The manufacturer Albert Handtmann Maschinenfabrik has won the award for its forming system. This is a modular system for producing non-encased food products in different, freely selectable geometric shapes such as cylinders, discs, small balls or other 3D forms. The automatic production of formed products from a very wide variety of source materials and cross-sections expands the range of modern product ideas in line with popular trends. New modules can be added to the system step by step, thus broadening the scope of application as regards the products to be produced in the different sectors and making it possible to respond quickly to changing customer wishes. A driven filling flow divider ensures precision weight distribution of the filling material per product and lane. Subsequently a separating module featuring a separation movement synchronised with the product speed makes it possible to produce longish products of any cross section. Alternatively a forming module for producing a wide variety of 3D shapes is available.
Linde ACCU-CHILL® SC is a system for rapid cooling of sauces and heated fluids by means of direct injection of liquid nitrogen. The core element of the system is an injector unit through which liquid nitrogen is continuously injected so that it leads to cooling of the warm product. The direct introduction of the liquid nitrogen into the sauce and the resulting steered swirling in the mixing zone enable highly efficient heat transfer to the product to be cooled. The cooling time is reduced substantially by comparison with existing methods. The 100% natural cooling medium BiogonN (purest nitrogen in food quality) is used for cooling. ACCU-CHILL® SC can be used for virtually all products that are capable of flowing in cooled condition. By cooling the products quickly, ACCU-CHILL® SC preserves their properties and ingredients, avoids bacterial growth and thus contributes to food safety. The system can be used in space-saving and flexible manner and completes modern cook & chill production lines.
With the machines available on the market so far, it has not been possible to cut meat products at extremely low temperatures. Against this background the firm TREIF has developed a new technology - the AVITOS frozen meat dicer. This innovation makes it possible to cut blocks of frozen meat and calibrated products into cubes, strips or discs at temperatures down to -18°C. An individual cartridge cutting disc cuts the first two cube dimensions. The third cube dimension is cut with a cutting wheel equipped with up to 12 blades. With AVITOS, it is possible to cut meat products without preliminary chopping or crushing and without product temperature conditioning. This ensures a maximum of efficiency and safety for the machine operator, reduces power costs and extends the best-before date of the products.
Detecting foreign bodies of all kinds is an enormous challenge for the food industry, as the consumer expects products free of residues. So far there has been no method on the market that can detect low-density foreign bodies such as soft plastic in fresh meat and meat products. That is why many companies use visual inspections. The disadvantage of such visual inspections is that they are limited by factors such as fatigue of the human eye and interpersonal variations. A highly flexible detection platform has now been created in the form of the DynaCQ developed by the Danish Meat Research Institute. The integrated camera is multispectral. It detects at specific wavelengths and at the same time contains wavelengths in the infrared range. This makes it more precise than the human eye. DynaCQ detects elements/pieces up to 1.5*1.5 mm even at extremely high production speeds. Accordingly high product safety is ensured and costly recalls can be minimised. The platform stores all images with markers so that the production process is optimally documented. In this way clear evidence is available in the event of a customer complaint.
Up to now thermoform packaging machines have generally been regulated by time-controlled processes. Here the process operations are controlled through fixed process times that are set up by the machine operators via the HMI. Process parameters such as temperatures and pressures are also set in this way. With the X-line a machine that is completely sensor-controlled is being introduced to the market for first time. The sensor control ensures that the process steps proceed independently and largely at the optimal operating point. Typical faults in the production process are recognised automatically and compensated by the system. Furthermore, the X-line has a Cloud connection which greatly simplifies its operability. The expert knowledge necessary for parameterising the machine can be called up from the Cloud. When new articles are produced the machine is also parameterised correctly so that typical start-up losses are avoided. In addition the MULTIVAC Cloud offers the processor comprehensive services that contribute to improving efficiency, such as for instance Predictive Maintenance Services.
The 1C:MESbyMEAT system from the firm Absolut-Soft was developed for use in meat-processing plants to allow automatic recording of production data and allows complete monitoring of individual production and logistic stages in meat-processing plants, with online supervision and full documentation. This minimises human errors in the collection and registration of production data. The flexible system can map, plan and steer processes with high variability together with the steps and selection of the raw materials. 1C:MESbyMEAT is a flexible tool for production administration and guarantees traceability of complete batches, from purchasing of the animals for slaughter or the meat right through to the finished product. The user interface is simple and requires no prior knowledge on the part of the operators. The raw material prime costs for different production sectors and batches can be calculated and production losses reduced. This enables better use to be made of resources.
The BEHN+BATES hygiene machine ROTO-PACKER ADAMS CARE-LINE EDITION fills 10 to 25 kg PE tubular plastic bags hygienically. The bag for the filling material is formed from double-layer FFS tubular sheeting, filled and sealed tightly. The special feature is that the outer layer of the double-layer bag can be stripped off and separated from the inner bag easily and without any residues. The end user is thus always guaranteed that the inner bag remains absolutely clean even after filling, during processing and transport, and that no foreign materials can infiltrate into the filling when the inner bag is opened
The GlutoPeak is a fast rheological method for characterising wheat flours. It can be used to make fast and reliable statements about the flour and gluten quality and for classifying cereal and flour batches. Measuring with GlutoPeak takes place rheologically by recording of the torque. During the measurement the gluten is washed out and after a characteristic period forms a network, which becomes visible through a peak. Following further shearing the network collapses again and this is represented in a drop of the curve. Both operations reflect the characteristic properties of a flour. The evaluation options have been developed further. With the Rapid Flour Check evaluation the customer additionally receives correlations with established chemical and physical measuring methods. In this way the software can automatically determine the parameters protein content, wet gluten, water intake and W-value.
In the ProMessa 2020 project, the firm CSB-Automation has automated the complete intralogistics of a medium-sized self-service meat producer and consistently realised the vision of the "Smart Food Factory". The core of this solution is the automated intralogistics technology that is controlled and monitored by the IT system. Accordingly the process chain is linked to form a smart overall solution from procurement, via production, intermediate storage and order picking, right through to dispatch. By networking the operating activities and intralogistic components, ProMessa succeeds in providing small batch sizes at low cost and in a resource-friendly manner within the required time period. With the intralogistics system, ProMessa has created all the options for shifting the individualisation of the self-service products - in other words the individual customer labelling -as far back as possible in the process chain. This ensures high delivery performance (99%) despite short order lead times together with low stocking quantities and high stock turnover.
The use of pulsed electric fields (PEF) leads to permeabilisation of cell membranes. Current applications are to be found in the fruit juice industry and the production of potato products. Alongside the improved product quality, low energy and water consumption are further essential advantages of the method. The SmoothCut One system was developed in a cooperation arrangement between DIL and the spin-off company Elea GmbH. The compact complete system with conveyor system, water bath and pulse generator has a treatment capacity of up to 6 t/h and can be ideally integrated into existing process lines, even in small and medium-sized companies, thanks to its compact dimensions. Furthermore, it allows standard treatment of sinking and floating raw materials.
This hot-keeping method reduces the hot-holding time from the traditional 30 seconds to six seconds. By reducing the thermal stress it is possible to produce turbidity-stable and microbiologically stable wheat beers and filtered beers of better quality. The microbiological safety is of equivalent value. By shortening the time it is possible to achieve the critical temperature for a desired protein denaturation in order to stabilise turbidity of the unfiltered beers by keeping them hot and thus to avoid over-pasteurising of the beer. The short hot-holding period leads to lower key indicators for oxygen, heat and ageing.
NeMoSy® is a system with which machine data can be managed and monitored in order to obtain a complete overview of the process. The system transmits data from the machine via the internet and gateways to the platform. The radio transmitter is installed in the machine and transmits the machine data to a gateway located up to 100 metres away from the machine. At this point the machine data are transmitted via API calls from the gateway to a Cloud platform where they can be displayed and shared with other BI in real time. In this way the customer can obtain and check a complete remote overview of the machines. A "plug and play" and a retrofittable telemetry system were developed that collect information and the essential documents which a customer or operator needs in order to monitor and manage his machinery park and places them on a platform.
System for cleaning deep-frying fat in large deep-fryers
Pfeffer Filtertechnik, Proprietor Ulrich Pfeffer
Gingen, Germany
Up to now, deep-frying fat in large deep-fryers has been cleaned via metal/paper belt filters or vibrating screens. The disadvantage of these partly open systems is the risk of injury for the workers due to contact with the hot fat and the possibility of the hot product crumbs with their fat coating or the used paper filter belt self-igniting. The "Profi Purge Plus" system continuously separates the most minute particles from the full fat flow by means of cyclone technology, removes them without fat loss and transfers them without air contact into a cooling chamber pressurised with protective gas. The crumbs cool down safely in this chamber and are then manually or automatically discarded cold into a collection container. The additional system "PP-Side Assist" cleans the fat during emptying or filling the deep-fryer and automatically conveys particles to the central collection container.
SAM® is to be understood as the core of an aseptic process chain. The basic components of the aseptic process system are an inclined, vacuum-tight and hermetically closed process container with a mixing tool of optimised design. SAM® is designed in compact form and built up in a modular form so that the process-relevant steps are positioned on a basic rack and can be controlled from here. The aseptic process solution in the area of the batch production or batch method enables the use of ESL(Extended-Shelf-Life) technology not only for liquid products, but also for particulate inlays. The sterilisation process and the cooling process take place in a container - without repacking and with direct treatment of the product.
This user interface for TOMRA food sorters is a fundamentally different possibility for users and customers to interact with these machines. Food sorting machines contain highly complex sensors, conveyor and ejection technologies. With TOMRA ACT, a system that keeps the complicated sorting task as simple as possible has been created. The complex adjustments are simplified by drag & drop operations on the sorter touchscreen. This new interface presents the sorter as a device for separating products of different quality into different streams and gives the operator direct feedback about the behaviour of the machine. Certain product quality criteria are bundled and shown by simple blocks. The criteria blocks show data about these criteria within the process in relative real time and the operator can adjust important parameters via the sorting criteria by simply touching the criteria blocks on the screen. These criteria describe the product in the streams/flows, not the features or functions of the machine.
The endless piston principle (eccentric screw technology) has been known for a long time. With the Hygienic Dispenser it is now possible to dose and fill liquids and highly viscous pastes. In this way automated solutions are also possible in interplay with robots or installations. For example, chocolate or sugar icing can be applied to a wide range of bakery products with the small and compact design of the "eccentric screw pump". With a minimal dosing quantity of approx. 0.2 ml and a precision of +/-1 %, it is possible to service applications in a very broad range of food processes.
DymoMix - Further development of a wetting principle as pre-mixer for doughs produced in batches and continuously for the food and bakery products industry
Zeppelin Systems GmbH
Rödermark, Germany
The DymoMix wetting system developed is a further development of the "MoisTec" wetting device which focuses on avoiding dust. DymoMix works as a pre-mixer, saves space and time in the kneading process for fine bakery products, fresh bakery products and durable bakery products. The special feature consists of the fact that components in powder form are wetted with water or oil and a homogenous mixture results directly. The wetting with water or oil succeeds through a newly developed nozzle installed in the rotating shaft of the unit. In this way a liquid shield is formed which the powdery particles must penetrate and are thus wetted. Afterwards the doughs are transferred to kneading systems operating on a batch-by-batch basis or continuously, so that the kneading time is reduced by 50%. The concentration of flour dust in the working environment is reduced significantly. The range of applications is very broad, from very solid through to almost liquid doughs which are suitable for pasta, bread and bread roll doughs, as well as for mixtures in the fine bakery sector.