Astepo HS-LA
In the compact Astepo High Speed Low Acid bag-in-box filler (HS-LA), filling cycles are shortened by the use of electric servo motors controlling the aseptic filling head and bag feeder. Bags and fitment tooling can be changed quickly and easily and the machine can fill a wide range of bags and products using any commercial 1” spout type. Designed to meet market demand for a faster, even more reliable machine, the Alfa Laval Astepo HS-LA linear bag-in-box filler is suitable for high acid (pH <4.5) and low acid products (pH >4.5), such as juices, beverages, concentrated juices, purees, and dairy products like soft ice mix and flavoured UHT milk. Specially developed for the sterile filling of aseptic bags, from 3 to 25 litres (1/2-6 gallons) the filler is fully automatic in operation and gives a continuous filling process with a high level of reliability. Thanks to the implementation of brushless electric servo motor technology in the new filler, all the movements of the aseptic filling and the bag feeder are controlled and adjusted with extreme accuracy and smoothness of motion. This is what gives the machine the capability to fill up to 500 bags per hour, based on 10 litre bags. It also enables changeover of caps and volume to be achieved in minimum time. The bags are delivered pre-irradiated with gamma rays, with a wide variety of commercial caps of the flat rigid type, or dispensing caps, both thermal and non thermal resistant, with high or low fitments. In the Astepo HS-LA filler the parts in contact with the product are in stainless steel AISI 316. The filling valve has EHDGE certification and the machine is FDA compliant (USA). The filling head and all food contact surfaces are sterilized by steam, and the machine is fully C.I.P. cleanable. The caps are sterilized in the sterilizing tunnel with a monitored jet of vaporized hydrogen peroxide before being introduced into the filling head. All moving parts are protected by monitored steam barriers and the aseptic filling head is maintained sterile at a controlled temperature by overpressure of air. Integrated in the machine skid, the air group comprises two sterile micro filters and food grade electric heaters for heating the air that goes into the chamber and the tunnel at a monitored flow and temperature. The Astepo HS-LA filler is managed by a PLC with an operator interface terminal featuring a touch screen. It is equipped with autodiagnostics for product traceability and a fail-safe system for continuous control of the sterile conditions of the plant.
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Researchers in the Sensors and Biosensors Group at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain, have taken advantage of Tecan’s Sunrise™ absorbance reader and Magellan™ V4.0 software to establish a novel magneto-ELISA for gliadin, a constituent of the cereal protein gluten important in celiac disease, based on optical detection. The group has developed an electrochemical magneto immunosensor for the sensitive detection of gliadin – and small gliadin fragments – in natural or pretreated foods. To assess the performance of the electrochemical immunosensor, it was compared with a novel magneto-ELISA, using optical detection performed on the Sunrise plate reader. The ELISAs were performed in 96-well microplates, using a magnetic separation plate to isolate the supernatant before measuring the absorbance in the reader. This enabled immunoassays to be performed in a variety of different formats for multiple applications – such as evaluating protein coupling to magnetic beads and nanoparticles – as well as allowing assessment of different transducer materials for biosensing purposes. It also provided a quick and easy way to optimize reagents and assay parameters, making the reader suitable for research applications.
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Beverage innovation
The innovative liquid concentrate, Elexia, is stirring up tremendous interest throughout the beverage industry with a resulting taste experience that is very close to a freshly brewed tea. Plantextrakt’s innovative concept has emerged as the result of a new production technique, which guarantees that the ingredients are processed in a particularly gentle manner, ensuring maximum naturalness and genuine taste. All product variants based on green tea, rooibos, lemon balm and other herbs retain their original character as a result of this process.
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Automated homogeniser
The Omni LH96 Homogeniser Workstation is designed for walk-away batch processing of up to 192 samples and consists of a core processing platform that can be enhanced with a broad range of user specified modules. Optional features include: automatic pipetting, buffer dispensing, bar code reading, sample weighing and refrigeration.
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The IonPac® AS25 anion-exchange hydroxide selective column is a high capacity column designed for gradient separation of multivalent anions and polarizable anions (iodide and perchlorate) including sulphur species (sulphite, sulphate, thiocyanate and thiosulphate). The column simplifies the determination of polarizable anions by using an isocratic hydroxide eluent with no solvent required for the separation. Analysis time is approximately 30 minutes. The key application is sulphur speciation in complex sample matrices including food and beverage samples. The elimination of solvents reduces waste disposal costs and allows the customer to use RFIC-EG technology for this application. The column is available in 4 × 250 mm, 2 × 250 mm and 0.4 × 250 mm formats supporting flow rates from 0.010 to 3 mL/min. Capillary and microbore formats provide low eluent consumption and improved sensitivity.
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