Contrary to what seems to be popular belief, fresh-cut produce is not ‘lazy cooking’. Many people prefer buying fresh produce that you prepare yourself, but for many people, especially those with disabilities, pre-cut produce (both fresh and frozen options) is a blessing.
Fresh-cut produce allows many people with disabilities to have an easier way of cooking. In Britain, there are around 14 million people living with a disability, not including those with chronic illnesses, arthritis, people recovering from surgery, etc. For these people, being able to include certain vegetables or fruit in their diet, that otherwise they might not be able to prepare by themselves, is very important to keep a healthy lifestyle. Even things like ready-made mashed potatoes are important in situations where people cannot make it themselves.
One thing in particular that has increased in demand is pre-diced onions. Slicing onions can be tricky, even for experienced people, and so having the option to have them already diced and ready to go can facilitate the cooking process a lot.
A lot of people do not support fresh-cut produce, because of the plastic in which it is packaged in. In recent years, there has been a rise in awareness around plastic consumption and how it is important to reduce the single use of plastic. While this may be true, it is not the fault of the pre-cut food itself. It be stored in a lot of different ways, and it is important to consider that, for many people around the country, fresh-cut produce is the only way to go.
M&P Engineering is one of the world’s leading providers of food processing equipment, including its industry-leading onion peeling machine. The Large Onion Peeling machine tops and tails onions before peeling them with a water-free process, leaving no waste slurry.
M&P Engineering’s Carousel Grid Cutting machine is new to the market and can cut up to 4,800 pieces of vegetables and fruit per hour into fries, batons, wedges, petals, or slices. You can learn more about it here.
Another piece of fresh-cut equipment available from M&P Engineering is the Top & Tailer machine. This machine tops and tails the radish, at a rate of up to 100 per minute. The top and tail knives of the machine float to adjust position to the size of the radish, reducing waste and allowing operation on a wide range of radish sizes and shapes.
M&P Engineering also furnishes the world food processing market with food depositing machines, rotary transfer units, sachet filling machines, shallot peeling machines and other onion processing equipment.
To find out more about M&P Engineering’s food processing machinery, click here or call on +44 (0) 161 872 8378.