1.2 SUMMARY The CleanShells project arises from the need to adopt a process / mechanism that can clean
shellfish by eliminating the manual and time-consuming process, avoiding the losses that occur when dead or contaminated
shellfish reach the cooking stage and at the same time delivering a best product to the
consumer. Fiscante Massimo has conceptualized a
system specifically designed to clean
shellfish automatically and quickly, meticulously removing all contaminants and dead specimens before cooking. Through hard work, the necessary resources were committed and the concept was developed into a series of working prototypes which are now used within the
plant. The aim of the project was to find an economic / beneficial solution to eliminate unwanted and potentially dangerous substances (such as sand and plastic) in minutes, allowing restaurant owners to process shellfish efficiently and quickly, reducing waste and providing high quality food to the customer. As stated in the Commission's policies, the European Union is very attentive to the
hygiene of
food products at all stages of production,
processing, distribution and placing on the market of food intended for human consumption. The project is the brainchild of Fiscante , an experienced entrepreneur with over 30 years of experience in the restaurant industry. The aim of this stage is to obtain Europe-wide protection for his innovative idea and to produce a feasibility assessment highlighting the commercial potential of his innovative product and to develop a business plan to grow. Activities will include market research, partner research,
risk assessment,
user engagement, IP protection and regulatory
constraint analysis. This phase will allow us to verify the benefits of the product, such as the significant savings in
processing time and energy, as well as the increase in
food safety and the reduction of food losses and waste. It will enable us to target new markets and stimulate the growth of our company and create a new partnership network for product manufacturing and marketing, consequently increasing employment growth in the
manufacturing sector. The machinery is used in the last stage of
processing seafood before cooking it. The appliance was built to clean and remove sand from shellfish and eliminate dead shellfish (clams, truffles, cockles). It is built with a steel container which is connected with a
pipe to the drinking water from the tap. The tube that brings the water to the container is made of plastic; the first end of the hose is connected to the drinking water tap. The other end is connected to the steel container where the
water flow rate is reduced through a
nozzle which creates more
water pressure. With this pressure, a vortex is created in the container which makes the seafood spin, which necessarily pass under the
water jet, opening up: the seafood full of sand and the semi-open ones that are broken and already dead are expelled from the shell; therefore, only live, closed and well-cleaned seafood remains. All this happens in a few minutes. The steel container is circular and has two holes: one where the water enters through the
nozzle and one is the drain which is located about halfway up its height where the
excess water goes down, taking with it the sand they had all seafood inside. The shellfish are thus ready to cook and when they are opened in the pot they are certainly clean, without the bad surprises of finding shellfish full of sand and mud or with a bad smell because they have been eliminated, thus avoiding contaminating the other shellfish good.