Most sesame seeds are produced in tropical countries, such as India and Uganda. A large portion of those sesame seeds is consumed in countries with strict hygiene standards, such as Germany and US. So, global players in the sesame seed business are continually looking for ways to improve their product in terms of hygiene.
Damian van Dijk, Account Manager Manager at CleanLight, explains: “Producers need to sanitize their product, and yet they prefer not to apply chemical products that may or may not be acceptable in any given market. So, back in 2018, some of the big producers started looking at the use of CleanLight. First of all in their lab. They needed to verify efficacy, but they also wanted to ensure that there was no effect in terms of taste, smell, and such”
Those trials confirmed that the pathogen load could be substantially reduced indeed. And taste tests confirmed no negative effect on flavor. The next stage was installation in a producing region. That involved exporting the equipment from the factory in Netherlands, training of the staff locally, and so on. Arne Aiking, CEO at CleanLight tells us: “We also work with the producers and traders after installation. Sometimes our customers make improvements to facilitate the flow of the seed, or to kill off an even higher percentage of the Salmonella contaminants. Our customers usually share those improvements with us, and we incorporate those improvements in subsequent installations.”.
An other very important task was compliance with regulatory agencies. Aiking: “For example, the HACCP organization does, rightfully, not allow the chance that glass chards end up in the food. That presented a serious challenge which we could solve thanks to our years of experience in the treatment of hard fruits, soft fruits, etc. with the CleanLight technology, where the similar concerns existed”
Damian confirms: “Indeed. Our customers typically conclude that one CleanLight hood can treat 150 kilograms of sesame seed per hour; An installation with two hoods can sanitize 300 kilograms per hour, and so on. Our customers are pleased with the consistently good results. So, some have decided to double their capacity with more CleanLight hoods. That means they can supply even more sesame seeds, meeting the strictest standards of hygiene for their global customerbase”.
The clip on youTube shows two CleanLight hoods operating in East Africa. The two hoods are placed “in series” so that this installation disinfects 300 kilograms of sesame seed per hour.
More Info: Damian VanDijk, damian@cleanlight.nl
