Retail Observer

RETAILOBSERVER.COM APRIL 2018 22 NXP EXPANDS SMART KITCHEN APPLIANCE LEADERSHIP WITH WORLD'S FIRST AUTOMATED FROZEN FOOD DEFROSTING REFERENCE DESIGN NXP smart defrost solution uses solid state rf technology to deliver fast, high quality and safe food defrosting NXP Semiconductors extended its leadership in smart kitchen appliance integrated circuits (ICs) by making available the world's first reference design for an automated frozen food defrosting and thawing solution. The reference design can be used as the basis for stand-alone smart defrost countertop kitchen appliances or integrated in other kitchen appliances such as refrigerators/ freezers, or cooking appliances such as ovens. The NXP smart defrost solution, based on NXP components and software, addresses the age-old problem of fast and safe defrosting of food while reducing food waste, and preserving moisture and nutrition. This innovation makes it possible to defrost staple food items such as ground beef, fish, fruits, or vegetables in only a few minutes. Conventional methods of defrosting frozen food in a residential kitchen are limited by the amount of time and attention required, difficulty in achieving fully defrosted and even temperature results, as well as safe food practices. Simple methods such as letting frozen food thaw on a counter, in a water bath, or in a refrigerator take a long time and can require personal attention to monitor the progress. Letting food sit on a countertop or in water also introduces the risk of bacterial contamination, since exterior surfaces of the food are exposed to temperatures which promote the growth of bacteria. Using a conventional microwave oven to speed up the process often results in uneven thawing with hot spots and cold spots. In addition, conventional microwave ovens lose their effective power over time, making the duration of thawing longer and the outcome worse. "We've seen many advances in the smart kitchen, and the NXP smart defrost reference design will bring those improvements to thawing food," said Robert Wilson, president and co-founder of the Arizona Culinary Institute. "Finally, the guesswork and risk of uneven results and introducing unsafe bacteria will be removed from the defrosting process." The NXP smart defrost reference design is a set of fully engineered sub-system solutions that enables OEMs to quickly bring differentiated appliances incorporating this unique functionality to market with minimal engineering. The solution performs real-time monitoring and adjustment of its operation during the entire defrost process helping to ensure efficient and effective energy transfer during the full cycle of defrosting. This is important since food properties change as the temperature of the food changes. The NXP smart defrost solution also minimizes user input and provides automated operation freeing users' time from the responsibility to monitor the outcome. The NXP smart defrost solution is electronic in nature, making it reliable, compact, cost efficient and delivers consistent results. "Prior attempts to introduce smart defrosting technologies failed in large part due to their cumbersome size and high cost," said Paul Hart, senior vice president of RF Power at NXP. "While smart kitchen appliance technology is still in its infancy, NXP has been, and will continue to be, dedicated to producing the components and reference designs where needed to ensure that the applications reach their full potential. This solution is another step toward that goal." I N D U S T R Y [ N E W S ]

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