< Previous30 Food & Drink International www.fdiforum.net GEARS, DRIVES AND CONTROLS AZZURI BLUE [food blue] GEARING Davall DSG supply transmission parts in stainless steel gears sprocket motor-gearbox Other instances of controlling energy use see stepper motors - which are popular in automation applications like indexing but run open loop, seeing drive electronics continuously supply current to a motor’s windings, disbursing energy unnecessarily - addressed with an encoder or other feedback device. ‘Closing the loop’ in this way prevents unnecessary energy waste and creates a more efficient system. Allowing only the current needed, these systems decrease current to a motor when torque is not required automatically, and beneficially reduce heating and noise. New modelling tools alongside additive manufacturing techniques are set to have an increasingly profound impact on new designs in the gears, drives and controls sector, tightening customisation and individualisation. This will also ensure these products reach the market faster and integrate better with other components, creating less compatibility issues and improved connectivity. Joint development between equipment manufacturers and customer’s technical departments is likely to be boosted in this. In the food and drink industry one cannot forget the importance of the hygienic design of gears, drives and controls. All components should be ultra-hygienic, meet the most stringent requirements and for ultimate security feature IP69k ingress protection (a washdown classification for situations involving high pressure water and high temperatures), which facilitates faster and easier cleaning, which are essential in the food industry, while reducing product contamination risk. It is vital that gears, drives and controls are rugged, able to handle regular washdowns and in some instances harsh temperatures. If we consider the selection of a gearmotor, it should have smooth surfaces, hold no aspects that could advance bacteria accumulation and be made from stainless steel to eradicate hygiene risks. Machines should also be designed to allow easy access to components like gears for cleaning, which can become a breeding ground for bacteria, especially in applications where products leave residue of oils and flavouring on a belt. © Shutterstock /Wright Studio 28-31.qxp_Layout 1 24/03/2020 15:05 Page 3You probably think you know what SMC - the world leader in pneumatics and automation solutions - is all about: actuators, valves and fittings, right? For more information on our HRS-R chiller contact us on 01908 563888 or check out our web site. Follow us on www.smc.uk SMC - more than just pneumatics , valves and fittings, right? HRS-R chiller contact us t our web site. They're the products that SMC has built its success on for over 60 years. But they are just part of how we can help you. Did you know that we can also supply customer specific control systems and engineered specials - whether you need just one, or one hundred. Some of our customers also rely on us for innovative products to help suppress vibration, to eliminate static or to provide precise fluid temperature control. For example, take our new compact and lightweight HRS-R thermo chiller. Developed for use in the Food Industry, this IP54 rated chiller delivers outstanding temperature stability and long life cycle performance. With IP67 internal electronics and stainless steel construction this chiller has been specifically designed to withstand the challenges of working in harsh environments. 28-31.qxp_Layout 1 24/03/2020 15:05 Page 432 Food & Drink International www.fdiforum.net MIXING AND BLENDING © Shutterstock /mavo G etting expert advice helps to ensure a food and drink manufacturer is set up with the right mixing and blending equipment to meet their needs. But those needs are understandably varied, with a staggering amount of food and beverage products available on shelves having come into contact with a mixer or blender at some point in their lifecycle. Mixing dry goods together requires different speeds and machinery from what’s required when mixing wet or viscous ingredients. Understanding the difference – and installing the right equipment accordingly – is vital to process optimisation. Industrial blenders introduce different amounts of energy and high shear and high impact blending systems, all of which can have an effect on a product’s particle size, influencing consistency and texture. This is advantageous for emulsification, powders and thickeners. The latter is especially advantageous as stabilising and thickening agents are crucial to the end texture and quality of many products – such as salad dressings, gummy confectionery, syrups and ice creams. But incorporating these gums into a product mix can cause some problems during the manufacturing process, and they can be difficult to disperse and hydrate correctly and efficiently. When added to water, most gums form agglomerates which conventional agitators struggle to rapidly break down. But by using high shear equipment, manufacturers can avoid these agglomerates from forming and achieve the desired texture, consistency and mouth feel of their products. Industrial blenders aren’t suited to every application and, in some cases, can be of detriment to a product rather than beneficial. Other options include ribbon blenders which boast dual action ribbon-shaped agitators which creates an intimate blend in a short cycle time. Thanks to the nature of this mixer, it’s ideally suited for powder blending applications where thoroughly incorporating products together is paramount. For blends requiring a gentler mixing action, there’s paddle, tumble and vertical blenders. The latter is ideal for a product that is shear sensitive, or where process parameters are critical. The blending action is gentler than the agitators seen in the ribbon blender, so for loose mixers and those of a more delicate nature, this is a better fit. Tumble blending is a rotating mixing machine that, as one can deduce, mixes through a tumbling rotating action. Finding the right machine With so many mixing and blending options available on the market, it’s vital to process optimisation that food and drink makers find the right solution to suit their needs. 32-35.qxp_Layout 1 24/03/2020 15:08 Page 1Food & Drink International 33 www.fdiforum.net MIXING AND BLENDING These machines come in a variety of styles depending on the requirements, from intermediate bulk container blender, the V- shaped blender and the double-cone configuration. Agitation is often conflated to mean all types of mixing processes, but this is an oversight, eclipsing the purpose of agitation in food processing. Agitators ensure the mixing process achieves a homogenous mix faster. Given that there’s dozens of different kinds of products that require this specific kind of mixing, it’s no surprise that there are different kinds of agitators. From low shear to high shear, agitators can be used to mix, disperse and emulsify making them common on production lines. As we’ve already explored, ensuring the correct mixer or blender is in place can result in huge efficiency and process optimisation gains. This can be taken further still. With continuous mixing and blending, a manufacturer can meet the demand for ever more efficient processes and increase batch 34 Á © Shutterstock /stockfour 32-35.qxp_Layout 1 24/03/2020 15:08 Page 234 Food & Drink International www.fdiforum.net MIXING AND BLENDING Advanced Engineering MIDDLETON LTD mixing is our business l Inline High Shear Mixer l 3 Stage High Shear Mixer l Dispersion Mixer l Fluid Mixers l AdPro l Top Entry High Shear Immersion Mixer l Bottom Entry High Shear Mixer l Sealed Bearing Mixer mixer design and technology Trent Industrial Estate, Duchess Street Shaw, Lancs, OL2 7UT, UK tel: +44 (0)1706 759003 fax: +44(0)1706 759004 email: info@aemixers.com web: www.aemixers.com WE HAVE MOVED throughput. This can be accomplished by using several mixing receptables arranged in such a way that a batch is always being worked on at any given time. However, opting for multiple off-the-shelf options might have the opposite effect and compromise efficiency rather than enabling it. For that reason, manufacturers might be better off opting for a bespoke approach. This equipment is built to exacting customer standards and optimise specific individual processes, meaning they’re purpose-built to a manufacturer’s unique needs. With the growing number of food and drink manufacturers moving towards more specialised optimised processes to maximise quality and minimise cost, no doubt these bespoke options will become more popular still. Whatever the processing capabilities of a mixing and blending equipment, one issue still remains – hygiene. Without a thorough washdown and sanitation routine in place between batches, mixers and blenders become a major health risk. When high viscosity food ingredients are mixed together, ingredients closest the vessel walls tend to move slower which affects the overall efficiency of the mixing process. Scrapers are purposefully designed to come into contact with the vessel walls to scrape away sticky ingredients and incorporate them back into the mix. But some particles can become embedded in the scraper itself, creating abrasion on the vessel walls which leads to wear. Ingredients can also collect on the scraper arm, where they can contaminate the next batch. This is just one example, highlighting the wider need for mixing and blenders to be regularly and thoroughly cleaned between batches. This does result in periods of downtime, which can be avoided if a company embraced continuous mixing operations, as outlined previously. Innovation never sleeps for food processing, and updates in mixing and blending technologies offer food manufacturers the chance to regularly evaluate and update their processes which, in turn, helps boost efficiency, process optimisation and improve product consistency. 32-35.qxp_Layout 1 24/03/2020 15:08 Page 3Food & Drink International 35 www.fdiforum.net MIXING AND BLENDING © Shutterstock /Itsanan Silverson Batch mixers help company reduce food wastage A packaged food manufacturer has purchased three Silverson Batch mixers to help reuse their waste product and save money by incorporating it into new batches. The company produce frozen pasta products such as ravioli, tortellini and lasagne. The ‘waste’ product was excess pasta which would be left over at the end of each production run as a result of overestimating the amount of ingredients needed during the initial batching stage. The company had previously been able to give their waste product away for free to local farmers, but changes in legislation meant that the company would have to begin paying the farmers to take the waste. The company were keen to save money so started looking for ways to reduce the amount of waste they were producing and had the idea of reincorporating some of the waste product into new batches. As the pasta was still in its fresh form it could easily be reworked into subsequent batches of product, but they needed a way to achieve this. They contacted Silverson and a trial was arranged to demonstrate how a Silverson Batch mixer could help them create a slurry from their waste product to then reincorporate into new batches. Each re-work batch was around 115 litres. By using this method the company were able to reduce costs on raw materials and eliminate the cost of having waste product taken away. The savings were so significant it was predicted the three Batch mixers purchased after the successful trials would soon pay for themselves. If you’d like to discuss your application, please contact sales@silverson.co.uk, or for more information, visit www.silverson.co.uk, or call +44(0) 1494 786331. Winkworth claim hygienic mixer/extruder design is a world’s first As the result of an intensive three-year design programme, Winkworth, the UK’s leading designer and manufacturer of industrial mixing and blending machinery, says that it has produced the world’s most hygienic kneader mixer extruder machine to suit the most demanding application requirements. Built to match a client’s exacting needs: high-powered, totally reliable and in a compact design which could be fully integrated within ancillary equipment, the machine also had to be cross-contamination free. For this particular application, a high level of automation was also demanded. “Designing and building a machine as complex as this was in itself a challenge, but with the product to be mixed being ‘sticky’ by definition, this added a further challenge as this was to be a strictly ‘no liquids’ cleaning procedure,” said Winkworth’s Managing Director, Grant Jamieson. He added: “It will provide our client with a totally dependable solution for decades to come.” For more information, visit www.mixer.co.uk. 32-35.qxp_Layout 1 24/03/2020 15:08 Page 436 Food & Drink International www.fdiforum.net INGREDIENTS SPOTLIGHT © Shutterstock /Rimma Bondarenko In search of clean label In search of clean label 36-39.qxp_Layout 1 24/03/2020 15:11 Page 1Food & Drink International 37 www.fdiforum.net INGREDIENTS SPOTLIGHT Broadly speaking, there are two types of functional ingredient – firstly, those that alter or achieve a products’ texture, shelf life or stability, i.e. a thickening or raising agent and, secondly, those with nutritional benefit such as those providing protein boost or fortifying a product with vitamins, fibre or protein etc. As consumers search for healthier food choices, and new legislation sees companies ramping up their reformulation and NPD efforts, functional ingredients will become increasingly commonplace, even industry standard. The growth in clean label and the need for natural products, meanwhile, has led to a shift in ingredients such as thickeners and texturisers and food makers looking to appeal to shifting tastes and changing regulations. Often it’s not the whole product that’s the issue, but rather one or more of its ingredients. One need only look at palm oil to see that much. So it is with sugar, which along with salt and saturated fat, continues to be one of the industry’s biggest issues. To try and combat sugar levels and safeguard public health, the UK officially introduced its Soft Drinks Industry Levy back in April 2018, following the lead of countries like Mexico where a sugar tax was reported to have cut sugar consumption by six per cent in its first year. Considering that Mexicans consume more carbonated drinks per person than any other nation, this was no small feat. For many this was evidence that the sugar tax worked and should be deployed in other countries post haste. Others claimed that it reduced consumption by such a marginal amount, it seemed hardly worth it. Whatever your own opinions on the merits and effectiveness of sugar taxes, one thing is certain, moving away from sugar is a priority for consumers, industry and governments alike. Natural sweeteners made from the stevia plant are at the forefront of the Food has always been more than the sum of its part but there is an increasing emphasis on the ingredients themselves, especially where their functionality is concerned. 38 Á 36-39.qxp_Layout 1 24/03/2020 15:11 Page 238 Food & Drink International www.fdiforum.net INGREDIENTS SPOTLIGHT © Shutterstock /David Crockett quest for a healthier alternative but are a long way off usurping sugar in terms of taste and functionality. Artificial sweeteners such as sucralose may come with fewer calories than sugar, but there’s uncertainty surrounding their long-term effects on the body. Researchers at the Federal University of Sao Paulo conducted a study and discovered a link between artificial sweeteners and low fertility rates – evidence, if it were needed, to move towards more natural alternatives. The miracle berry (or Synsepalum dulcificum, to give its Latin name) contains Miraculin, a protein which suppresses sourness to draw out a sweet flavour and is renowned for making Guinness taste like chocolate milkshake and vinegar taste like sweet sherry. While this phenomenon is certainly entertaining, the berry has numerous uses that extend well beyond its novelty factor. It could, for example, give healthier foods a more appealing flavour profile, whilst lowering sugar in others and all without the need for sweeteners, artificial or otherwise. Fortified foods provide a nutritional boost to food and beverage products, whether it’s a protein-packed bread, a botanical-loaded soft drink or a breakfast cereal fortified with fibre. Many such products purport to be a key part in maintaining a healthy lifestyle, so the logical next step is to develop foods which can actively assist or medicate the body. Nutraceuticals refers to a product or ingredient that is derived from food sources that comes with extra health benefits. Harnessing these benefits and developing products that can cater to specific illnesses is leading to the burgeoning pharma foods market. Gluten-free foods can enable sufferers of celiac disease to enjoy foods they would otherwise be unable to, while speciality sweets allow diabetes sufferers to enjoy a treat without causing a spike in their blood sugar levels. Imagine then, a food product can help to treat and maintain a disease like diabetes. Big food companies are already investing millions of dollars in 36-39.qxp_Layout 1 24/03/2020 15:11 Page 3INGREDIENTS SPOTLIGHT Food & Drink International 39 www.fdiforum.net © Shutterstock /the_gradient research and development in this very field, making a fringe idea very much a reality. Already, there is a convergence between big pharma and food, with many of the top food brands actively engaging in the sciences. Brands like Nestlé have scientific divisions on top of their R&D departments. The reality is that the future of food is intrinsically tied to health and lifestyle, and rather than contributing towards illnesses, our food choices can help to cure and maintain it. But these products don’t come without their own unique set of challenges. Gluten-free products, for example, pose an ingredient challenge because they require substitute binders or thickeners, such as Xanthan gum. This gum is used to trap air to make batters light and fluffy, but it is difficult to uniformly disperse. Today, countless new ingredients and formulations are constantly being introduced. Whether adding new flavours or proteins or attempting to make recipes healthier or lower in calories, the industry is constantly evolving. This is often not a challenge to mixing technology, but a test of applications experience. Process challenges arise when attempting to disperse the variety of ingredients (including gums, gelatins, CMC, pectins, etc.) used to make smooth, thick fillings, coatings and glazes. Turning towards the latest trends in the food industry gives some indication to what we’ll be eating in the future. Functional ingredients are prescient, and the current exploration of natural sweeteners, fortified ingredients and every more innovative machinery to better disperse and incorporate natural thickeners and texturisers will come to define our plates in the decades to come. 36-39.qxp_Layout 1 24/03/2020 15:11 Page 4Next >