Hygienic design of production lines for high quality baby food.
Over the last couple of years the hygienic demands and regulation for the production of instant food for babies and children has developed rapidly. The strict food and hygiene legislation -both for the process, the installations and the plant- as well as the complexity of the food production process demand special expertise. For these reasons a production line for baby and children food should be carefully and co-ordinated engineered, designed, installed and commissioned.
Cereal based instant porridge is given to children from the age of four months onwards. A balanced meal with the right amount of minerals and vitamins is undoubtedly very important for the health and growth of the child. Manufacturers of baby and children food are aware of that and therefore demand a constant quality and a recognisable colour, taste and texture of their product. Besides the requirements for the food characteristics, manufacturers are confronted with strict legislation and regulations. Many governments monitor food manufacturers on the compliance with local legislation. Another issue that concerns both the process plant and the installations are the HACCP-requirements (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point) that have to be fulfilled. All these criteria can be met using a hygienic designed processing line for baby and children food. As a side-effect these type of processing lines will result in a better and controlled product quality.
Hygienic design
The hygienic design of food processing lines not only focuses on the equipment and process itself but also on the process area where the production takes place. The design of the equipment includes answers to questions such as 'where will untreated product be hold up?', 'is the installation cleanable?' and 'what kind of materials are used?. The process side of the design will focus on the quality of the raw product, heat treatment of the raw materials, the quality of the final product and the total production run length. Besides the equipment and process a hygienic design will also define criteria for the process area or production environment. Typical problems that should be solved in the design phase are related to the microbiological condition of the air in the production area, the cleanability of the environment, the behaviour of operators in the process area and the hygiene procedures as recommended by law.
Processing line
A hygienic design of the processing line will result in food safety and a better product quality. These lines include slurry preparation (intake, weighing and mixing of raw materials), a drum drying section, mill-sifter section and silo/vitamin mixing section (see flow sheet). The heart of the process installation is an advanced drum dryer that guarantees that the product will be fully gelatinised so that it can be broken down and digested in the human body. Another advantage of the gelatinisation is the fact that the final product is easily soluble during reconstitution and therefore results in a smooth and light viscous porridge. Due to the drum drying technology the porridge combines unique product characteristics, such as good swelling behaviour, high protein solubility and good water absorption. At least as important is the fact that the product is actually pasteurised while being dried and thus reduces the number of processes.
GMF-Gouda (Gouda, the Netherlands) is specialised in food processing lines that are built around GMF-Gouda's advanced drum drying technology. Based on almost hundreds years of experience GMF-Gouda is able to build tailor-made hygienic production lines. Over the years, a vast amount of knowledge has been gained about these processes, the possibilities and the machines that can be used to obtain the final product. If necessary the processes can be simulated in a pilot plant during the design and engineering phase. Combined with the state of the art manufacturing technologies, GMF-Gouda offers an integrated approach for the set-up of food processing lines. This approach combines engineering, design, installation and start-up to guarantee the realisation of customers' goals in a hygienic, stable and reliable production process.
GMF-Gouda will participate in the Child Nutrition and School Food International Trade Fair from 14 - 16 April 2005 in Moscow. You are welcome to visit our stand no. 020 in Hall 2.
For more information visit the website www.mayer.ru or www.gmfgouda.com
