“Meat” new people, “hatch” new ideas—that was the mantra of this year’s IPPE show.
The International Production & Processing Expo (IPPE) is said to be the world’s largest annual meat, poultry and feed industry event of its kind, and this year, it brought together more than 1,301 exhibitors, over 30,000 attendees and spanned more than 464,750 net square feet of exhibit space at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta Jan. 26-28.
“This year’s tremendous exhibitor and attendance numbers are a tribute to IPPE’s unparalleled education sessions, abundant networking opportunities and distinctive exhibits. The enthusiasm and energy displayed by this year’s attendees and exhibitors will only ensure the success and growth of future IPPEs,” according to the three organizations that make up IPPE—the U.S. Poultry & Egg Association (USPOULTRY), Tucker, Ga.; American Feed Industry Association (AFIA), Arlington, Va.; and the North American Meat Institute (NAMI), Washington, D.C.
Exhibitors demonstrated the most current innovations in equipment, supplies and services used by industry firms in the production and processing of meat, poultry, eggs and feed products—from live production and processing to further processing and packaging.
The wide variety of educational programs complemented the exhibits by keeping industry management apprised on the latest issues and events. This year’s educational lineup featured 25 programs, ranging from a conference on challenges and opportunities in meat product traceability to a technical seminar on maximizing the efficiency of the poultry industry conducted entirely in Spanish, among others.
Here is a rundown of some of the latest innovations in equipment, supplies and services introduced and showcased at IPPE 2016.
CO2 & CRYOGENIC EQUIPMENT
Linde LLC, a Murray Hill, N.J.-based subsidiary of Linde North America, Inc., showcased its team of advanced proprietary cryogenic freezers and carbon dioxide (CO2) snow chilling solutions designed to replace dry ice pellets.
For example, the DRI PACK box chilling system and other automated solutions fill boxes with CO2 snow as they move along a conveyor. The ACCU-CHILL combo chiller automates loading and chilling cut poultry in combo bins. And, Linde CO2 snow horns and snow generators are engineered to efficiently chill with CO2 snow.
Meanwhile, the CRYOLINE CW (CRYOWAVE) IQF freezer uses a patented rolling-wave action on the conveyor belt to keep items separate as they are individually quick frozen (IQF). And, the Linde impingement freezer is said to freeze about 30% more than a standard tunnel freezer of similar length thanks to a proprietary process that uses high-velocity liquid nitrogen.
Linde also offers advanced ACCU-CHILL bottom-injection systems that can now chill from the bottom of mixers using liquid nitrogen.
