Pallet irradiators for food processing

This paper looks at the various design concepts for the irradiation processing of food products, with particular emphasis on handling the products on pallets.

Pallets appear to offer the most attractive method for handling foods from many considerations. Products are transported on pallets. Warehouse space is commonly designed for pallet storage and, if products are already palletized before and after irradiation, then labour could be saved by irradiating on pallets. This is also an advantage for equipment operation since a larger carrier volume means lower operation speeds.

Different pallet irradiator design concepts are examined and their suitability for several applications are discussed. For example, low product holdup for fast turn around will be a consideration for those operating an irradiation “service” business; others may require a very large source where efficiency is the primary requirement and this will not be consistent with low holdup.

The radiation performance characteristics and processing costs of these machines are discussed.