TRENDS IN BAKING & BAKERY PROCESSING

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TABLE OF CONTENTSAutomation Grows in Doughs 4

Despite its batch-oriented, craftsman-like nature, baking is ripe for automation

in many aspects.

Metal Detection, X-ray Inspection or Both - Making the Right Choice 9

Key Considerations in Food Product Flow Wrap Packaging 12

AD INDEXYamato • www.yamatoamericas.com 3

Mettler-Toledo Product Inspection • www.mt.com/pi 8

Harpak-ULMA • www.harpak-ulma.com 11

eHANDBOOK: Trends in Baking & Bakery Processing 2

www.FoodProcessing.com

http://YamatoAmericas.com

Baking and automation just don’t

seem like they would go together.

Baking is usually a batch process,

often with significant time lags between

steps like proofing and the oven. Most

dough is too viscous to flow easily. And

many higher-end baked goods have an

artisan cachet that may seem incompatible

with automation.

But automation has made steady inroads

into many phases of industrial baking. And,

as in all product segments, advances in

aspects like robotics and digital technology

have the potential to intensify the degree

of automation.

“This is a great time to be in the baking

industry,” says John Giacoio, vice president

of sales for Rheon USA (www.rheon.com),

which makes a range of dough forming and

handling equipment. “Bakers are demanding

better products, and this pushes equipment

manufacturers to offer better equipment

even before the customer knows it can be

done. It is exciting to be able to provide a

solution to a customer when they have all

but given up on improvement.”

Unsurprisingly, automation is more prev-

alent in larger, high-volume baking

operations. But smaller ones are starting to

see the advantages, says Gary Seiffer, sales

specialist with EnSight Solutions (www.

ensightsolutions.us), which makes a variety

of processing and material handling equip-

ment for bakeries and other sectors.

“There still are a lot of small bakers out

there that want to grow, and if they’re

smart, they’ll grow with machinery,” Seiffer

says. This applies even to artisan bakers,

some of whom continue to resist the idea of

automation on the grounds of integrity, he

says. “There are artisan bakers who say, ‘I’m

never putting anything more than an oven

Automation Grows in DoughsDespite its batch-oriented, craftsman-like nature, baking is ripe for automation in many aspects.

By Food Processing

eHANDBOOK: Trends in Baking & Bakery Processing 4

www.FoodProcessing.com

and a mixer in my bakery.

Anything more than that

is automation, and that’s

gonna kill my product.’ Well,

it’s not.”

Automation is not just a

matter of volume. “Part of

the automation was not just

to automate, but also to

gain consistency,” Seiffer

continues. Manual produc-

tion of baked goods can

lead to variations in individ-

ual products, for instance

with loaves of bread being

molded inconsistently, as

Seiffer saw when he had a

small bakery. “You would

have what appeared to

be two different loaves of

bread because somebody

didn’t want to do their job.”

That’s why dough dividing

and molding became some

of the first tasks in baking to

be automated, especially in

the artisan bread market.

“This type of product

requires extensive hand

work to preserve the hand-

made quality and look of

the product,” Giacoio says.

“We often find small to

medium bakeries scaling

artisan breads by hand

to preserve cell structure.

Many times this dough has

high water content and long

floor time, so even hand

scaling and forming is diffi-

cult. Our stress-free dividers

can handle long floor time

dough with high hydration

even better than can be

done by hand.”

FIRST STEPSWhile dough dividing and

other steps have been auto-

mated for decades, there

are still many small baker-

ies that are just beginning

to automate them. When

operations like that achieve

enough growth to require

a significant production

increase, the transition can

be difficult.

“For smaller food company

operations, having their

product picked up by a gro-

cery chain or supporting a

special promotion quickly

means adjusting produc-

tion for sudden increases

in demand or short batch

runs,” says Sonia Bal, direc-

tor of marketing at Unifiller

(www.unifiller.com), which

specializes in depositing

equipment, for toppings and

fillings. “Hiring additional

staff, paying more and cov-

ering additional benefits

may not be feasible.”

“For specialty bakeries that

run semi-automated proof-

ing and/or retarding lines,

we have seen an increase in

interest in automated rack

loading and unloading,”

says Mark Rosenberg, CEO

of Gemini Bakery Equip-

ment Co. (www.geminibe.

com). “Due to a continued

shortage of available labor/

workers, we have seen an

increase in need to eliminate

A lot of bakery equipment, like this depositer from Uni-filler, is on wheels to allow it to be used on multiple lines.

www.FoodProcessing.com

eHANDBOOK: Trends in Baking & Bakery Processing 5

and/or reduce the quantity of employees

needed to manually load and unload racks.”

Some Gemini systems can reduce up to five

workers per shift, Rosenberg says.

Of course, automation is often used to

speed up and increase throughput on an

existing process.

“We see more opportunities for people to

increase the capacity of a roll or bread line

compared to clients building brand new

lines,” Rosenberg says. “It is common that

clients add new products that can run at

a higher speed through their proofer and

ovens and even packaging. The cost, and

more importantly the potential downtime, is

much less to upgrade a make-up line than to

replace an entire production line.”

However, Seiffer cautions, there are some

baked goods that just can’t be rushed, no

matter how much automation gets added.

“In commercial baking, you need to keep

things moving, but if the bread takes 20

minutes to bake, it takes 20 minutes to

bake,” he says. In certain formulations,

Seiffer suggests, electronics can be useful

for keeping track of stages in dough devel-

opment, for instance if dough needs to go

into the oven no later than 20 minutes after

it’s mixed.

ADAPTING TECHNOLOGYCertain technologies have the potential to

greatly increase quality and consistency of

baked goods, including servomotors, check-

weighing, vision systems and robotics, the

last two often combined. These have been

around a long time, but their use in baking

– at least, on the processing side – has

been lagging.

For instance, robots combined with cam-

eras form the basis for an EnSight system

that debuted at this year’s IPPE show. The

system, whose name was not released at

press time, can look for misshapen light

products like rolls and blow them off the

belt with an air jet.

Vision also forms the basis for a high-speed

croissant system from Rheon. “The system

includes a vision system to identify the tail

position, and makes adjustments automati-

cally at speeds of 200 pieces per minute per

row,” Giacoio says. “This is an unheard-of

speed for the industry, and we take it one

step further with the vision system.”

Servomotors bring to bakery equipment

the advantages they confer on other high-

speed processing and, especially, packaging

equipment: precision and flexibility. Uni-

filler, for example, uses servos on some

of its cake-decorating, depositing and

other equipment.

“The servo-operated machines are designed

for a host of benefits, bringing convenience

and efficiency to any food manufacturer,”

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eHANDBOOK: Trends in Baking & Bakery Processing 6

Bal says. “Easy-to-use, programmable touch-

screen controls and a built-in ability to act

as a slave to an automated conveyor-based

production system add further efficiency.”

Checkweighers have been a staple of pack-

aging systems, in bakeries and elsewhere,

for decades. But their use with dough is

relatively new. A big advantage with large

goods like bread loaves is that they can

ensure that the finished product will be of

uniform weight, even though it may not be

uniform size.

“Our stress-free dividers can handle long

floor time dough with high hydration even

better than can be done by hand,” Giacoio

says. “They use an integrated loadcell under

the conveyor that scales and cuts the dough

piece to the required weight. Because we are

cutting by weight the dough pieces may be

different sizes, especially as the dough con-

tinues to proof out, but we are able to give a

consistent weight with an artisan look.”

Using checkweighers on dough chunks also

makes it possible to remove and rework the

ones that are too far off weight, Seiffer says.

If a finished and packaged loaf, roll, etc. is

too far off weight, there’s nothing to do but

throw it out.

Checkweighers also can combine with dig-

ital controls for corrective feedback loops.

That’s an option with equipment from

Hinds-Bock (www.hinds-bock.com), a sup-

plier of filling and depositing equipment,

says Rod Gregg, executive vice president.

“PLCs on filling equipment can interface

with electronic scales to check-weigh

deposits coming off the filler. If the filler is

equipped with automatic stroke adjustment,

the upstream or downstream scale equip-

ment can send a signal and the filler will

adjust weights accordingly,” Gregg says.

For various reasons, many industrial bakers

have been slow to embrace automation. But

those that do will find that the right equip-

ment can make their product better, as well

as faster.

“This technology is out there,” Seiffer says.

“The more consistent you can get with your

bakery, the better you’re going to be at pro-

ducing a profitable business.”

This system from Rheon uses a vision system to identify the tails of croissants coming from the sheeter and make adjustments.

Read the complete story on FoodProcessing.com.

www.FoodProcessing.com

eHANDBOOK: Trends in Baking & Bakery Processing 7

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Metal detection and X-ray inspec-

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INTRODUCTIONThe quality and safety of food and pharma-

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Metal Detection, X-ray Inspection or Both - Making the Right ChoiceBy Mettler-Toledo Product Inspection

eHANDBOOK: Trends in Baking & Bakery Processing 9

www.FoodProcessing.com

WHY METAL DETECTION?Industrial metal detectors have been around

since the 1960s and are used by food, non-

food and pharmaceutical manufacturers at

Critical Control Points (CCPs) in many pro-

duction processes where a Hazard Analysis

and Critical Control Points (HACCP) audit

has identified the risk of metal contamina-

tion. Modern metal detectors can identify

all metals - including ferrous (chrome, steel,

etc.), non-ferrous (brass, aluminum, etc.), and

both magnetic and nonmagnetic stainless

steels - in food, non-food, and pharmaceutical

products. Systems can be installed at CCPs

to inspect incoming raw materials prior to

processing. Inspection systems can also be

installed at midway points or at the end of the

production or packaging line.

The most common type of industrial metal

detector uses a balanced coil design. In

very basic terms, this type of metal detec-

tor consists of three coils wound around

a rectangular or circular supporting frame

(sometimes known as a “former”) to create

three parallel loops through which the prod-

uct is passed. The middle coil is charged

with an electrical current that generates a

magnetic field and acts as a transmitter.

The transmitter coil induces a current in

the other two coils, which are positioned

in close proximity at equal distance before

and after the middle coil. These coils effec-

tively act as receivers. As the first and last

coils are wound in opposite directions, the

induced currents cancel each other out.

When this happens, the coil system is said

to be “balanced”. The coil arrangement

creates an electromagnetic field within the

former, through which the product passes.

The electromagnetic field remains undis-

turbed and the induced voltages in the coil

system remain in balance until something

metallic disturbs the magnetic field.

When this happens, the voltage in each

coil changes by just a few nanoVolts.

Although the voltage change is very small,

it is enough to be detected and interpreted

by sophisticated electronic circuitry and

advanced software algorithms.

The software is able to generate an electronic

signal, which can be used to raise an alarm

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mechanism to take the contaminated product

out of the production process. Alternatively,

the signal can be used to stop the production

process by de-activating the conveyor or

other packaging or processing machines.

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eHANDBOOK: Trends in Baking & Bakery Processing 10

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Flow wrapping (HFFS) is one of the most

widely employed, versatile and cost-ef-

fective packaging techniques utilized for

high-volume packaging operations. Devel-

oping an understanding of the variables

that affect a flow-wrap process will help

you better design the right solution.

Key variables that influence production

include product consistency, overall speed/

speed variations within the process itself,

packaging style, climate, film type(s), and

shelf life. Flow wrapping’s versatility ema-

nates from rapid equipment changeover

from one packaging size to another, and

ease of swapping film sizes without tool-

ing changes. On the marketing front, it

offers excellent opportunities for increased

branding, printable instructions, or an unob-

structed view of the product if desired.

Film selection and sealing method (cold

or hot) are the two primary considerations

that will drive solution selection. A wide

variety of flexible film types are available

today, including new advances in sustain-

able films. Operationally, sealing is tied to

the interplay between time, temperature

and pressure, along with the required seal-

ing technology for longitudinal and cross

seals. The selected seal technology (Rotary,

Long Dwellor Box-motion) will define

production speed and the potential film

structure for your application.

In an increasingly e-commerce driven

economy, packaging plays a role in com-

petitive advantage. The rise of digital

transformation and pressure for improved

efficiencies are helping to push the bound-

aries of packaging processes into advanced

robotic automation, augmented reality

(AR), machine learning, and Artificial Intel-

ligence in the form of predictive analytics.

Such technologies promise to radically

alter producer maintenance operations and

Key Considerations in Food Product Flow Wrap PackagingBy Harpak-ULMA

eHANDBOOK: Trends in Baking & Bakery Processing 12

www.FoodProcessing.com

OEM-service business models. This paper

provides an overview of the key character-

istics of flow-wrapping as it is applied in the

food industry.

WHY FLOW WRAPPING?Horizontal form fill and seal (HFFS) is com-

monly referred to as flow wrapping, and is

one of the most widely employed, versatile,

and cost-effective packaging techniques

utilized today. In fact, it’s a virtual cer-

tainty that if you have purchased groceries

or household products – you have been

exposed to flow wrap packaging.

The process wraps a product in a clear or

printed Polyolefin, polypropylene or lami-

nate film, forming a 3-sided seal package to

produce a light and flexible package. Other

terms used to describe flow wrapping are

horizontal bagging, pillow-pouch wrapping

and flow-pack.

It’s particularly suitable for primary pack-

aging of individual products (whether flat

or irregularly shaped) – think chocolate or

cereal bars, biscuits, wafers, crackers and

bakery items. Flow wrapping is typically

not suitable for primary packaging of small

granular items or liquids, however it is used

to bundle loose products for retail sale, as

well as in some secondary packaging opera-

tions to bundle multipacks or kits.

When executed well, flow wrapping rep-

resents a highly versatile packaging solution

that enables packaging of large orders in

very short time frames. That versatility is

a key selling point. Equipment is typically

easy to change over from one packaging

size to another by changing film sizes and

making minor adjustments (no need for

tooling changes).

Typically, production parameters and set

points (bag lengths, cutting positions, pro-

duction speeds, film registration and belt

speeds) are stored in programs that change

automatically and mechanical adjustment

set points are stored for quick reference

in the HMI. In more advanced platforms

all changes in parameters and mechanical

settings synchronize automatically upon

program change. If an integrated load-

ing system is used, these can be linked to

quickly adapt for product change as well.

Flow-wrapping can minimize the amount

of packaging surrounding the product,

which prevents significant movement or

disturbing of the product once inside. This

automated process is far faster and more

accurate than manually filling bags, delivers

savings on material costs as compared to

pre-made bags, and in many case results

in less direct handling of the product itself.

Flow wrapping also accommodates a vari-

ety of approaches to product preservation,

such as gas flushing...

Download the complete white paper here.

www.FoodProcessing.com

eHANDBOOK: Trends in Baking & Bakery Processing 13