Page 45 - FoodFocusThailand No.243 July 2026

SMART
SMART PRODUCTION PRODUCTION

STEAM SMOKE TECHNOLOGY:

REDEFINING SAFE AND SUSTAINABLE FOOD SMOKING

Smoking technology in the food industry—particularly for meat products, sausages, ham, fish, and
cheese—plays an important role in enhancing flavor, aroma, appearance, and shelf life, while helping inhibit
microbial growth and maintain product quality. Today, modern smoking technologies such as steam smoke
technology, which combines superheated steam with wood smoke, have been developed to meet growing
demands for safety, quality, and production efficiency, offering significant advantages over conventional
smoking methods.

Traditional vs Steam Smoke Technology
Traditional smoking methods typically rely on
the direct combustion of wood or sawdust. This
approach presents several inherent limitations,
including prolonged processing times, difficulties in
regulating temperature and humidity, and the potential
generation of hazardous contaminants. Most notably,
it can produce Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons
(PAHs) and benzo(a)pyrene, both recognized
carcinogens, while also contributing to substantial
product weight loss due to low humidity levels.
In contrast, superheated steam smoke systems
use high-temperature steam and wood chips to
generate clean, soot-free smoke that deposits color
and flavor compounds directly onto the product Energy Efficiency, Precision, and Environmental
surface. This technology can reduce smoking time Sustainability
by up to 40% while significantly lowering PAH and Equipped with touchscreen interfaces, modern smoking systems enable
benzo(a)pyrene levels, enhancing safety for both real-time monitoring and precise process control. Additional innovations,
consumers and plant operators. including cold smoke generators and condenser-based exhaust treatment
Another key advantage of modern smoking systems, help deliver a natural smoke profile while reducing atmospheric
systems is their ability to deliver consistent color, emissions. These technologies preserve nutritional quality, support clean-
aroma, and product quality. Advanced airflow controls label product development, and align with the growing consumer demand
ensure uniform smoke distribution, reducing batch- for “natural yet safe” food products without compromising their authentic
to-batch variations and defect rates. In addition, smoke flavor and aroma. Improved energy efficiency and emissions
maintaining relative humidity levels of up to 99% helps control also help manufacturers comply with stringent environmental
prevent over-drying, reducing weight loss by 3% or and food safety requirements, including those set by the EU and Codex
more compared to traditional smoking methods. Alimentarius.
These modern smoking technologies preserve nutritional quality and
Universal Smoking Chambers for Flexible support environmental sustainability. Crucially, Steam Smoke Technology
and Automated Production enables manufacturers to produce 100% natural sausages and smoked
Beyond modern smoke-generation technologies meats that perfectly meet the demands of modern health-conscious
such as steam smoke technology, universal consumers without relying on synthetic flavorings. This advancement
smoking chambers play an important role in supports clean-label product development and aligns with the growing
enhancing production flexibility. These systems can consumer demand for safe, eco-friendly food products. Ultimately, Steam
accommodate multiple processes within a single unit, Smoke Technology is redefining food smoking—minimizing yield loss,
including cold smoking (used for products such as enhancing competitiveness, and addressing the evolving demands of
salami and raw ham, where preserving the original the future food industry.
texture is critical), warm smoking, hot smoking,
cooking, and cooling. In addition, the integration of
automated monorail or spiral conveyor systems helps
increase throughput, reduce labor dependency, and More Information Service Info C007
improve overall operational efficiency.
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