Bread manufacturers can now achieve improved extensibility in their white breads thanks to a unique baking enzyme, BakeZyme X-pan. Offering enhanced dough development, whiteness of crumb and increased volume, this innovative enzyme guarantees an effective way to bake better white bread. The enzyme is a fungal cellulase solution, which partially degrades non-starch polysaccharides – such as cellulose – in dough. This action helps solve common manufacturing problems in white bread-making, such as irregular crumb and reduced volume – factors that can often dissuade consumers from purchasing the product. Extensive tests have shown that product quality and texture is enhanced in a wide variety of white bread applications, including French baguettes and American sandwich bread.
Read more

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.
Read more

A new range of baby food rice starch is now available worldwide and ideal for use in fruit and vegetable based jars. Following in-depth assessment of production processes, including extensive testing, BENEO’s baby food rice starch meets and exceeds industry and regulatory requirements. The new product range also offers a wide range of nutritional and technical benefits to manufacturers. The naturally sourced texturizer qualifies for hypoallergenic, clean label, organic, as well as non-GMO products. Test trials have shown that vegetable and fruit jars with BENEO’s baby food rice starch have improved product stability in terms of viscosity, syneresis control and shelf-life. In addition, the ingredient’s small particle size creates a creamy texture without any effect on the end product’s taste or colour. Rice is furthermore highly digestible and consequently interesting for baby food applications.

Read more

The range extends from the automation of inverter-controlled dough mixer applications to increasing the effectiveness of the overall system (Overall Equipment Effectiveness, OEE) up to production-enhancing robot technology. For example, using the MES-IT interface module, continuous communication can be realized simply even in a heterogeneous, historically grown application structure – a so-called “brownfield” production plant – by interconnecting island solutions. Fully in line with Industry 4.0, the module acquires production data and test results at each stage of production and transmits them in real time to higher-level systems. These enable the systems to produce clear, meaningful evaluations by using Excel, SAP or pre-prepared reports. The link to existing systems can be established quickly without interrupting machine sequences. Preventive maintenance is a big issue in the food industry. If a machine fails without prior warning, the complete batch normally has to be disposed of. Flexible maintenance and service concepts like FAG SmartCheck or the life-cycle software tool MAPS offer a remedy. FAG SmartCheck, for example, detects and reports the first vibrations in a drive long before any noise is emitted. As a result, the reaction time up to machine failure is considerably greater and the maintenance cycle can be adapted to production at a suitably early stage. To increase plant flexibility and availability, it often makes sense to use robots. If several products are manufactured, packaged or removed on one line, the timing can be configured to be significantly faster and more cost-efficient by using space-saving robots and camera systems. At the same time the high hygiene standards of the food industry are met. The fully integrated automation concept iQ Platform ultimately combines all components up to robot control on one single platform and ensures seamless communication within the plant.
Read more

cooking systems
A new series of cooking systems to handle every kind of sugar confectionery is being launched by Baker Perkins. Proven, unique cooking process technologies are at the heart of the AutoCook concept, backed by modular units configured to provide an efficient, automatic solution for a wide range of outputs. The cooking method depends on process and product requirements. The choice includes the Microfilm swept surface cooker, regarded as the industry standard for sugar and sugar-free high boiled and hard candies, including those with milk and cream; the Turbofilm plate pack cooking system ideal for jelly products;  the Carablend for toffee and caramel; and a dedicated fondant cooker. Cookers are integrated with skid mounted systems for weighing and mixing, dissolving, pre-cooking and colour and flavour addition. The systems are designed for easy installation, maximum efficiency and minimal cleaning and maintenance. Controls can be either stand alone or integrated with upstream and downstream systems.     
AutoCook systems cover the full range of syrup based confectionery including hard candy, lollipops, toffee, fondants, fudge, jellies and fruit snacks. A system can be configured to make a variety of products – both soft and hard candies, for example. The systems can feed most types of confectionery forming techniques, including starchless depositing, die forming, slab forming, extrusion, cut and wrap, and starch mogul processes.  

Baker Perkins
Peterborough, Cambridge, UK
Read more