With the CPD dryer/mixer, Hosokawa Micron is introducing a reactor that can give powdered food products the desired characteristics through a special heat treatment, eliminating the need for additives.
All additives that are permissible in Europe as E numbers have been thoroughly tested before being allowed onto the market. One such E number is oxygen, so it is difficult to avoid E numbers altogether…! Nevertheless, there is a clear trend among consumers towards ‘clean label’ products, i.e. food that does not contain E numbers. When consumers can choose between two products of equal quality, one of which contains E numbers and the other which does not, they have a clear preference for the one without.
“If they want to avoid or reduce the addition of E numbers, manufacturers have to alter the characteristics of their ingredients in order to achieve the intended finished product,” says Daan Goris, Team Manager Food at Hosokawa Micron in Doetinchem. “This can include things like swelling, viscosity, colour, flavour, shelf life and all kinds of other aspects. Additives are one way a manufacturer can create a reaction in a product, but a thermal process combined with pressure or a vacuum can work just as well in many cases. It’s the same result, just a different approach.”
One disadvantage is that a thermal process consumes more energy than the use of additives. Goris: “But the CPD uses less energy than many conventional technologies, plus the process can be controlled relatively easily and very effectively. Even though things can get fairly ‘lively’ in a process involving a vacuum, high pressure and steam, the CPD reactor is designed to be very robust and there are minimal maintenance risks. Therefore, when it’s time to invest in new equipment, many customers are now opting for a solution that enables them to make ‘clean label’ products.”
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