Background / Requirement
Coating systems add to the appeal of many foods. They enhance
flavor, texture, aroma and appearance in a cost effective
manner. A properly coated product has eye appeal, a "crunch"
that comes from developing a crispy crust, a pleasant aroma
radiating from the finished product, a rough and smooth texture
with a non-greasy finish, and a consistent flavor.
A vast array of ingredients make up batters and breadings.
These ingredients impact both flavor and functionality of
the final product. Most manufacturers have multiple formulation
options depending on the flavors and textures desired by the
end customer. A typical breading combination includes flour
and seasoning mix.
Processing lines for breaded products vary from plant to
plant. A common processing line consists of a drum coater
pre-dust station, a batter station and flatbed coaters. The
number and organization of these pieces of equipment vary
depending on the organization and needs of the individual
facility. One thing that all facilities have in common is
that there are collection points along the processing lines
for mixtures of moist coating, dry coating and small product
pieces that fall through from the processing line.
The material gathered at the collection points is handled
differently at each facility. Some plants employ sifters that
separate the fine dry coating for recycle from the large wet
agglomerates. This recycled coating is then added back to
the coater feed points manually. The coarser wet coating is
usually then discarded. Other plants simply condemn all the
material at the collection points.
Despite the recycling efforts that are currently employed,
there can be a significant amount of wasted coating. In the
cost sensitive arena of food processing, significant savings
are available through the use of the Quadro Comil.
Comil
Performance
For lines that already have a sifter, the entire feed stream to the sifter can be diverted to the Comil for milling. With breadings containing high levels of moisture, it was discovered that when the recycled wet coating mix is sized along with some fresh coating powder, a finer and more consistent coating results. In one instance, it was found that for every 10 lbs of wet coating mix, only 1 lb of dry coating powder needed to be added to the feed stream to achieve 100% recycle reclaim. This ratio varies significantly depending on the moisture level of the coatings in the collection area. In both cases, the discharge of the Comil can be directed back into the drum coater or the flatbed coater.
Summary
Food processors employing breading coating process lines currently dispose of thousands of dollars of agglomerated breading per year. The Comil can efficiently reclaim most, if not all, of this breading resulting in significant savings. The amount of savings varies from plant to plant dependent on their type of coaters and operating practices. An additional savings is in the removal of the high maintenance sifters. |
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