Rago's new machine reduces the risks of foreign bodies in salads

Rago Group is a leading Italian company specialized in a wide range of baby leaf products (rocket, s…

Rago Group is a leading Italian company specialized in a wide range of baby leaf products (rocket, spinach, red and green batavia, lambs lettuce, red chard, red mustard, bull's blood etc.) all grown in tunnels. With a presence in the business for over 120 years, Rago is a family of growers with a passion for farming and many steady investments in innovation are the strongest features of Rago.

One of the latest implementations has been the adding of a new machine to clean the bulk product before it is processed. The machine has two bouncing belts as well as a gap between the two belts that uses compressed air to blow the product across the gap. Any product that is not a leaf or that is heavy will fall between the gap and be discarded.

Rago has installed this machine in an effort to reduce all the foreign bodies (FB) which could be present in the raw material. Rago management explains: "This machine, coupled with our field working teams, should allow us to provide a better product with no instances of FB problems. The machine allows us to work quickly and with high precision. Our salads are of a very high quality, no damaged leaves... or anything else problematic".

"Moreover, our two new 'metal detectors' are calibrated in such a way that no foreign body could pass undetected. This is a guarantee for the extreme purity of packaged salads; even the smallest material could stop the production line!", Rago management adds.

This year Rago has invested approximately €2 million in the company. The money has been allocated in the renovation of the industrial factory, adding a whole refrigerated area for loading and unloading of goods, avoiding sudden temperature changes. The trucks loading the products at 4° C come directly from the fields and deposit it within the company for the verification activities.

Besides all this, Rago is also using a new 'dryer' for the young leaves destined to fresh-cut products. This dryer has got a revolutionary system that eliminates washing water, making the leaves completely dry without damaging them in any way. "There have been several tests on our various products and the difference with the centrifuges we used in the past is really substantial! Resulting in a clean, whole, fresh and mostly dry leaf".