AVIMED COMMITS TO A NEW WAY OF EGG PROCESSING

The first customer to discover the benefits of EggXtreme

 

 

Avimed has a long history in the Italian egg market, providing Sicily with eggs for many years. The company also operates the only plant in that region that produces pasteurized eggs for various commercial products. In their search for a way to safeguard the quality of the eggs during egg processing, they discovered the many benefits EggXtreme could offer their operation. They decided to partner up with INNOVO to upgrade its existing plant with this state-of-the-art technology, becoming the first egg producer who commits to this new way of egg processing.

Stronger together

The poultry sector in the province of Ragusa (Sicily, Italy) originated from the significant growth in rural production in the 1950s. A group of small farmers in the area joined forces and formed the Sicilian Avicola, the first attempt to combine local production. It started with a base of 8,000 hens, which wasn't enough to cover the needs of the island. Another attempt to combine local production under a single entity was carried out from 1982 to 1988 by the Centro Uova di Roccasalva & C., which distributed 70% of locally produced eggs. After a long period of self-management, Avimed (Avicola Mediterranea) was founded in 2006, finally achieving combined local production in Sicily.

 

Avimed started with 250,000 chickens producing 75 million eggs per year, which were distributed throughout Sicily. Their mission has always been to provide their customers with fresh and nutritious eggs while putting animal welfare first. Now the company has grown, with over 850,000 hens providing 250 million eggs a year for the regions of Sicily, Calabria, Basilicata, Puglia, Campania and Malta. Their target market includes medium- and large-scale distributors, wholesalers and restaurants. The company also owns the only plant in Sicily that produces pasteurized eggs for various commercial products.

 

The next goal of the company is to reach one million hens to increase distribution in southern Italy. To achieve this, they have been making key investments while constantly focusing on the highest standards of quality and hygiene.

                     

Focus on the quality of the egg

Avimed was looking for a way to take their egg-processing plant to the next level while still maintaining high quality during the process. "When we decided to invest in a new pasteurization plant, we were looking for state-of-the-art equipment that could meet our standards, especially regarding high quality and shelf life," Dr. Salvatore Giannone, Quality Manager at Avimed, explains. "Then Mr. Peschi visited us, who at the time had just partnered up with Moba. He told us about a new industrial process called EggXtreme, which he developed with Moba. He explained it step-by-step and showed us the many benefits Moba EggXtreme has to offer. It was not difficult to be fascinated by this revolutionary way of processing, and after just a few meetings we realized that Moba EggXtreme was exactly what we were looking for to help us produce something new and better."

 

At every critical point of the process, from breaking to pasteurization, technological innovations have been implemented in EggXtreme that safeguard the quality and freshness of the product. What makes EggXtreme stand out from the traditional methods of egg processing is the use of a low-temperature radiofrequency system. This allows for more gentle pasteurization and ensures that the qualities of the egg stay close to those of a fresh egg. This gives egg-based products a significant improvement in quality, a longer shelf life and longer production runs.

A better final product

Avimed invested in a 2,000 liter/hour Moba EggXtreme pasteurizer, that is equipped with the radiofrequency heater, combined with both thermal sterilization and hydrogen peroxide for extreme cost-effective sanitation. All the tanks are ultra-clean to create a safe barrier to preserve as much of the egg product as possible. And the system can process ESL (extended shelf life product) as well as high viscosity products and salted and sugared egg yolk. Avimed not only committed to the Moba EggXtreme concept but also decided to install the Synchro200 breaker in Ultra Clean configuration to preserve the egg liquid as much as possible from bacterial growth during the breaking stage.

Dr. Giannone: "What makes EggXtreme unique is that for the first time, the process aims to maintain the quality during the pasteurization process. Obtaining a final product that is well pasteurized at a low temperature, with a long shelf life (2–3 months) and that comes close to the quality of a fresh and organoleptically perfect product, is exactly what we wanted to achieve. And EggXtreme makes this possible! The first victory was believing in this project, and the day that we started production, we already saw the first amazing results — a better final product, with qualities close to those of a fresh egg!"