Syntegon delivers next generation NutraFlash turnkey gummy and jelly production line
pic: Syntegon
Syntegon packaging and processing group has unveiled its next generation NutraFlash turnkey solution developed for starchless manufacturing of gummy and jelly lines, reports Neill Barston.
The German-based firm’s latest offering is being delivered through its subsidiary Makat Candy Technology, with the new series claiming notable strides in enhancing the quality of sensitive products.
According to the company, this has been made possible with upgraded kitchen, depositing, and finishing technologies, which are all core areas of competency for the business.
Significantly, the new line enables accurate starchless depositing in reusable plastic moulds, delivered through a holistic turnkey approach to ensures a highly reliable, closed production for consistent product quality along the entire process. To this effect, the system includes end-to-end recipe management and a coordinated control concept for harmonised operations.
Confectionery Production met with the Syntegon team last week at Gulfood Manufacturing, with the business indicating a strong order pipeline for the region, and its operations globally (see our upcoming edition coverage).
Dr. Sandra Link, product manager at Makat Candy Technology, believed the new line would hold strong potential in terms of its turnkey focus. She said: “Our line covers all steps of jelly production from dosing and mixing the ingredients to product finishing.
“The starchless technology plays an increasingly important role in the production of so-called nutraceuticals. These highly sought-after functional sweets contain valuable ingredients such as vitamins or minerals. As a consequence, nutraceuticals require special handling along the entire production line, for example precise dosing to ensure the right additive content per individual piece. Makat relies on proven technologies for all process steps.
“The new turnkey line allows for even smoother production thanks to comprehensive adaptations. “Our high degree of automation combined with digital condition monitoring helps manufacturers to achieve reliable and time-saving processes with low reject rates,”
As the business added, the Makat Rapidsolver Solids+ is at the heart of the starchless kitchen. As a special execution of the proven Rapidsolver, the system achieves high dry substance content of up to 86 percent when dissolving the base jelly mass – a special characteristic of starchless production.
It eliminates the need for subsequent moisture removal by means of starch, as is the case with starch-based depositing in a mogul line. “This significantly reduces process times and enable manufacturers to produce gummies and jellies in a time- and cost-efficient manner,” Sandra Link emphasises.
Adding supplements is another special feature in the production of nutraceuticals. The often sensitive ingredients are optimally protected from excessive thermal stress since functional additives are only added shortly before depositing and the dwell times in the depositor are kept short.
Furthermore, special tail-cutting nozzles of the CMP depositor ensure a high-quality processing, even of highly viscous and difficult jelly masses. Once the products have been deposited into reusable plastic moulds, they cool down in the line’s integrated cooling tunnel. This spares manufacturers additional handling processes, such as removing the moulds and cooling the products in external cooling chambers.
In addition, the application of polishing agents in the fully automated BC 96 oiling drum has also been adapted significantly: in addition to a centerlining functionality for lower process variability, the drum features a Human Machine Interface (HMI). This allows operators to enter individual target values for each product recipe and call up the data as required. This way, the BC 96 ensures consistently high quality during the oiling process in addition to fast product changeovers and product-specific oiling.
Continuous condition monitoring
Sensors facilitate preventive error detection at the oiling drum and at several other process steps of the turnkey line. Integrated software immediately detects deviations and reports them to the operator via status lights at the line’s respective production stations, as well as via HMIs. “Thanks to these status updates, operators can promptly initiate troubleshooting and safeguard the availability of the entire line,” Sandra Link explains.
Monitoring, line control, and cleaning are based on a uniform concept: the recipe-controlled approach covers all production steps and ensures both consistent results and fast and easy product changeovers. CIP (cleaning in place) cycles for the kitchen and the depositor offer different cleaning modes, while the line’s hygienic stainless steel design enables fast and thorough cleaning – for the safe production of gummy and jelly products. In addition, the entire line is designed for contamination-free product handling, thus the line’s closed loop eliminates for example the need for manual mould handling.
As the business concluded, its latest turnkey system has full support from the Makat Technology centre in order to handle a complex mix of ingredients, formulations and processes for devising product lines.