When wholesale pumping automation is costly, cook up a remedy
1 Feb 2021
Meeting hygiene and food safety regulations is a challenge for any bakery but when budgets don’t permit fully automated production systems, handling different products in a safe sanitary manner can prove quite difficult. North Ridge Pumps provided help...
A traditional family-run bakery established for over 50 years required a fully hygienic, easy to clean mobile pump to transfer fruit jams, toffee sauce, fruit curds and whipped cream. The variety of products posed a real challenge to ensure components did not wear prematurely, that damage could not be easily performed to the pump and that the customer had a low maintenance solution.
Some of the products are directly dispensed from a cooking kettle into the pump at an average temperature of 100-110°C whilst others are incredibly viscous as they are stored in a fridge before being used.
The company needed a bespoke multipurpose solution for its processes, which was sanitary grade, capable of handling all the products in question, and suitable for high viscosities and temperatures up to 120°C.
It also had to have a very gentle pumping action due to the shear sensitivity of the whipped cream. High tempera- ture liquids can have a negative impact on seals, NPSH and the overall pump lifespan so careful consideration must be taken during pump selection.
Their existing procedure involved manually transferring sauces via totes and buckets. However, the customer wanted to improve their process to automate food transfer, reduce the likelihood of burns or accidents, and eliminate manual lifting and tipping of containers.
They needed a custom cost-effective unit that operated similarly to a semi- automatic liquid filling machine.
North Ridge bespoke food grade pump kits provided the solution to this thanks to a pump system consisting of one DX hygieneic processing cavity pump mounted on a mobile trolley, with an integrated control panel.
The pump is 3A sanitary certified, which means it is suitable for CIP (cleaning-in-place) and SIP (sterilisation- in-place). Furthermore, it is specifically designed without dead zones or areas where product can build up, ensuring the internal components are fully clean after operation and guaranteeing zero cross contamination when handling different liquids.
Said a spokesperson: “We also ensured the exterior of the unit was easy to clean by fitting a stainless steel shroud that covers both the motor and the gearbox. Besides having an integrated inverter, the control panel has several other safety and operation features, such as start/stop switch, reverse (clockwise/anti-clockwise) switch, emergency stop, alarm for motor overload protection and temperature control sensor, with alarm to prevent damage (dry running protection).”
An extra feature included controlling the inverter via the panel or by the use of an app via Bluetooth, permitting operators to view the status of the pump, which must operate at slow speed when handling whipped cream.
The customer reported significant increases in pro- duction efficiency, while the layout enabled users to operate the unit with very little training, due to the simplicity of design. Additionally, built-in protection ensures the unit cannot be damaged easily.
