Food Science

Food Processing Technology

Bina Adhikari

NFS 3323

04/08/2021

Food Processing Technology

In this case, the processing process of the Bang Rainbow Unicorn drink will be explained. Several steps are involved in the processing of the energy drink. The processes include the depalletizer table, washing part, filling and capping part, liquid level checker, vacuum leakage checker, bottle warmer, labeling part, and shrink wrapper part. (citation)

The first process in the processing of the energy drink is the sugar syrup clarification. This process involves mixing the sugar, essences, flavorings, and water to form sugar syrup that will be used to enhance the taste of the energy drink.( citation) In this process, the particles and crystals from the syrup will be retained. A Silverson High Shear Mixer is used in the industry to reduce the mixing times and to eliminate the need for heating the water when mixing the components (Andy Morton, 2018). The machine uses centrifugal force to mix the components.

The second step in the processing of the energy drink is water microbial stabilization (citation). Water accounts for the largest part of any beverage. Thus, the water that is used needs to be safe. The water that will be used in the process of processing the energy drink is filtered to ensure that it is free from microorganisms such as bacteria, yeast, mold, and protozoa to achieve the required water quality (citation). In this process, water filters and reverse osmosis machines are utilized. After the water is purified, it is mixed with the syrup to form the energy drink (Hashem et al., 2018). The third process of processing the energy drink is the carbonation of the energy drink. In this stage, carbon dioxide is added to the drink. The carbon dioxide that is added to the energy drinks should be pure. A carbonator is used to add carbon dioxide to the energy drink.(citation)

After that, an automatic machine for depalletizing is used to remove the containers from the pallets. The containers are then loaded in the conveyor belt so that they may automatically pass through all the processes that are required in this case. (citation)The bottles are then directed to the washing machine after being unpacked. In this part, they are washed and rearranged in the conveyor belt once again. The washing machine is used to wash the bottles to ensure that they are clean, and they are free from any microorganisms. That promotes the quality of the energy drink.

From the washing part, the bottles move to the filling and capping part of the conveyor belt. An automatic bottle filling machine is used to fill the bottles with the energy drink. Each bottle is filled with the required amount of the energy drink depending on the setting that has been put in the system. That indicates how different bottle capacities are filled effectively. After the bottles are filled, they move to the next part where they are capped. That prevents the spilling of the energy drink that has been filled in the bottles.

The bottles move to the next stage of the liquid level checker. In this stage, the liquid level detectors are used to determine the level of the liquids in the bottles. At this stage, the bottles that have the right amount of liquid proceed with the conveyor belt while those that have not reached the desired liquid levels are taken to be emptied. They may be taken back to the refilling section to be refilled with the right amount of liquids. From this stage, the bottles are passed to the vacuum leak testing machine. The machine tests whether the bottles are airtight and confirm that they won’t allow any air in. The bottles that do not have any leaks proceed to the next step in the conveyor belt. The bottles that have leakages are taken back for correction of the error. Due to the effectiveness of the machine, only a minimal number of bottles may be found not to reach the desired liquid level and have leakages. Most of the bottles pass the two tests and continue with the conveyor belt.

The bottles are then passed to a bottle warmer machine. The machine makes it easy to label the bottles. After the bottles have been warmed, they proceed to the labeling part where they are labeled using the industrial labeling machine. At this stage, the bottles are labeled with their brand name, ingredients, components, and also the manufacture time and expiry date. The labeling is effective since the bottles are warm and the labels will stick in the bottles. In the case the bottles have not passed through the bottle warmer machine, the labels may not stick to the bottles. The bottles are then passed to the shrink wrapper machine. In this stage, they are arranged into groups of six bottles, and they are wrapped together. The shrink wrapper machine is used to warm the paper so that it shrinks and holds the six bottles tightly. After this stage, the energy drinks are ready for storage and distribution.

References

Andy Morton. (2018). Team Tenzing rolls out new packaging for Tenzing energy drink. Just - Drinks Global News.

Food Microbiology: Processing Technology and Feed Additives. (2016). Daya Publishing House.

Hashem, K., He, F., & MacGregor, G. (2018). Cross-sectional surveys of the amount of sugar, energy and caffeine in sugar-sweetened drinks marketed and consumed as energy drinks in the UK between 2015 and 2017: monitoring reformulation progress. BMJ Open, 7(12), e018136–e018136. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2017-018136