Leda Technologies has won the two main awards at the Irish Catering Association's CATEX 2003, for its egg safety testing solution.
The system was acknowledged as the Overall Best Product and the Best Kitchen Equipment.
Shell eggs are a well-known source of foodborne infections. They can contain Salmonella enteritidis bacteria, which, if not eliminated, can cause high fever, vomiting and abdominal cramps in otherwise healthy people. The infection can be lethal to those with an impaired immunity system - such as the very old, very young or those with compromised immune systems. Salmonella is also a known cause of reactive arthritis.
In a world-wide breakthrough, Leda Technologies found a solution to this problem with a new commercial kitchen appliance that allows food business operators to re-introduce shell eggs safely. The appliance, Pollux, has been independently certified to kill at least 700 million Salmonella bacteria inside shell eggs whilst not affecting the eggs' composition, appearance, nutritional value, taste or cooking properties.
This is carried out through a pasteurisation process which destroys all bacteria that may be within or on the eggs. Pollux' contribution to food safety and kitchen convenience was so impressive that Martin Food Equipment decided to become its sole distributor for Ireland, the company claimed.
Pollux is capable of processing up to 60 shell eggs at a time and has two main functions. Firstly it pasteurises, and eggs which have gone through this process look exactly like fresh, raw shell eggs and can be safely used for potentially dangerous dishes, such as mayonnaise, chocolate mousse, tiramisu, fried eggs and other raw or partially cooked egg dishes. Secondly it can be used for cooking shell eggs to any required level - hard or soft.
The panel of judges, (made up of the country's leading food sector representatives), independently and collectively assessed all 420 entries at CATEX 2003. Meeting its criteria of innovation, cost effectiveness, HACCP compliance, design features and impact on the environment in respect of materials used, manufacturing process and packaging, which were the reasons Leda won the two awards, it said.
Leda Technologies managing director Patrick Windey was delighted with the awards. "We have put a lot of energy and brains into developing a food safety solution that does not add to the kitchen workload. We feel very honoured with these awards and we view them as a confirmation that we should continue on this road."