The present article describes the processing equipment developed at Embrapa Vegetables for the production of Cenourete® and Catetinho®, the Brazilian minicarrots. Two shapers, three cutters, and one classifier were developed. The first shaper, named 'Processador de Cenourete e Catetinho', consists of two units. The first is equipped with a rough abrasive surface, intended for shaping; while the second carries a smooth abrasive surface, planned for polishing the product. The second shaper, named 'Múltipla', presents the same functioning principles as 'Processador de Cenourete e Catetinho', but has four disks in the upper compartment, which results in a four-fold processing capacity when compared to the first model. Both devices have a water recycling system. 'Corte-Fácil' consists of one guillotine and two inclined metallic bars used to measure the carrot pieces before cutting, yielding raw material for both Cenourete® and Catetinho®. The other two cutters, 'Precisa' and 'Cortadora Horizontal', consist of a group of gutters used to bring carrots into a set of cutting disks, where roots are trimmed in 6-cm segments. Both cutters yield raw material only for Cenourete® production. The classifier consists basically of two inclined belts that move in the same direction, with a progressive and adjustable distance in between. Carrot segments are transported along the belts until going through the space in-between, which happens when the diameter of the root segments coincides with the distance between belts. With this set of processing equipment, the national agroindustry is able to produce baby carrots on a competitive scale with the imported product.
Daucus carota; minimal processing; agroindustry; fresh-cut carrot
