Superior Quality Waterjet Food Cutting

Every type of food requires proper cutting and packaging to preserve its integrity until the end user consumes it. Food manufacturers have tried countless packaging and cutting technology options in the last decades to find the best for food hygiene, quality, and integrity.

One of the significant contenders for superior food-cutting results is waterjet food-cutting technology. Due to its popularity, people often ask about its effectiveness and whether or not it has any benefits.

This article discusses waterjet food cutting, its benefits, limitations, and how to use it in the best way possible.

Can You Cut Food With a Water Jet Cutter?

Yes, it is possible to cut food with a waterjet cutter. One of its key benefits is its ability to cut random shapes in food products. In fact, waterjet technology is the best way to cut food. It is one of the fastest-growing trends in food-production facilities. This method can be used to cut any food product, with some common ones being:

• Different types of steaks

• Cod

• Cakes and Pastries

• Candy Bars & other Confection Products

• Fish

• Pineapple

• Celery

• Leek

• Lamb

• Sweet Potato

• Silverbeet

• Pumpkin

• Baked food products like danish

• Frozen Food

• Pizza

• Poultry

• Meats

• Many other fruits and vegetables

What are the Benefits of Using a Water Jet to Cut Food?

There are many reasons to replace conventional cutting solutions with waterjet food cutting technology. The benefits include:

Hygienic Method

Waterjet food cutting does not require physical blade cutting or any other tool contact with the food item. The process is done using high-pressure water, so it is hygienic without any possibility of cross-contamination or bacterial transfer. Additionally, the lack of manual interference maintains a sanitary environment by eliminating contamination risk factors such as human hair.

Minimal Kerfs

Waterjet cutting leads to a small kerf width, removing the least amount of material from the food item. It is an important factor, as even a slight amount of product lost is expensive.

Cutting Shape Versatility

The fine-servo technology and precision vision system used in waterjet cutting make it possible to do intricate cutting to make any shape and size. All that is required is to load the specific program and the waterjet cutting nozzle will automatically move in an efficient cutting pattern to create that shape. Cutting shapes can be done with meats, vegetables, fish, frozen foods, or other items as required.

Operation Safety

Waterjet cutting provides the highest safety for the operator and other workers. A conventional solution, such as physical blade cutting, often leads to human injury. However, there is no requirement to manually handle the cutting nozzle in waterjet cutting.

Cost-Effective

Waterjet cutting is a fast and automated cutting technology. So it can lead to more control and efficient production. Additionally, it doesn’t require the metal detection machines that other cutting methods require to detect broken blade fragments. These reasons make waterjet cutting one of the most cost-effective and highly efficient cutting methods out there.

Environment-Friendly

Waterjet cutting is a completely green process because it does not use harsh chemicals or release toxic gases. The only ingredient used in this process is pure water, which can be recycled after the process.

Longer Shelf Life

By eliminating the chances of contamination and creating high-quality cuts, waterjet cutting provides a longer shelf life for food items. In other cutting methods, there is always some degree of contamination, which leads to quicker spoiling of food products.

Less Product Waste

The minimal kerfs lead to lower material removal, minimal product waste, and greater efficiency. When using cutting technology like blade cutting, a lot of material gets removed and stuck to the blades. This leads to higher product waste and more rejections.

Ease of Use

While other cutting methods require extensive training and skill, water jet cutting technology has no such requirement. The machine is controlled with software that contains all the cut shapes preloaded. To create any particular cut shape, the operator just needs to select that option on the machine.

No Heat Damage

Heat can change food completely. Cutting tools often become heated during cutting operations, which is undesirable in the food industry when cutting items. However, waterjet cutting is a cold food-cutting solution, leading to no heat damage.

Less Maintenance

Physical tools like knife blades require maintenance, such as sharpening dull blades. However, since waterjet cutting is a simple cutting solution using water, much less maintenance is needed.

US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Approved

The FDA is the sheriff when it comes to any products in the food industry or pharmaceuticals. If any product or production method is dangerous or harmful, it is outlawed by the FDA. The organization has given USDA approval for waterjet cutting as a completely safe food-cutting process. The fact that waterjet cutting food is a USDA-approved method has driven the growing trend in applying this technology in the food industry.

24×7 Operation

Waterjet cutting machines need no breaks and no downtime for changing blades (since none exist!). Ultrahigh-pressure waterjets can cut 24×7 in the food industry, leading to an exponential rise in production rate.

How to Choose a Water Jet Food Cutter?

When choosing a water jet cutting machine for the food industry, the equipment must be selected carefully. Some of the factors to consider are:

• Build Quality: The food industry provides one of the most critical consumer goods – food. Therefore, low-quality machinery that has a possibility of frequent breakdowns won’t do. When choosing, focus on the machine build quality above anything else. Even minor machine breakdowns can lead to the rotting of food or the spoiling of entire batches.

• Budget: Budget is a crucial factor to consider when purchasing, especially for small to medium-scale food production and packaging facilities. Waterjet machines are available in a wide price range, so set the budget you wish to spend on the process.

• Features: Waterjet cutting in the food processing industry does not require features associated with abrasive usage or underwater cutting, which are more useful for cutting materials like metal. Therefore, it is a cost-saving idea to go easy on the features and choose only those required.

Best Waterjet Cutter for Food Products

Techni Waterjet’s machines are often considered the best waterjet technology for food processing and cutting by various industry experts and Food Production Daily magazine. These machines are built to last and have popular cut shapes preloaded in the software, which comes complimentary with each machine.

These waterjet cutters are already being used by countless small to large-scale kitchens and food processing industries. They can cut an item of any thickness into any shape possible. Therefore, if you are wondering which manufacturer to choose, you can never go wrong with Techni Waterjet.

Endnotes

Waterjet cutting technology is already replacing other cutting methods in the global food industry. Water jet cutting turns out to be the winner whether we consider the very intricate cutting perspective or see it from the point of view of hygiene and cost efficiency.

Therefore, whether your industry works with meat, vegetables, fish, frozen foods, or any other sector, water jet cutting is the best fit for you.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Here are the answers to some common doubts regarding water jet cutting of food: