Top 10 trends and innovation in processing technology in 2015

 

In a retrospective look at FoodBev.com in 2015, at what is driving investment for food and drink manufacturers – what they are looking for in terms of technology solutions; and what the prevailing challenges are for them – I uncovered a great deal of compelling coverage of the most interesting developments that amply illustrate the main processing technology trends in the industry.

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Waste management

In every industry, reducing waste and optimising production is vital to survival as costs spiral. The food and beverage industry is no different.

Examples

• During the past year as part of its new climate policy, Danone teamed up with Veolia in a strategic partnership focusing on the water cycle, waste management, sustainable agriculture and energy efficiency.
• 918 Coffee, a British coffee roasting business, introduced its Coffe-Eco System, which collects consumer coffee waste and uses it as a fuel to roast new batches of coffee in its plant.
• Leading names in the frozen food industry collaborated to raise awareness of food waste during the International Food Exhibition (IFE), with the creation of a giant “wall of ice” showing industry statistics and masterminded by the British Frozen Food Federation (BFFF).
• PepsiCo revealed that its environmental sustainability programmes saved the company more than $375m since established in 2010, through a combination of water, energy, packaging and waste reduction initiatives.

Energy Saving

The environmentally sound focus on waste reduction extends into the industry-wide scramble to reduce energy consumption and therefore fuel bills.

Examples

• We reported that in the Ukraine, PepsiCo upgraded two of its blowers to energy-efficient Ecovens from Sidel, and saved 42% on total energy used in its beverage production in the process.
• British dairy company First Milk completed the initial stage of construction for an anaerobic digestion (AD) plant at the company’s creamery in Cumbria.
• At BrauBeviale in October, the topic of energy saving punctuated many conversations I had, including a discussion with Hanovia about how its Uveo UV system can provide energy savings of up to 60% for UV decontamination; and on the LMF stand, where they highlighted potential energy savings in compressed air in the region of €50,000 a year.
• Krones introduced a range of solutions for identifying different consumption quantities, exploiting potential savings and ensuring resource-efficient production within the brewing sector.
• ExxonMobil demonstrated the potential energy efficiency benefits of a new range of hydraulic oils, which form part of its Mobil SHC Cibus series of advanced food-grade lubricants.
• Ener-G launched a new sub 200kW thermal combined heat and power unit (CHP) that it claims will “make small-scale anaerobic digestion viable for dairies”.

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Safety

As ever, there is no point in producing good food if it is not safe to eat, and with food scares proliferating, food and beverage companies are facing extra pressure to ensure the safety of their production and their supply chains.

Some solutions and actions taken to ensure product safety:

• Sick introduced its Glare sensor that gives almost 100% effective glossy material detection and discrimination for a wide range of food production and packaging processes.
• Tetra Pak developed its E3 electron beam (eBeam) filling machine platform in partnership with Comet in order to replace the traditional liquid hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) sterilisation of packaging material in the beverage carton industry.
• Scientists from the University of California (UC) Berkeley and Taiwan’s National Chiao Tung University created a wireless “smart cap” for milk cartons that is capable of detecting spoilage in the pack before the milk is poured.
• Loma Systems launched its IQ3+ SureTune metal detector for use within high speed food manufacturing lines.
• In New Zealand, Fonterra opened a whole milk drying plant, built by GEA, that is reinforced to withstand the tremors of an earthquake.
• Bühler Group launched its Sortex E BioVision sorting technology, which allows for the removal of hazardous material up to 50% smaller than previously possible during nut processing.

Quality

Once safety is assured, manufacturers are driven to create products of the utmost quality drawing on technologies that are designed to optimise the consumer acceptance of the finished products.

• In order to eliminate the need for excess salt and additives and retain the colour, texture, flavour and nutritional properties of the end product, 915 Labs developed a new microwave-assisted thermal sterilization (MATS) system, which simultaneously heats packed food from the outside in a pressurised hot water bath, and heats it internally using a patented microwave energy delivery system.
• Mocon unveiled a new testing instrument for food packagers, which improves the accuracy of their package headspace oxygen readings.
• Linde Gases’ UK subsidiary BOC is collaborating in a new two-year venture to develop an innovative cooking and cooling system that dramatically improves the quality and healthiness of ready meals.

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Novel processing technologies

The constant improvement of quality relies on the pursuit of novel technologies that overcome the shortcomings of existing processing methods, and stimulate the opportunity for greater innovation in the industry – something that is a constant driver. To this end, the Foodbev Media editorial team covered many of the most exciting projects ongoing in the industry.

Examples

• Some of the most novel technologies are being explored by Harley Food Systems, which has perfected a crispy bread crumb that can be applied to a range of foods and vegetables to create tasty breaded products without frying; and real cheddar cheese that is heat- and freezer-stable and retains its shape on baking, among others.
• We reported that fruit juice and smoothie maker Fruitapeel invested £2.3m in high pressure processing (HPP) technology, which allows key nutrients and quality of its products to be retained.
• Research and industry partners from Germany, the Netherlands and Spain will join together on the i3 project to implement three novel food processing technologies under industrial conditions, ensuring rapid and maximum market uptake.
• Foodlife and Cool Wave Processing have joined forces to develop a new cold press technology.
• Long used by surgeons as a healing aid, cold plasma technology in medicinal physics or as a decontamination agent in computer technology is now being researched by DIT Hothouse for application in several areas of the food industry.

Lowering TCO

Whatever the technology, as margins are squeezed, food and beverage manufacturers are all looking to ensure the lowest total cost of ownership (TCO – the calculation of initial purchase price plus ongoing maintenance and running costs).

Examples

• On FoodBev.com, we reported that Sidel added a new Rollquattro roll-fed labelling machine to a line at Malta’s sole licensed bottler of Coca-Cola products, General Soft Drinks, following a complete analysis of the benefits over retrofitting the existing roll-fed labeller.
• Cambridge Engineered Solutions’ new lighter weight flatwire conveyor belt is between 30% and 50% stronger than a standard flatwire belt and withstands temperatures up to 1,000°F, making it more durable over time and reducing its TCO for heavy duty applications.

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Automation

TCO is often a driver for investment in automation, which is one of the main trends in the industry, which has traditionally been slow to adopt automation due to the intricacies of handling food products. Technology improves and cost savings are to be made, particularly in the area of end-of-line packaging as well as increasingly further up the line.

Examples

• In an interview, posted on FoodBev.com in November, Kuka Robotics explores how vision sensors and greater integration are making the automation of processes throughout the production line increasingly possible for today’s high throughput beverage manufacturers.
• Phoenix Group increased its filling capacity for oils by more than 300% following a six-figure investment in its production capabilities, including a new bottling line, which added automated capping and filling processes to the site’s existing automated labelling function.
• Investment in manufacturing robotics could boost the UK’s economy by £60bn within a decade, with the food and drink industry one of the most likely to profit, according to banking group Barclays.
• Quin Systems, the supplier of intelligent end-of-line automated packing systems, has launched its new Versapack machine, featuring a servo-driven robotic case erector system that gives faster, smarter and more efficient results.
• Kliklok has sold additional automatic packaging lines to R&R Ice Cream, which operates brands such as Fruit Split and Fab.
• Bosch Packaging Technology has redesigned its Delta portfolio of robotic packaging technology in order to enhance the versatility and performance that it offers to food producers.

Flexibility

With automation comes flexibility as robots and automated lines can be programmed to switch from one task to another more rapidly than ever before, which taps into another industry driver – that of flexibility: the need to switch from one product to another and the capacity to handle multiple products on the one line.

• Again, at BrauBeviale, I discovered what a difference flexibility can make to PET bottle blowers as they switch from blowing one sized bottle to another.
• Tetra Pak’s new TR/G7 is a low-cost, easy-to-operate high performance filling machine for chilled distribution, which offers simplified operation through a touchscreen panel, compact design, and low electricity consumption.
• In a bid to improve its product labelling and tracking capabilities, Laubscher Cheese Company, upgraded its existing manual hand-written system by introducing automation and advanced technology.

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Speed and efficiency

As always, speed is of the essence with no room for downtime or production losses in today’s high throughput manufacturing plants, as is evident in many of the stories that appeared on FoodBev.com last year.

• Elite Control Systems launched its “breakthrough” intelligent routing system that boasts a range of benefits on production speed and efficiency for the beverage and bottling industries.
• Claire Phoenix visited West Control Solutions during the year and reported on how its new Maxvu digital temperature reader can support in-plant efficiencies.
• At Anuga FoodTec, I discussed efficiencies and monitoring with SPX, which has perfected its IntcomLight predictive maintenance tool for monitoring critical components in separators to predict unexpected trouble with the system and help prevent issues arising.
• Tetra Pak has extended the application of its OneStep processing technology to milk production from powder, offering a solution that allows producers to prepare UHT milk from powder in one continuous step.
• Omira Oberland-Milchverwertung invested in a SIG Combibloc CFA 812 filling machine to fill products in both CombiblocMidi and CombifitMidi carton packs – making this format available in Germany for the first time.

Capacity expansion

In order to compete, manufacturers are investing fast and furiously to increase and improve their production capacity, and expand into new lucrative markets with state-of-the-art technology.

• Mondelēz International opened a new $30m manufacturing line in Poland as part of its plans “to capitalise on growing demand in its European confectionery business”.
• PT.Hokkan installed a new dry aseptic line in Indonesia – expanding its production capacity for the co-packing of non-carbonated healthy soft drinks in Indonesia’s growing beverage market.
• Vasari Global has invested $36m in the first phase of a new food production facility in Ethiopia in collaboration with Ethiopian company Ahadu – inaugurating the facility for Ahadukes Food Products as part of an overall $150m investment programme.
• Mars confirmed its investment of €100m during the next ten years in increasing the production capacity at its chocolate factory in the Netherlands, which currently produces 27m pieces of confectionery every day.