NAFEM's new What's Hot, What's Cool product gallery presented almost 80 of "the newest and most innovative" products in one central well-carpeted (thank you) space with no hovering sales staff - great idea.  It offered an easy way to set priorities during the show (see criteria in letter above).

Display/Transportation/Storage

Duke's HSHU Heatsink Holding Unit is designed specifically for hard-to-hold fried food - it releases excess moisture from fried foods and offers other containers that retain moisture for grilled and broiled products. Two heaters front and back eliminate drafts from the pass-through cabinet and reduce energy consumption by 25%. New at NAFEM is a thumbdrive that allows temp and hold time configuration of the system. Duke link

The Hatco Flav-R-Savor Heated Air Curtain Cabinet was developed at the request of customers who wanted a holding case without doors. Heated air is drawn toward to the center; air movement for the curtain is patented. Hatco link

Prep & Warewashing

Giles' Environmental Hood cleans and filters air before it's exhausted outside using electronic and UV cleaners, which they say is a tenth the cost of a water system.  This new hood was prompted by communities wanting to eliminate the smells coming from exhaust hoods, particularly those venting at street level. Giles link

Insinger has a rack sensor so that the machine cycles only when a rack is in place - saving water and energy.  It was fun to watch a demo of the very effective VaporGuardä Vapor Removal System which condenses and removes steam vapor, eliminating the need for a hood.  The complete wash cycle, including vapor elimination, is 1 min 40 sec. Insinger link

Sani-Floor's Drain Hub and Seepage Flange Assembly help eliminate leaks below a floor trough installation by creating a route through weep holes for water to enter the drain system. Sani-Floor link 

Saf-T-Wash, by San Jamar, generates ozone instantly at the wash sink. Ozone is 150 times more powerful than chlorine for sanitizing produce (FDA-approved for food sanitizing in 2001) yet doesn't leave the off taste that chemical rinses have - and it kills enzymes that shorten the usable life of produce. Saf-T-Wash can be added to existing sinks (electrical access needed).San Jamar link

Primary Cooking

Accutemp has done a neat trick with their Evolution Series boilerless steamer by covering the water reservoir and diverting the steam horizontally to a vertical side panel, forcing the steam to escape through slots positioned at the top of each of the six cooking pans. In independent testing by the Foodservice Testing Center in San Ramon, CA, the Evolution beat Accutemp's own earlier models in preheat time and idle energy use, while maintaining low energy and water consumption. Accutemp link 

Blodgett added moisture to an oven, which cuts cooking times and increases yields - as a combi can do, but the Hydrovection is simpler and considerably less expensive. It requires a water line and drain hose. Blodgett link

Garland's High Efficiency Broiler has several new features that improve efficiency and reduce the surface temp variation to only 100° from an industry norm of 300°. Tweaking during development led to a redesigned burner that provides greater heat to the front and back surfaces. There are no valves, eliminating employee error, and the broiler uses 70K Btu, compared to a standard 105-115K Btu, on a 36" unit. Garland link

The Evolution Elite open electric fryer from Henny Penny eliminates the cold zone outside the fryer compartment, uses 40% less oil because the vat is smaller, simplifies filtration, is Energy Star rated, and tells the operator when the vat oil needs to be filtered (which will extend oil life). The filtering process, from draining the vat to having the oil back up to cooking temp, takes 4 minutes. Henny Penny link

Pitco's Rocket Fryer has hands-free oil handling, preheated incoming oil, and a crumb ejection system during filter mode. Pitco link 

Spring Air Systems TruFlow Energy Management Controller has a new touch screen. The system measures heat output from appliances and automatically controls fan speeds. It is retrofitable; one panel can control 5 exhaust and 2 supply fans individually. SpringAir link

Refrigeration & Ice

Everpure's MRS-Envi-RO 600 high efficiency Reverse Osmosis system offers a 320% increase in water efficiency and uses half the energy of conventional systems. This system allows selection of desired hardness - specialty coffee and carbonated drinks need some minerals.  The Exubera Pro CT dispenser that we mentioned in an earlier issue is now available to the commercial market - it produces ambient, chilled and carbonated water from tap water.Everpure link

FWE Clymate IQ (heated and humidified holding cabinet) has a neat design that flips the heating element out of the way when the water reservoir pan is pulled out for cleaning. FWE says it reaches set temp and humidity in 30 minutes, compared to standard 75 minutes. YouTube link

Kairak brought in customers, service companies and "started from scratch" to develop a new system: BLU with "no frost, no defrost, no fan".  The line includes a Refrigeration Prep Table with food grade glycol in chiller plates for precise temp control that stays at the freezing point with no ice build up and needs 75% less refrigerant charge than traditional systems. Kairak link

Another money-saving heat exchange system is used by Maximicer - they call it counter-flow exchange technology - to pre-cool incoming water to a beverage dispenser or ice machine by recovering energy from melted cold-plate ice water or purged ice water. Maximicer link

A new milk cooler design from Refcon features the Milkindizer Air Screen which holds temp without a lid. The High Girl and Low Girl units can be combined to merchandise both milk and chilled products. Refcon link

Smallwares, Tabletop & Serving

Cadco designed a Mobile Demo Cart with multiple configurations that can include a built-in glass ceramic range, ¼ size oven, double buffet server, induction hob. The cart is wrapped in fabric instead of stainless - a great way to cut costs while allowing customization - think of the branding opportunities! Cadco cart link

Cooper-Atkins has updated hardware and software for its automated data-recording HACCP application Intelli-Ware. New features include the ability to retrofit recorders to any equipment; new hardware that simulates a food product in the appliance to give data on the food, not just the air; voice alerts directed to a phone or pager; and an "Intelli-PDA" that converts data collection from paper to electronic and provides report templates. Cooper-Atkins link

Multiteria has a wireless temp sensor, Temp-Ensure, encased in plastic decorative garnish that sends data to a display screen.Multiteria link

SureShot Flavorshot cartridge system concentrated flavor dispenser can add up to three flavors at a time to hot beverages. Disposable flavor cartridges have no sugar, fat, carbs or preservatives.  SureShot link

We love simple, elegant solutions - a favorite innovation is from Thermos - a Fresh Zone carafe stopper with a liquid level indicator combined with a dial the operator uses to show brew time and the three ensuing hours that coffee will taste good before it gets tossed. So simple, so neat. Thermos link