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Coperion has introduced the latest model in its MegaTex cooling die series for manufacturing plant-based High Moisture Meat Analogues (HMMA). The new MegaTex R90 texturizing unit achieves throughputs of up to 500 kg/h and is optimally matched to Coperion’s ZSK Food Extruders in sizes 43 and 54. It is being showcased this week at Anuga FoodTec in Cologne, Germany. HMMA is manufactured using plant proteins, used in various plant-based meat substitutes such as ground mince-style products and chicken analogues. The MegaTex cooling die provides HMMA with fibrous, meat-like textures. Coperion’s ZSK twin screw extruder and the MegaTex cooling die are the core technologies within the high moisture extrusion process. The new MegaTex R90 builds upon the principle of a round cooling die. Following discharge from the ZSK food extruder, the protein mass passes through a round channel in which the product is cooled to the desired temperature and the meat-like texture is formed to specification. The cooling die opens up a broad spectrum of possible ingredients and textures for manufacturers – from smooth to loose, dense, foamy, large-pored, long- and short-fibred textures. Process parameters such as temperature, pressure, shear rates and mass flow can be precisely targeted using the machine operator. MegaTex R90’s central element is its rotating, cooled core. This is provided with a pitch to influence the texture and the nozzle flow. In turn, this affects the pressure in the upstream extrusion process and alters the HMMA’s texture, form, colour and surface. Coperion said its main objective was to deliver ‘very good and fast cleanability’ with the MegaTex R90. All of the cooling die’s surfaces are easily accessible. The die core, including the drive section, can be retracted out of the cooling barrel on linear guide rails with just a few manual adjustments. The product channel is then fully accessible for quick cleaning. Retracting the die core also makes the ZSK food extruder’s process section directly accessible. Its twin screws can then be removed as needed to easily clean the process section without moving the MegaTex R90. Stefan Huber, project engineer in R&D for extrusion at Coperion, commented: “Following the MegaTex S7, the new MegaTex R90 is the logical expansion of our cooling die line. It allows manufacturers of meat substitutes to produce HMMA with consistently very high product quality.” He added: “Even at the high throughputs that the MegaTex R90 achieves, this cooling die offers the operator the ability to modify the texture very precisely and with great variety”.