MASTER HOT BREAK The experience gained in the implementation of the best technology in the tomato and fruit processing industry has led FBR ELPO to apply innovative solutions even in the product enzymatic inactivation process. Thanks to the MASTER HOT BREAK system manufactured by FBR ELPO, fresh tomato is chopped and immediately heated to a temperature ranging between 85° and 100 °C, thus ensuring an effective enzymatic inactivation. This step has always been a crucial moment in the processing procedure, necessary to ensure the consistency of the finished product and to decrease the serum separation. The MASTER HOT BREAK system, patented by FBR ELPO, involves the use of heat exchangers with elliptical tubes to optimise the heat exchange and solve the clogging issue due to the presence of foreign bodies during processing. The heater with closed-circuit circulation pump without collection tanks ensures heating in a very short time and lower high-temperature residence time, making the process more effective and preserving the organoleptic characteristics of the product. Easy to manage, extremely low times and maintenance costs are further advantages of the system. For small/medium capacities (below 20 t/h) FBR ELPO offers a heater with cylindrical tubes, whose crosssection and design ensure an optimal heat exchange and product circulation. The system is also ideal for processing fruit with the possible addition of a cooling section immediately after the heater. COLD BREAK SYSTEM Chopped tomato or fruit is heated to make peel separation easier during the next extraction phase; temperatures generally range from 60 °C to 75 °C. This process is normally called COLD BREAK and guarantees a good maintenance of colour and taste of the product, with less consistency. In the COLD BREAK system, the inlet product is normally heated by a tube-nest heat exchanger fed with steam without recirculation.