This year the World Beverage Innovation Awards’ technology, ingredients and processing categories saw a great many new innovations saving time or resources in beverage manufacturing and throughout the distribution chain, packaging line efficiency, safety and tracking.
Here, we’re having a closer look at the winner and finalists in manufacturing and processing, technology, ingredients, environmental sustainability and CSR initiatives that prevailed above all in the awards.
The winner of the best manufacturing or processing innovation category, Quantifeel System addresses an issue that costs manufacturers substantially in the filling and packaging process by a new technology that can show exactly when sidewall damage is occurring during the filling and seamer process and where on the can that damage is being done.
The sensor unit travels through the seamer unobstructed and without interfering with normal operations. As it passes through the system, the drone can transmit data including sidewall pressure, tilt and spin, giving real-time information on the forces acting on cans in the filler and seamer.
An outstanding finalist in the category, Hanovia’s Pureline S, UV Disinfection System for sugar utilises powerful, low-wavelength ultraviolet light to destroy bacteria and other microorganisms without the use of chemicals and can be used as a substitute for pasteurisation, as it has a smaller footprint than pasteurisers and uses less power giving the customer energy cost savings.
Mazza Innovatio’s PhytoClean pressurised water extraction process offers a revolutionary solution in the extraction of photochemicals from plant sources with the proprietary PhytoClean, which changes the solubility properties of water and enables it to perform like an industrial solvent.
The process can successfully extract from whole raw biomass that has not yet been dried and ground up, which helps with the initial identification and verification of the raw material being processed while it is in a state to still be visually identified.
This delivers on the full supply chain visibility increasingly being demanded by product manufacturers and consumers alike.
Merck KGaA – ReadyPlate 55 offers a convenient solution to the standard microbial test performed by beverage and drinking water industry, which due to the high throughput of samples can be problematic for companies in terms of several workflow issues such as storage space, reproducibility and reliability of results.
The compact, ready-to-use plate frees up valuable incubator and storage space while also reducing waste and, when used in combination with EZ Pak membranes or EZ-Fit filtration units, perfect contact is guaranteed between the media and membrane filter, giving highly accurate and reproducible results.
The winner of the best technology innovation category was Coravin’s new concept, Wine Freedom by the Glass, which allows wine enthusiasts to enjoy wine sealed with corks without feeling the need to commit to the whole bottle. With Coravin, wine, after being accessed, remains in the bottle, continuing to evolve naturally as it was never exposed to oxygen.
Also regarded for its smart technology related to alcohol consumption, AMV BBDO’s Martini Smart Cube uses capacitive liquid sensors in the ice cubes to detect the liquid levels in the glass and sense when the drink is finished. The cube then alerts the bartender using Bluetooth technology and an iPad, allowing them to prepare the drink in advance.
Water.IO Smart Cap is a beautifully simple but important application that helps users stay hydrated. The smart cap fits to any standard water bottle. It is reusable and can be transferred from one bottle to another. It has a built-in reminder mechanism, which could be light, sound or vibration.
Breaking new ground in glass packaging, Ardagh’s challenge was to bring Johnny Walker’s new ‘striding man’ branding detail of iconic whiskey brand Johnny Walker to life via the bottle embossing, adding the maximum amount of detail within the existing logo size constraints. So, they created Freeform software which enabled the application of a pioneering innovative sculptured embossing technique by the glass manufacturer, a high level of shelf stand-out and graphic reproduction.
On the manufacturing and processing front, ATG UV Technology offers a state-of-the-art technology that guarantees disinfection against harmful bacteria with its third party-validated UV systems that use bioessay, significantly lowering the risk to food and beverage, while SPX Flow’s innovative Waukesha E-series magnetic drive system design uses a magnet drive system which effectively creates a virtually ‘leak-free’ pump solution by removing the need for mechanical seals.
Finally, Inner Mongolia’s Yili Baoquzhu offers a concept dairy drink that contains rich juice encapsulated in alginate balls, developed specifically for reducing bursting in packaging before consumption.
Kancor Ingredients was the winner of the best beverage ingredient category with OxiKan, a range of natural antioxidants extracted from rosemary to tackle oxidation in food and beverages as a substitute for synthetic antioxidants, which are widely used to control oxidation in food and beverages. Unlike synthetic antioxidants, which can be detrimental to human health, rosemary extracts are completely natural but when used as an anti-oxidant, they impart flavour, aroma and colour to the end application, which poses a challenge to beverage developers. Kancor Ingredients’ method is a breakthrough in solving the problem. OxiKan CLS is a completely refined, fully deodorized and decolorized rosemary extract with highly functional anti-oxidant molecules and doesn’t impart any flavour, aroma or colour to the final application, making it an ideal product for beverage formulators.
Kino Biotech’s Kinohimitsu Sky Grass impressed the judges as a beverage ingredient solution made of 100% pure wheat grass. Wheat grass is an alkaline food which helps purify blood, eliminate toxins and effectively alkalise acidity, but the uniqueness of the Kinohimitsu Sky Grass lies in where the wheat grass grown. The innovative Indoor Organic Aeroponic Cultivation technology enables the plant to be grown in the air (not in soil or water) which enables the plant’s roots to be preserved and kept edibile, as 70% of the nutrients are contained in the roots. The wheat grass is then harvested on the eighth day, when it has the highest nutritional values, and is freeze-dried to preserve its optimum condition.
Finally, Bio-Pitsi from Organic Premium joined the finalists with its organic nectars and fruit purées designed on a base of tropical and common fruits in different taste combinations, from papaya, pineapple and passionfruit to soursop and passionfruit and cocona and pineapple.
All products are sourced from small organic tropical fruit farms of Asháninka and processed without preservatives or chemical additives.
To find out more about the World Food Innovation Awards 2017, click here.
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