Paraflash evaporator: trail-blazing new technology for whey treatment

Increasing quantities of whey are being generated in the manufacture of cheese and dairy products. They are often converted into concentrated whey products by means of ultrafiltration. This process also produces a large amount of protein-free permeate (filtrate). Concentrates are also produced by means of evaporation technology. During the past years the Danish technology firm APV Anhydro has developed the new SCW and SCP processes (super concentrated whey process and superconcentrate permeate process) with its Paraflash evaporator. In these processes the whey and the permeate are concentrated much more strongly prior to spray-drying than is the case in conventional evaporation. Thanks to the Paraflash evaporator the lactose-crystallisation process preceding the subsequent drying process is distinctly shortened, and the throughput rate of the drying plant is increased by 50 % for whey and almost 100 % for permeate. At the same time energy is saved to a notable degree. The process was developed further in 2002 until ready for practical operation in close cooperation with the Engineering and Production Department of the dairy Molkerei A. Müller at the Leppersdorf plant in Saxony. According to the results achieved in Leppersdorf, the degree of evaporation was improved from hitherto 60 % dry matter to 72 % for whey and from 65 % to as much as 78 % for permeate. The new process shortens the traditional crystallisation process which used to last 20 to 24 hours down to one hour. This makes continuous lactose-crystallisation possible, which leads to perceptible savings in water and energy. These features of the new process convinced the international jury made up of acknowledged scientists from Germany and other countries and moved them to classify the new process of whey and permeate concentration and drying as a trail-blazing innovation.

New process for industrial chocolate production opens up new processing opportunities and quality potential

The Swiss machine manufacturer Bühler AG received the award for its new chocolate pre-crystallising process. As the jury stressed in its technical commendation, this opens up new processing opportunities and quality potential for industrial chocolate production. The process, developed in many years of cooperation with leading Swiss chocolate manufacturers and ETH Zurich, is now being used with excellent results in five Swiss factories. The new installation, called "SeedMaster", replaces the previous conventional pre-crystallisation of the chocolate mass before moulding into bars or other shapes. It allows fast crystallisation and the development of a fine crystalline texture that leads to more compact and hence denser structure than chocolate fillings produced in accordance with conventional processes. The new process also distinctly delays the migration of liquid fat components from the filling into the adjacent chocolate mass and thus prevents "fat bloom" that impairs quality. The chocolate products produced with the new method feature not only a much better gloss, but also higher stability. Moreover the energy savings improve the cost-effectiveness.

Precise automatic portioning of pasty convenience products

Precise automatic portioning in the production of meat and convenience products such as delicatessen, potato, fish and cheese products is not yet satisfactory in practice. The machine manufacturer VEMAG started to develop a filling flow divider in 1999 to achieve automatic portioning of these products and use in multi-line production. Continuous filling flows are of prime importance in practice and there is a growing call for division into several identical filling flows. VEMAG reached production readiness for the filling flow divider in 2002 and experience gained in practice is now very good, as the jury discovered in its survey of users. Ease of handling, low error possibilities, high weight precision and improved cost effectiveness were the features praised. In its technical commendation the jury described the new development as an exemplary innovation very much in line with the current trend in food processing towards simpler, faster and more precise machines and apparatus. The jury also considers it to be an effective contribution to further automation in the meat and convenience branch, which generally lags behind that in the dairy and beverage industries.