Pu conveyors Vs Cotton conveyors for bakery plants

Bakery factories or plants have numerous conveyors in their process and webs are made up of either Pu , PVC or cotton conveyors . All these materials have their advantage s as well as disadvantages . Pu material are costly but hygienic where as cotton canvases are cheap and some what unhygienic .

Advantages of PU ( Poly urethane ) conveyors .

• Hygienic easy to clean or wash
• Easy to replace
• Can be manufactured in any colours .Helps in process
• Joints are easily done in house
• Better for metal detection
• No major expansion or shrinkage's

Disadvantages of PU belts

• Costly
• Fails at times to carry products ( less friction )
• Problem on Oily substance
• Surface Cracking common .Entire belt has to be changed
• FDA approved belt are not readily available

Advantage Cotton belts

• Easy availability .
• Can be procured in bulk
• Cheaper alternative to PU
• Repairs can be done easily
• Provides impressions on products
• Carry all kind s of products due to its rough surface
• Few operations cotton webs are irreplaceable

Disadvantages of Cotton Belts

To be replaced in short period as it becomes unhygienic easily

• Joints and sides are to be stitched regularly. Repairs are common
• Could not be washed or cleaned . it has to be replaced after certain period
• Expansion and shrinkage's are erratic some times
• Web tracking is very common due to elongation and contraction
• metal detection is less on cotton belt surface

A bakery manager has to select the best option keeping in the view the cost , the products senstivity and quality .

Bread spreads for your sandwiches

There are several bread spreads which we use regularly for our sandwiches . Home made spreads and fillings are also popular and is upto individuals taste .



Following are some common spreads

• Jams


• Jelly


• Cheese
• Butter


• Honey


• Marmalade


• Mayonesse


• Non veg spreads


• Preserve


• Conserve

You can have wide range of combinations of flavours for all above mentioned spreads as per your taste . Add your favorites

Major Bread Manufacturers of South Africa

In South africa too bread has become the major staple food . Population is shifting its eating habit from maize based food to wheat breads . Few bread companies in south africa have national foot prints  and  have major share in bread sales.

Folllowing are the major bread manufacturer of breads in south africa

Pioneer Foods and Sasko- Blue Bird, Uncle Salie and Natural Harvest;
Tiger Brands -Albany
Premier Foods and Genfoods - Blue Ribbon and BB
Foodcorp- Sunbake
Above  are  some  popular south african bread brands which  could be seen in all upmarket and  stores .

Read

What are major Bakery Ingredients

Major Ingredients for bakery are depends upon the nature of bakery products such as whether you want to produce breads , biscuit s , cakes or wafers plus what flavour you want and what color you want in the products .



Basic Categories with Bakery Ingredients are

Basic raw material :
Flour , Fat , Sugar , Salt which are common to all bakery products .There could be little variation in type of flour , type of fat or type of sugar we use for different bakery product that we would discuss in my coming blog posts

Emulsifiers( denoted by E numbers ):
GMS , poly sorbate , lecithin , CSL , SSL

Dough Conditioners
Calcium stearoyl lactylate , Sodium stearoyl lactylate , Sodium stearoyl fumarate ,Potassium bromate , Carrageenan , Tetrasodium pyrophosphate , Fumaric acid

Leavening Agents
Sodium bicarbonate , Ammonium bicarbonate , Yeast , eggs , Gyceroyl monostrate

Preservatives
Anti-oxidants
Tocopherols (Vitamin E) ,Ascorbic acid and sodium ascorbate (Vitamin C) ,Erythorbic acid (like vitamin C, but not a vitamin) ,BHA (Butylated Hydroxyanisole) ,BHT (Butylated ydroxytoluene) Sodium citrate ,Lecithin ,Propyl gallate
Anti-microbials
Sodium benzoate ,Benzoic acid ,Potassium sorbate ,Sorbic acid ,Natamycin ,Triclosan ,Triclocarban ,Hexachlorophene ,Acetic acid (vinegar) ,Salt ,Sugar ,Calcium propionate ,Sodium propionate ,Lactic acid ,Sodium nitrite ,Sodium nitrate ,Propylene glycol ,Butylene glycol ,Honey

Sweeteners
Sucrose ,Invert Sugar ,Fructose,High Fructose Corn Syrup ,Neotame ,Acesulfame-K ,Aspartame Sucralose ,Saccharin ,Lactose

Colors
Annatto ,Beta carotene ,Carmine ,Saffron ,Turmeric ,,llura Red ,Tartrazine ,Indigo ,Sodium caseinate ,Calcium caseinate ,Ferrous Gluconate

Flavours
Acids
Acetic acid (vinegar) ,Citric acid ,Lactic acid ,Stearic acid ,Phosphoric acid ,Fumaric acid
Tartaric acid
Esters
Methyl Vanillin ,Ethyl Vanillin ,Denatonium benzoate
Chocolate
Vanilla ,Monosodium glutamate (MSG) ,Hydrolyzed vegetable protein

Scent
Ethanol ,SD alcohol ,Stearyl alcohol ,Cetyl alcohol ,Glycerine (glycerol) ,Menthol

Fruits
Figs, Dates,Prunes , Cherries , Nuts , Coconuts , PeaNuts

Moisture Controller
Glycerine (glycerol) ,Sorbitol ,Sodium PCA ,Propylene glycol ,Butylene glycol ,Panthenol

Stabilizer
Corn syrup (mostly glucose) ,Sodium caseinate ,Calcium caseinate ,Polyethylene glycol (PEG)
Polypropylene glycol (PPG) ,Lecithin ,Hydroxymethylcellulose ,Sodium Carboxymethylcellulose
Xylenesulfonates ,Agar ,Gelatin ,Pectin ,Alginate & proplylene glycol alginate,
Starch ,Modified Starch ,Carrageenan ,uar bean gum ,locust bean gum ,Gum Acacia ,Gum Arabic ,Brominated vegetable oil ,Xanthan Gum ,Gum Tragacanth ,Ghatti ,Karaya ,Furcelleran

Bakery manufacturer - Sara Lee Corporation - Company profile

Sara lee Corporation is among one of the largest manufacturer of bakery products and have sales across the globe . Sara lee got its name from the entrepreneur Charlie Lubins Daughter s name who started a cheese cake line of bakery which was then bought out by Consolidated Foods in 1956. Sara lee corporation has around 44 000 employees around the world with manufacturing units locations in various countries of Americas , Europe , Africa , Asia , Australia/New Zealand .

Main Products :Meat,Bakery,Frozen,Beverages,Household Care,Body Care

Major Brands :Ambi Pur, Ball Park, Douwe Egberts, Hillshire Farm, Jimmy Dean, Kiwi, Sanex, Senseo and Sara Lee.

Head Quarters :3500 Lacey Road, , Downers Grove, IL, 60515, United States Fax: 1-630-5988482http://www.saralee.com/

Turnover:13.21 Million USD

CEO:Brenda C Barnes

Britannia celebrates Raksha Bandhan with launch of Shubh Kaamnayein

Britannia s India major bakery manufacturer has launched ''Shubh Kaamnayein " range of gift pack for Raksha Bandhan festival . Already Cadburys had "" Celebration"" range of gift packs for chocolates on this occasion . Promoting biscuits for festivals has been a new concepts for Indian masses as we all used to have sweets . But with assorted packs which consists of Jim Jam ,Bourbon , fruit cakes and other delicacies people would prefer biscuits instead of sweets . Britannia already had "'Greetings " range of gift pack for Diwali last year.

""Shubh Kaamnayien "" is priced Rs 50 and Rs 100

Emulsifier - Bakery glosarry

Emulsifier plays an important role in bakery process . Main function of emulsifier is to make a stable emulsion of oil and water .Emulsifier is produced from oil and glycerol . Emulsifier consists of a water-loving hydrophilic head and an oil-loving hydrophobic tail. The hydrophilic head is directed to the aqueous phase and the hydrophobic tail is directed to the oil phase. The emulsifier positions itself at the oil/water or air/water interface and reduces the surface tension and stabilizes in this way the emulsion. They also have the ability to interact with other food ingredients.

Main role of emulsifiers in dough mixing are

• Increased mixing and machine tolerance
• Increased tolerance to variation in ingredients
• Diminished knock downs during handling
• Assit in maximum absorption of water .

Role played in different bakery products are as following

Bread - Interaction among proteins and starch complexing

Biscuits and Cookies - Fat Emulsification

Cakes and wafers - Modification of texture ,fat crystallization ,improvement of foaming and aeration properties .

These emulsifiers are labelled as E numbers on the bakery product packaging . These numbers signify the categories and approval by EU food standards .

Major emulsifiers used in bakery products are

• GMS ( glyceryl mono sterate ) paste or Powder
• SSL ( sodium stearoyl lactylate)
• CSL( calcium stearoyl lactate)
• Lecithin
• Diglycerides
• Polysorbate

Tear tape makes easy opening of biscuit packs

Tear tape are now being put into biscuit packs to make opening of biscuit pack easier . Customer feed back at United Biscuits UK has made Payne the global manufacturer to add some mechanism for making tear tape ends traceable for consumer .
This tear tapes are inserted while biscuit packaging and it comes in rolls .

Read Article on
http://www.bakeryandsnacks.com/Processing-Packaging/New-tear-tape-promises-easy-opening-for-biscuit-packs

World major bakery manufacturers

Bakery Industry across the globe are into some exciting phase , mergers and acquisiton are changing the market .Bigger players are eyeing new markets with their products .New products are launched with greater frequency .
Few of the world major bakery manufacturers are

• Kraft Inc
• Kelloggs
• Maple Leaf Foods Inc
• Sara lee
• United Biscuits
• Burtons Food
• Grupo Bimbo
• Barilla
• Interstate Bakery Corporation
• Flower Foods Inc
• Cereal Partners Worldwide
• Northen Foods
• Iffco
• Britannia Industries
• Ulker
• Arnotts
• Glico
• Parle
• Fazer Group
• Walkers
• QAF limited

Bakery manufacturer save transport fuel through collabration - A study

Bakery and other major food manufacturer and retailers in U.K have saved fuel in transportation due to an initiative taken by Institute of Grocery distribution .Concept of reducing no of truck loads either through alternatives like putting up loads to train or through collaboration with other manufacturers in which empty trucks are being utilised to bring good of other manufacturer thus reducing no of trips and saving fuel .

Read this usefull study
http://blog.huddle.net/g-is-for-green-collaboration

Automation in bakeries - Benefits

Bakeries world over are now opting to automate their operations due to shortage s in labour , to increase productivity , save time and safety .This trend is more pronounced in Europe , Middle eastern countries where labour is a problem.
But for many countries bakery manufacturers prefer manual operations as labour cost is low in comparison to their European counter part hence they prefer to have workers performing all the operations . Automation is also very cost intensive hence bakery owners avoid putting money in the automation projects plus the skills to operates these system has a cost .Spares and Inventory is also a problem for these small to medium plants .
Even with these disadvantage automation has benefits for large or big bakery plants which results in better productivity and cost savings

Areas in bakeries operation where Automation can be done

Material handling
Conveyors can be used to load or unload matrials from vehicles to the stores or production hall with minimum requirement of labor .
Pneumatic conveying for Bulk handling and storage of raw material . These can be done with PLC based pneumatic system.

Pre -Mixing and Mixing
Raw material addition and transfer of liquid s for mixing can be automated with help of Plc based system along with weighing and batching done with automated system . Weighing is done through load cells and electro pneumatic valves which then are integrated with plc s.Mixers with helps of timers and software can adjust mixing timing as per dough consistency .

Forming and Laminating
Tipping of dough can be done through tipping elevators .Change overs in Dividers for bread as well as Cutter and moulders can be done to reduce change over time s.
Speed of Webs for gauge roller can be increased or decreased as per requirement or baking time for biscuit , cookies and cracker lines in a group .( as speed of each web and gauge rollers are linked to each other ) .

Oven
Burner controls are now fully automated where burners starts and stop as per the requirement of heat inside the baking zones .These are done with installation automated system with help of temperature controllers .
Biscuit lines have multiple burners installed and can be controlled with one command through plc .

Tracking of wire bands in biscuit lines are done through sensors installed .

Loading of ovens in bread lines can be automated with mechanical conveyors with timing adjusted through plc based programs .Prooving and baking trays are loaded and loaded with help of automated mechanisms.
Baked breads are taken out from moulds by putting up Depanners hence eliminating manual labor to depan .


Packaging
Most of the automation which have been installed in bakeries is in the packaging section .
Feeding system - feeding of biscuits to packing machine or bread loaves to slicer are automated through chutes/ guidelines for biscuit lines or conveyors for bread plants.

Biscuit Packaging is than done through horizontal wrapping machine with operations like packs , prints and seals .
Automatic Bagger machine are used for bagging or packaging of bread slices .Horizontal flow wrap machines are also used in bread plants for packaging .
Here we can automate forming of cbbs by installing cbbs forming machine . Most the bakery manufacturers prefers preformed cartons to the automated forming of cbbs
Once the packets are placed then entire system of cartoning , palletizing can be done through robotics most of the western countries have installed robotics to handle post packing machine operations till loading .

Automation of any operation uses sensors , controllers , pressure switches , Ac based servodrives ,HMI , pneumatic s or hydraulic, photocells , scanners , AC Drives,PCB cards with their integration to PLC based software .Various companies gives complete package of plc systems such as Allen Bradley , Siemens , Telemechanique ,Schnieder ,Omron , Okuma , Mitsubishi,GEfanuc ,ABB .

Bakery manufacturers - Kelloggs - company profile

Kellogg Co. is ranked among top bakery manufacturers of world . Established in year 1906 in Michigan USA by Mr W.K.Kellogg. Its has products like ready to eat cereals , break fast and fruit snacks , cookies , crackers , natural and organic ,frozen products . Some of its favorite brands are Kelloggs , Eggo ,Pop-tarts ,Cheez-it,Garden Burger ,All bran ,Kashi , K Special ,Mini Wheats ,Crunchs and Pops . Popular bakery brands of Kelloggs are Carrs , Kebbler, Famous Amos ,Chip Deluxe , Fudge Shoppes, Club,Murray , Town House .

It has got manufacturing units in 19 different countries which includes countries from Africa , Asia , North America , Latin and South America and Europe .Sales in around 180 countries .
Employees - 32,000
Annual turnover (2008)-USD 13Billion
Corporate H Q --One Kelloggs square , Battle Creek , PO box - 3599 , MI -49016-3599,USA
CEO - David Mackay

Popular brands of Cakes in India

We all have been familiar with our regular birth day cakes , Wedding cakes and Annivarsies cakes but these are cake which highly customized and for a period . Sliced or bar cakes are the ones which can be used as regular snacks .
We dont find many brands in this category of cakes . Britannia has got dominant market share with very little competition in this category of cake . Other brand which has some presence pan India in bar cake category is Monginis which also produces cup cakes .Another regional player Bonn has been gradually increasing its market presence for bar cakes , muffins and cup cakes

Britannia good day bar cakes and cup cakes are in various flavors such as Millk , Chocolate , Vanilla , fruit ,Butter sponge and Pine apple .

Britannia has complete dominance on bar cake market let it be Indian Railways , Indian airlines ,Corporates its every where .

Forgotten Brand

The Bakemans