Hospital Food + Service examines refrigeration equipment and icemakers

Many modern icemakers are designed to be simple to use and maintain, making them ideal for a wide range of uses.The use of energy-efficient hydrocarbon refrigerants is increasing, while programmable controls help to reduce consumption of energy and water, by only making as much ice as is required. Ice is considered a food and therefore all Health & Safety standards for food also apply to ice.

Choice of ice-makers extends from self-contained units, with integral storage bin, which are small enough to fit on a counter, such as the DC20-4A from DC Warewashing & Icemaking Systems, to large capacity modular systems, with separate production and storage units for larger catering operations, such as DC's popular 'Classic Ice' DC155A or 'Granular Ice 'DCG250A. The self-service DCD26-7A features optical sensors to enable ice delivery without direct contact, thus dramatically reducing the possibility of contamination and ensuring the highest standards of hygiene.

However, these days caterers are not merely buying an ice machine: "They are buying the 'Ice Type' which best fits their purpose for the ice," says Bob Wood, Director of DC Warewashing & Icemaking Systems. "The most suitable and desirable ice-type will influence the choice of model".

'Classic' ice machines are DC's most popular - producing solid cubes of crystalline ice that cool quickly but melt slowly. 'Granular' ice, similar to crushed ice, is particularly suitable for hospitals and nursing homes for post-operative patients or patients with dysphagia and is also used for buffet-displays and in cafeterias. 'Hollow' ice is suited to hard water areas due to its ice manufacturing process.

DC's new, self-contained Pebble Ice machines are specifically designed for use in cafes. Pebble ice is a hybrid ice, somewhere between granular and cubed ice - it reduces the time it takes to prepare drinks, can be quickly blitzed down to a 'snow' consistency and the cubes allow for better measure management of quantity of ice to liquid.

Read full article in Hospital Food + Service Nov/Dec 2016 issue ...