Consumers expect high quality and functionality from protein-rich foods and beverages. Protein is the most frequent health attribute cited by product manufacturers in new beverage launches, accounting for more than half of all active health claims*. How can you as a producer best deliver those attributes? And what kind of mixing process do you need? We offer four easy tips to help you delight your market.
Producing protein-enriched products is a demanding process that requires close attention to detail. Manufacturers need to maintain high standards of food safety, nutritional content, shelf stability and taste and mouthfeel to meet consumers’ expectations.
But what, exactly, should you do to ensure you hit these parameters? Our protein powder process experts recommend four simple steps that together will enable you to operate a smooth, efficient setup that delivers high product quality and full food safety.
The secret to achieving high quality in your protein powder mixing process lies in avoiding common pitfalls like foaming – a familiar challenge in liquid protein mixing that leads to product losses and production headaches.
Another stumbling block is product burn-on, which occurs frequently in protein processing as a consequence of foaming and undissolved powder presence in the mix. Burn-on can compromise product quality and disrupt production.
How can you steer clear of these issues? By following four easy steps, you can achieve a smooth, efficient protein powder mixing process. Here are our specialists’ top tips:
Air is a sworn enemy in protein powder processing. This is because agitating powder in liquid in the presence of air tends to create foaming.
If foaming is not carefully controlled, there is a risk it will disrupt the production process in different ways. This disruption leads to lower processing performance, which can negatively affect the product’s quality and taste and also shorten its shelf life.
The first step to minimise foaming involves preventing your powder mix from incorporating air as it enters the mixer inlet. Here, the aim should be to have a purpose-designed powder intake system that is fitted with an air-excluding inlet, as on the Tetra Pak® Industrial Protein Mixer.
Some powder hoppers, such as those of our Tetra Pak Industrial Protein Mixer, also come with vibration functionality that “shakes” the powder as it enters the inlet. These vibrations break up air pockets in the powder, further minimising the incorporation of air into the mixing process
Once the protein powder and liquid ingredients are inside the mixer, the most critical part of the process begins. This is where the risk of foaming is most acute.
The reason why foaming occurs in this phase is because the action of the mixer agitator on the protein mix creates surface turbulence that causes a vortex to form. The vortex draws air into the mix, giving rise to frothing.
To solve this issue, we equipped Tetra Pak Industrial Protein Mixer with a specially developed dynamic baffle in place of a conventional agitator. Unlike a standard agitator, the baffle design is highly effective at disrupting the vortex effect during mixing.
In the absence of a vortex, or the presence of only a weak vortex, much less air enters the protein mix. The result: much less foaming than in a standard protein mixing plant.
Since some air will always be present in any protein mixing process, it is important to neutralise the impact of that air on the product mix in so far as is possible.
This is achieved by mixing gently. The more gently you can mix, the less air will enter your mix. But there is a catch. The more gently you agitate the mix, the higher the likelihood will be of undissolved powder lumps remaining in the product.
Happily, a solution exists to manage this. Tetra Pak Industrial Protein Mixer is equipped with a self-cleaning filter system in the outlet line that catches any undissolved powder lumps and prevents them from continuing downstream, where they could potentially jeopardise process and product quality.
Any undissolved powder lump is simply removed from the stream and recirculated back into the mix, where it will break up under further agitation. This system ensures that you can be confident your mix will always be of high quality when it leaves the mixing tank.
The final step in protein mixing optimisation is to have an effective deaeration system that allows you to maximise the vacuum effect inside the mixer without triggering foaming that could lead to product losses.
Here, Tetra Pak Industrial Protein Mixer has a unique advantage. It has smart sensors on the inside of the mixing tank that accurately detect the exact level of foam in the tank at all times.
An automation system uses the sensor data to regulate vacuum intensity in tune with foam presence. If foam is present, the vacuum reduces until the foam subsides. If no foam is present, the vacuum can increase to an optimal level.
This setup is highly effective at eliminating unwanted foaming during mixing, resulting in lower product losses, optimised energy consumption and consistently higher product quality.
Evolve as new protein sources emerge
Getting to grips with foaming allows you to grasp new market opportunities in protein processing, and make yourself future-ready to expand as new protein sources emerge. Reach out to us to get insights beyond these four tips!
*Source: Innova Database; Notes: 2023 YTD = Jan 2023 – June 2023; Excl vitamins/minerals and calcium claims