Page 70 - AMEFT Journal 2021-2

TECHNOLOGY & SUSTAINABILITY
Its hazelnut trees’ milestone birthday
The yield of a hazelnut tree increases as it ages, reaching its peak output at around 12 years old. German hazelnut processor FrankenGeNuss expects its highest yields in the next few years. Now with its first ever optical sorting machine, the company is well prepared for that day. Whilst it previously took an enti- re day to process 100 kg of hazelnuts, with the help of Bühler’s BioVisionTM technology, the processor is now able to sort 800 kg in just 2.5 hours. Additionally, the company has seen its biggest issue of shell contamina- tion resolved.
Established in 2013, FrankenGeNuss GmbH & Co. KG is a family-owned hazelnut plant managed by Martin Stiegler. With six employees, the plant is located in Gonnersdorf near Cadolzburg in Franconia, Germa- ny and boasts nine hectares of land with over 1,000 hazelnut trees, serving as a popular local tourist at- traction. Approximately 40-50 tons of hazelnuts are cleaned, dried, cracked, separated and processed by the company every year. Its farm shop and online shop offer a wide variety of products including palm oil-free nougat spreads, roasted hazelnuts, hazelnut salt and hazelnut oil.
Sustainable practices and environmental responsibilities
As well as its strong emphasis on quality, FrankenGe- Nuss is committed to sustainability and environment- friendly practices. In 2017, the company stopped using chemical crop protection and insecticides. A flock of 1,600 chickens roam the processor’s hazelnut fields consuming hazelnut-laced feed which in turn posi- tively affects the quality of their eggs. These eggs are then sold by FrankenGeNuss to local restaurants and used in pasta production.
Manual to optical sorting
Stiegler says, “Before investing in an optical sorter, we sorted all of our hazelnuts by hand. Thus, the de- finition of a ‘good’ and ‘bad’ nut becomes subjective with each person sorting the hazelnuts slightly dif- ferently. Particularly in the case of shell removal, we wanted to be able to deliver a uniform and consistent quality of hazelnuts to uphold the high quality stan- dards that reflect our brand.”
FrankenGeNuss conducted trials with various solu- tions providers, including Bühler, for a period of four weeks in order to assess the performance on its pro- cessing line. In October 2020, FrankenGeNuss invested in the SORTEX E1C sorter with BioVisionTM technology.
“With Bühler, we discovered our shared commit- ments towards quality and sustainability. As a small company, we were initially unsure if they would have a
70 AMEFT 2 2021
Source: Bühler
Source: Bühler
Source: Bühler
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