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Tetra Pak has joined forces with analytical solutions provider Foss to launch an advanced version of the Tetra Pak standardisation unit.

Featuring accurate measurement and control of protein and fat in dairy products, the new unit has been designed to help customers ensure product quality and strengthen profitability by removing the uncertainty of sampling techniques, the companies said.

The new solution uses automation hardware and software algorithms that react and adjust in real time. It delivers key data every seven seconds, enabling quicker reaction times to ensure product quality.

According to Tetra Pak and Foss, the solution offers a range of benefits for companies involved cheese and milk powder production, including “uniform and on-specification product quality” as well as the “elimination of uncertainty associated with manual sampling”.

Tetra Pak product manager Helen Sellar said: “Integrating our propriety software algorithm and the Foss analyser in the new Tetra Pak standardisation units with continuous protein control results in the industry’s most advanced and optimal solution for in-line measurement and control. With process variation minimised and profitability boosted, the solution is expected to pay for itself in two to four years.”

Ib Haunstrup, product manager at Foss, added: “A key benefit of the integration of Foss analytic software within the new Tetra Pak standardisation units with continuous protein control is the ability to test a number of components directly, eliminating the need for manual testing and enabling producers to run at very narrow margins between specified points.

“This unique technology supports producers to respond to changing market trends, such as increased demand for protein-enriched products, while also securing efficiency and product quality.”

The Tetra Pak standardisation units with continuous protein control are currently being tested by Finnish dairy manufacturer Valio.

“The challenge we faced was that the existing line was coming to the end of its life cycle and maintenance costs were high,” said Valio production manager Raimo Vehkoja.

“This new investment gave us more accurate fat to protein ratio, giving us better use of raw materials and constant product quality. It also drastically reduces maintenance costs.”

The new unit is available in Australia, New Zealand, the US, Canada, Germany, Holland, France, the UK, Denmark, Sweden and Poland, and will roll out to more markets in the next year.