Page 111 - AMEFT Journal 2021-4

(Source: DIL, © Joerg Sarbach)
(Source: DIL)
(Source: DIL)
TECHNOLOGY & SUSTAINABILITY
Volker Heinz, Director and CEO at DIL
Stefan Scheiber, CEO at Bühler
Johannes Wick, CEO Grains & Food at Bühler
complete plant solutions tailored to customer needs.
The service offering for our customers in detail:
Prototyping – The team at the cen- ter develops new formulations and applications and produces first proto- types with a pilot scale extrusion sys- tem. The service also includes process parameter optimization.
Upscaling – Once the prototyping phase is completed, success criteria are defined for the upscaling process to full production capacity. Tests can be undertaken at the new full scale ex- trusion plant.
Contract manufacturing – The ser- vice allows customers to launch prod- ucts within a minimum time frame. As products are manufactured on the same machinery throughout, they can be moved to production stage quickly and with high levels of consistency. The quick-to-market approach mini- mizes risk as customers don’t need to invest in equipment before a viable market penetration is reached.
Equipment consultancy – Once prod- ucts have reached sufficient market share, the center assists customers in choosing the right equipment for their plant. The highest levels of product con- sistency are achieved by installing the machinery used in the prototyping and initial manufacturing phases.
Powered by state-of-the-art technology
At the heart of the center is Büh- ler’s advanced extrusion IFS certified extrusion technology. The twin-screw extruder PolyTwin BCTG and the Poly- Cool cooling die deliver a production capacity of up to one metric ton per hour. The entire production cycle fol-
lows HACCP and GMP principles and guidelines.
In addition, the production unit fea- tures the most modern downstream equipment. The flexible extrusion set- up is suitable for a wide range of food applications such as dry texturization of proteins, wet texturization of pro- teins, encapsulation of active ingredi- ents and cooking extrusion of snack products. The multi-purpose cutting device from Holac cuts wet textur- ized proteins into strips, cubes, and chunks. A cryogenic Zip Roll from Air Liquide is installed for the rapid freezing of wet textures preserving product characteristics at the high- est level. Special applications can be catered for on demand.
Plant-based proteins can contribute to solving the current sustainability challenges. It is therefore important to develop underused sources of protein and transform them into attractive high-quality and affordable products that succeed in the food market.
Additional services
The comprehensive offering is com- plemented by extensive laboratory ser- vices such as chemical, microbiological, and physical analytics of raw materials and analytics of extruded products in- cluding particle size distribution, texture analysis, thermal analysis, and micro- scopic analysis on different length scales. The center also offers consultancy ser- vices concerning the development and process design of extruded food prod- ucts. The Technology Center Proteins of the Future is situated at the DIL at the Food Science and Technology Campus Artland in Quakenbrück, host to over 250 scientists and technologists and a growing number of spin-offs and start- up businesses developing solutions that improve food safety and quality as well as technology enterprises.
‘Scale it up Innovation Challenge’
The opening of the center is accom- panied by the ‘Scale it up Innovation Challenge’ jointly set up by Bühler, Car- gill and Givaudan to foster new innova- tions and solutions to close the protein gap. Start-ups can use the unique in- frastructure from DIL and the partners to scale up their product innovations.
Bühler’s commitment to a more sus- tainable future
The center’s launch is in line with Bühler’s ongoing commitment to a sustainable future. “The launch of the Technology Center Proteins of the Fu- ture is an important part of our focus on environmentally friendly food pro- duction for a growing world population and supports our efforts to achieve our sustainability goals,” says Stefan Scheiber. “I believe it will make a sig- nificant contribution towards a more sustainable future”, he added.
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AMEFT 4 2021 111