Out of more than 50 candidates, the Marel Stork AeroScalder was one of the three finalists for the Food Valley Award 2015, the prestigious Dutch price for innovation in agrifood, feed and horticulture.

In their report, the Food Valley judges praised the AeroScalder's contribution to hygiene, food safety and environment in the poultry industry.

Every year, the Food Valley organization awards a prize for the best Dutch agrifood innovation. For the 11th edition of the Food Valley Award, the AeroScalder was one of the three nominees.

Energy saving

The Marel Stork AeroScalder is an innovative scalding system for loosening poultry feathers prior to defeathering. It saves up to 75 percent in water and 50 percent in energy compared to traditional immersion scalding systems. The AeroScalder is a closed system with moisturized hot air to loosen the feathers. The air is reconditioned for recirculation, creating a closed and fully controlled process. Unlike immersion, the process stays stable from beginning to end, so every product is treated identically. In addition, odor emissions are considerably lower.

Jury report

The Food Valley judges had a difficult choice to make in comparing two coffee products to poultry processing equipment. The jury was particularly impressed with the innovative techniques of the AeroScalder and sees global application opportunities. "The technology offers important advantages in terms of food safety and food quality, as the chance of cross-contamination by pathogens is significantly reduced. Besides that, considerable savings in water and energy use can be realized by applying this process. It is a very valuable development, which can add to ameliorated global food quality in an efficient and sustainable way. Therefore this innovation is justifiably one of the three nominees for the Food Valley Award 2015," says the jury report.

Marel Stork Poultry Processing is proud to have been nominated and congratulates coffeemakers Peeze for winning the Food Valley Award.