FR00/FS Planta Piloto de Produção de Molhos ou Temperos de Frutas

The Pilot Plant for Fruit Sauces or Dressings Production, "FR00/FS", is a scale size pilot-plant equipped to carry out all industrial stages of fruit sauce production.

In the production plant of fruit sauces, the process begins with the reception of fresh fruit, where a meticulous process of selection, washing, and preparation of the fruit is carried out. To carry out these stages in the pilot plant, the following unit is included:

• WMFV. Washing Machine for Fruit and Vegetables. Fruit washing is essential to ensure hygiene and food safety. Its function is to remove any dirt, residue, or surface contaminants from the fresh fruit, ensuring that it is clean and ready for processing. In addition, during this process, pieces of fruit that do not meet the quality standards for consumption are discarded. Once the selection is complete, the fruit is peeled if necessary, preparing it for the next step: obtaining the fruit pulp.
• FPCR. Fruit Pitting and Crushing Unit. The fruit preparation process involves pitting and crushing the fruit to break down the cells and release the juice efficiently, which plays a key role in the fruit preparation stage. The unit crushes the fruit and removes the pits and seeds from the fruit, which facilitates juice extraction and ensures greater efficiency in the process.

Once the fruit is crushed, the most important step in the production of sauces is the cooking of the crushed fruit mixed with sugar and other seasonings. This stage consists of cooking the crushed fruit mixed with sugar and other seasonings. The following unit is required:

• ECFCI/CTS. Computer Controlled and Touch Screen Electric Cooker for Fruit Cooking by Immersion. The marmite plays a crucial role in the production process by ensuring the desired quality and consistency in the Sauce. It allows for an even distribution of heat, ensuring precise and controlled cooking. Additionally, it prevents the formation of lumps and helps maintain a smooth and consistent texture in the final product. The marmite also facilitates the incorporation of other ingredients, ensuring complete integration.

The product obtained from cooking is fed to the homogenizing unit, which is capable of mixing this product with the seasonings and spices necessary to achieve the desired quality and flavor of the sauce.

• DMH/CTS. Computer Controlled and Touch Screen Milk Homogenizer. The homogenizer is essential to improve its flavor, texture, or preservation. In addition, the unit also allows the sauce to be mixed with other ingredients or additives, which can improve the quality of the final product.

Once the sauce is obtained, the product undergoes a pasteurization process, where two alternative units are available: the Computer Controlled and Touch Screen UHT Unit, "AUHT/CTS" and the Computer Controlled Teaching Autonomous Pasteurization Unit, "PADC". In this way, the pilot plant includes one pasteurization unit of the two mentioned previously, according to the needs of the process.

This step is essential to ensure the proper preservation of the product, extending its shelf life and maintaining its freshness and natural flavor. There are three different processes: VAT or slow pasteurization, High temperature short time pasteurization (HTST), and Ultra-High Temperature pasteurization (UHT).

• AUHT/CTS. Computer Controlled and Touch Screen UHT Unit. This is a compact design and easy installation pilot plant that works as an independent unit or as part of an integrated process finishing that allows for studying in depth the UHT (at Ultra-High Temperature) pasteurization process of products and the variables of the process.
• PADC. Computer Controlled Teaching Autonomous Pasteurization Unit. Allows to study VAT or slow pasteurization and its process variables.

The unit receives sauces from a refrigeration tank (not included) and this is impelled with a pump (computer controlled). It is heated in the heat exchanger, by counter-current flow, with hot water coming from a circuit formed by a water tank with a heating element (computer controlled), a water pump (computer controlled), a manometer, a security valve, an expansion vessel, a purge valve, and a pressure regulator, until reaching the established pasteurization temperature.

Both pasteurizers are used to heat the sauce to a temperature sufficient to eliminate harmful bacteria and microorganisms, without compromising the flavor and nutrients of the sauce. This process helps to extend the shelf life of the product without significantly altering its properties. contact with the final product. The following unit is required for this purpose:

• BIEV. Computer Controlled Steam Sterilizer Unit. This unit effectively eliminates any harmful microorganisms present on packaging and production tools, also contamination is prevented, and the shelf life of the sauces is prolonged. Steam sterilizer, consisting of an autoclave, is a real unit used in many medical and research centers for the proper sterilization of typical instruments, avoiding potential contamination effects from infectious pathogens. It carries out the sterilization process in a sealed chamber at high pressure and temperature through proprietary software that allows monitoring of the process at all times.

The product is bottled using a bottling and capping machine. The plant has two alternative bottling machines: the Computer Controlled Liquid Packaging Teaching Unit, "EDLC" and the Packaging Machine for Viscous Agri-food Products, "PVAFP". Therefore, the pilot plant includes one of the two bottling units mentioned above, as required.

• EDLC. Computer Controlled Liquid Packaging Teaching Unit. This unit allows the sauce to be stored in containers suitable for transport and preservation, ensuring that they reach the final consumer with maximum quality and freshness. The Computer Controlled Liquid Packaging Teaching Unit, "EDLC", unit is a liquid and semi-dense products dosing machine based on dose delivery through a pneumatically-operated cylinder. The packer is responsible for filling the containers with the processed sauces in an efficient and sanitary manner. The packer is responsible for filling the containers with the processed juice in an efficient and sanitary manner.
• PVAFP. Packaging Machine for Viscous Agri-food Products. This unit doses high viscosity liquid products, as opposed to the possibility of packaging liquid or semi-dense "EDLC" products. Likewise, the bottler is responsible for filling the containers with the processed sauce in an efficient and sanitary manner, guaranteeing the transportation and correct storage of the product.

Finally, the product is capped and sealed for proper preservation in the next unit supplied.

• EDMT. Capping Machine for Agri-food Liquid Products. The capper is responsible for placing the hermetic caps on the sauce -filled containers, ensuring that they are securely sealed and that the product is protected against contamination and oxidation. This unit together with the bottling machine ensures that the final product is ready for distribution and consumption, maintaining its freshness and quality.

Depending on the required production and the characteristics of the fruits to be treated there are recommended the following elements:Additional recommended elements (Not included):

Once the crushed fruit has been cooked in the Electric Marmite for Fruit Cooking by Immersion, "MICF", it can be processed in two recommended units (not included): the Pulp and Juice Centrifugal Machine for Juices and Agri-food Products, "PJCM" and the Computer Controlled and Touch Screen Evaporator for Concentrating Agri-food Liquid Products, "ECAL/CTS". These units allow obtaining a sauce with different granulometries, which will later be packaged in the corresponding units.

To do this, the intermediate product is first centrifuged:

• PJCM. Pulp and Juice Centrifugal Machine for Juices and Agri-food Products. The centrifuge is capable of separating solids from liquids efficiently. By subjecting the intermediate product to centrifugal forces, pulp, seeds or other unwanted solids are separated from the liquid, allowing a more impurity-free base to be obtained. This improves the quality and texture of the final sauce, ensuring an optimal sensory experience for the consumer.

After the centrifugation process, the sauce base can be evaporated to further concentrate its solids content:

• ECAL/CTS. Computer Controlled and Touch Screen Evaporator for Concentrating Agri-food Liquid Products.The evaporator removes excess water after centrifugation. It uses heat to evaporate water, concentrating flavors and improving sauce consistency. It also helps to extend the shelf life of the product by reducing its water content, which contributes to greater stability and durability during storage and distribution.

Once the sauce or dressing has been packaged, it can be stored and cooled in the Computer Controlled and Touch Screen Refrigerator Reception Cabinet, "RRC/CTS".

• RRC/CTS. Computer Controlled and Touch Screen Refrigerator Reception Cabinet. It allows products to be kept at low and controlled temperatures. This unit serves to preserve the freshness and quality of ingredients and finished products, helping to prevent the proliferation of microorganisms and spoilage caused by heat and humidity. By keeping sauces and dressings refrigerated during storage and distribution, it guarantees food safety and extends the shelf life of the product, ensuring that it reaches the consumer in optimal conditions of freshness and flavor.

If a high product flow is required, the use of a transit pump to pump and transport the intermediate products from the plant is recommended. The following unit can be considered for this application:

• TPAF. Transit Pump for Agri-food Products. This unit can be used with a wide variety of agri-food products and allows working in a wide range of flow rates.

Finally, during the whole production process, products and by-products are generated and can be stored in steel (not included) or polypropylene (not included) tanks suitable for working with agri-food products. The units that perform this function are:

• SSTAF. Stainless Steel Tank for Agri-food Products. Stainless steel tank designed for the storage of intermediate and final products in a plant. Its stainless steel construction ensures corrosion resistance and a hygienic surface. Its modular design and storage capacity make it ideal for efficient management of production processes.
• PTAF. Polyethylene Tank for Agri-food Products. Polypropylene tank designed for the storage of intermediate and final products in an industrial plant. Its polypropylene construction offers resistance to chemical corrosion and excellent durability, making it ideal for environments where agri-food substances are handled. Its lightweight and versatile design allows for easy installation and transport.