Low fluid volume antimicrobial mold reduction system and method

An apparatus for automatically treating a food product with a mold inhibitor via uniform spray application in suspended form, the apparatus comprising:

• a conveyor for moving the food product in a conveyor plane along an axis disposed parallel to the conveyor plane and defining a direction of travel;
• an upper spray nozzle located above the conveyor plane and being oriented to project a flat spray pattern along an upper spray plane toward the conveyor, wherein the upper spray plane is arranged to intersect the conveyor plane at an angle of substantially 45 degrees to the conveyor plane;
• a lower spray nozzle located below the conveyor plane, the lower spray nozzle being aligned with the upper spray nozzle along a sprayer plane that includes the axis defining the direction of travel, the lower spray nozzle being oriented to project a flat spray pattern along a lower spray plane, wherein the upper and lower spray nozzles are aligned such that the upper spray plane and the lower spray plane are parallel;
• one or more end spray nozzles oriented to spray one or more vertical end surfaces of the food product, each of the one or more end spray nozzles being configured to project a respective flat spray pattern along a respective end spray plane that is perpendicular to the conveyor plane and the axis defining the direction of travel;
• and
• a fluid supply system for supplying pressurized fluid to the spray nozzles, the pressurized fluid being a suspension of the mold inhibitor, and the fluid supply system including a recirculating reservoir for maintaining the mold inhibitor in suspension,
• wherein each spray nozzle has an associated spray gun for spraying fluid through the nozzle and wherein the spray guns are controlled via pulse width modulation such that the instantaneous flow rate through the nozzle is either zero or a flow rate sufficient to form a flat and laterally substantially uniform spray pattern, and wherein the time averaged flow rate is equal to a predetermined allowable flow rate.