Technical topics

Shaka® process retorts

Special high speed agitating Shaka® process retorts are available from two manufacturers – Allpax Products in the US and Steriflow SAS in France, contact details under Retort Manufacturers.
These retorts are capable of processing some 3-5 batches of retail packs per hour, the rate depending on the nature of the content and pack.
A Shaka® process retort has a small ‘foot-print’ and needs only a fraction of the space taken by a conventional static or rotary retort of the same capacity.
Filling, seaming and sealing are done in the normal way but care must be taken to ensure all packs are held securely in place in the baskets during processing.
Operating procedures for Shaka® process retorts are much faster but otherwise similar to those of other batch process retorts. Because the process is very fast and must be rigorously controlled, fast responding, good instrumentation is essential.
A single basket Shaka® process retort, with an adequate steam supply, can process as much per hour as a 5-basket rotary retort or an 8-basket static retort, so efficient material handling is important too!

Energy saving

Recent work by Zinetec indicates that, in comparison to conventional batch retorting processes, the Shaka® process can reduce energy consumption by up to 50%. Know-How is available from Zinetec Ltd for the Shaka® process users.