static retorts, comes from radically quick and even dispersion of heat within a package through 2gs of longitudinal force. (Allpax Pack Expo 2013 Booth C-2114)
“Until Shaka was commercialized, it was difficult in the retort sterilization process to achieve the highest in quality taste, texture, and appearance of medium-to-high viscosity products with a low liquid content,” said Greg Jacob, Vice President and General Manager, Allpax. “The time it took to sterilize was simply too long. Shaka has radically lowered the thermal burden of these foods and is today helping to improve the quality of current products and open the door to entirely new categories.”
Allpax invested more than five years in developing Shaka from a licensed concept to commercial offering and was the first company in the world to do so. The first Shaka half-ton capacity production models were installed in 2011. The jumbo units with one-ton capacity followed in 2012. Research shows that in some instances food from a Shaka process has the same qualities as food that is processed by UHT aseptic technology. Shaka is ideal for microwaveable pouches and bowls – packaging that has a horizontal orientation in a retort basket.
The entry route to a Shaka application has been to buy or lease the Allpax 2402 Multimode R&D retort, which is capable of more than 20 different retort modes, including Shaka, and is designed for new product development. The 2402 retort will be on display at Pack Expo 2013 as will a variety of microwaveable packaging ideal for Shaka. Customers also utilize Allpax’s in-house lab for the early stages of product development.
“The fact that Allpax has a mature, robust design with Shaka is important to Allpax customers,” Jacob said. “It proves that this technology delivers on its promise of reliable food processing improvements at a range never before seen with shelf stable products.”
The white paper, Shaka® Retorts Shake Up the Shelf-Stable Food Paradigm, is being offered as a free download by Allpax. For information on a host of Allpax retort solutions, call 1-888-893-9277 and visit www.Allpax.com.
