RU2807039C1 - Method for continuous production of fermented milk products on conveyor line - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: food industry.

SUBSTANCE: method is proposed for the continuous production of fermented milk products on a conveyor line, which contains a sequentially located thermostat zone, a buffer zone with air curtains and a cooling zone, including the sequential passage of preparation, normalization, pasteurization, homogenization, cooling to fermentation temperature, fermentation and packaging of milk mixture into consumer containers for finished products, moving the milk mixture in finished consumer containers along a conveyor line to a thermostatic zone for maturation to produce fermented milk products. In the thermostat zone, an excess pressure of at least 1.09 mm Hg is set in advance and temperature conditions to allow the milk mixture ageing to produce fermented milk products, after which the container with fermented milk products is moved along a conveyor through a buffer zone to a partial cooling zone to cool the fermented milk products to a temperature at which physical impact on consumer containers with fermented milk products will not lead to a violation integrity of product texture.

EFFECT: optimization of the production process.

2 cl, 1 dwg, 1 tbl

Description

The invention relates to a method (technological process) related to the dairy industry, and can be used in the production of fermented milk products (FMP) using a thermostatic method.

Fermentation (ripening) is the ripening or fermentation of a product without access to oxygen. That is, the process of breaking down organic compounds under the influence of various microorganisms into simpler components. Nutrients become more bioavailable (easier for human absorption): proteins are pre-split into amino acids, carbohydrates become more digestible [1].

Fermentation is most often used to ferment fruits, vegetables, meat, tea and dairy products.

The basis of dairy product technology is milk. It contains 82-88% water and 12-18% dry matter. The composition of dry residues includes proteins (3.0-3.4%), fats (3.3-6.0%), carbohydrates (milk sugar lactose-4.7%), salts (0.9-1.0 %) enzymes, etc. Dairy products prepared by fermented milk fermentation or in combination with yeast fermentation are called fermented or fermented milk products [2].

The fermentation process has been used since ancient times to extend the shelf life of foods. Fermentation involves the conversion of sugars in foods into alcohol, gases and special acids by bacteria. For example, in yogurt, lactose, a difficult-to-digest milk sugar, undergoes changes: under the influence of bacteria it is broken down and becomes easier to digest.

Thus, fermentation is a kind of preliminary breakdown of the product.

You can count about a hundred fermented dairy products, such as yogurt, kefir, fermented buttermilk, fermented whey, sour cream, kumis, etc. Depending on the type of lactic acid bacteria used, or in combination with yeast cultures, we obtain a product with a characteristic taste, aroma and consistency. Each group of thermostatic products requires its own temperature regime, favorable for the life of bacteria and ripening time.

For example:

for fermentation (ripening) of yoghurts, a temperature regime of 42-45°C is required, and a ripening time of 4.5-5.0 hours;

for fermentation (ripening) of sour cream, a temperature regime of 30-32°C is required, and a ripening time of 6.0-8.0 hours;

for fermentation (ripening) of kefir, a temperature regime of 25-28°C is required, and a ripening time of 8.0-10.0 hours;

At the same time, the milk mixture with fermented milk bacteria introduced into it acquires the organoleptic properties characteristic of fermented milk products, including a viscous texture due to the denaturation of milk protein caused by an increase in acidity. A measurable indicator of increasing acidity is the active acidity indicator - pH. When the pH reaches a value corresponding to the end of lactic fermentation, the fermented product is moved to a cooling zone.

At dairy enterprises producing thermostatic fermented milk products, traditional technology is common. It is characterized by the following technological process.

After bottling the normalized milk mixture with the addition of cultures of lactic acid microorganisms into consumer containers, a pallet with the fermented product is completed. Under the conditions of a traditional technological process, a product packaged in a group package is installed in a thermostatic chamber where lactic acid fermentation occurs. During the fermentation process, a fermented product is formed. The rate of increase in acidity in the product is controlled by employees of the physical and chemical laboratory of the enterprise. When the required acidity is reached, the product is moved by a rake or electric forklift into a cooling chamber or cooling cell.

With the traditional technological process described above, the timeliness and quality of product movement is carried out by the company’s employees, accordingly, the following risks exist:

- If the product is untimely moved from a temperature regime that favors lactic acid fermentation to a cooling regime that stops it, on the one hand, you can get a product with an insufficiently strong curd if lactic acid fermentation is stopped prematurely, and on the other hand, if lactic acid fermentation is not stopped in a timely manner - the product will have deviations in organoleptic properties.

- When transporting a warm product from the incubator to the refrigeration room, there is a risk of agitation, which can compromise the integrity of the product's texture, leading to whey separation and therefore loss of presentation.

- The complexity of the process. The need to have a large number of specialists servicing the technological production cycle.

- Risks of microbiological spoilage.

- Reducing the shelf life of finished products.

- When loading/unloading from the thermostatic chamber, a difference in fermentation time occurs between the first and last tray; when opening/closing the chamber door, a temperature difference occurs in the chamber, which negatively affects the fermentation process.

- For loading/unloading pallets, a corridor is required for the passage of trolleys (forklifts), which reduces the useful volume of the chamber.

There are companies that offer conveyor (flow) cooling, i.e. the cooling stage is automated.

The French companies Clauger and Fromfroid have developed thermal cells for rapid cooling, where products are placed on a pallet, after which the cell is switched to product cooling mode. Due to the tightness of the cells, energy consumption is reduced by up to 50%.

The disadvantage of the proposed option is the need to access each cell and automate only the cooling stage.

The technical problem lies in the absence of a method for the continuous production of fermented milk products on a conveyor line, ensuring the absence of the above-mentioned disadvantages in the production of fermented milk products.

The technical result consists in creating a method for the continuous production of fermented milk products on a conveyor line, eliminating the above disadvantages and ensuring optimization of the production process.

The technical result is achieved by the fact that the method of continuous production of fermented milk products on a conveyor line, which contains a sequentially located thermostat zone, a buffer zone with air curtains and a cooling zone, including the sequential passage of preparation, normalization, pasteurization, homogenization, cooling to fermentation temperature, fermentation and packaging into consumer containers of milk mixture for finished products, moving the milk mixture in finished consumer containers along a conveyor line to a thermostatic zone for maturation to produce fermented milk products, while an excess pressure of at least 1.09 mm Hg is set in advance in the thermostatic zone. and temperature conditions to allow the milk mixture to ripen to produce fermented milk products, and the time the container is in the thermostatic zone is adjusted by increasing or decreasing the conveyor speed, after which the container with fermented milk products is moved along the conveyor through the buffer zone to the partial cooling zone to cool the fermented milk products to temperature , in which physical impact on consumer containers with fermented milk products will not lead to disruption of the integrity of the product’s texture.

The specified technical result is achieved by the entire above-mentioned set of essential features.

In a particular case of implementing the method, a drive roller conveyor is used, containing a frame on which rollers are mounted, mounted on a common frame, while the transmission of rotation of the gear motor to the rollers is ensured sequentially from roller to roller by gear and chain transmission.

The essence of the proposed technical solution is to organize a conveyor flow of the technological process of manufacturing fermented milk products.

The harvested raw materials, after undergoing sequential technological operations such as preparation, normalization, pasteurization, homogenization, cooling to fermentation temperature, fermentation and raw materials packaged in consumer containers for finished products, are installed on a conveyor line, where they move with the help of drives, without additional loading/unloading operations goes through the stages of ripening and cooling. At the exit of the conveyor line we receive goods ready for sale.

In order to eliminate temperature fluctuations in the thermostatic zone, excess pressure (at least 1.09 mm Hg) and temperature conditions are set in advance for maturing the milk mixture to produce fermented milk products, and the time the container is in the thermostatic zone is regulated by increasing or decreasing the conveyor speed , after which the containers with fermented milk products are moved along a conveyor through the buffer zone to the partial cooling zone to cool the fermented milk products to a temperature at which physical impact on the consumer containers with fermented milk products will not damage the integrity of the product’s texture.

In fig. 1 shows a flow diagram of production.

In order to eliminate the disadvantages (risks) described above and optimize the process, we propose to organize fermentation (ripening) and cooling in the flow, moving pallets with the fermented product from one temperature zone to another on a conveyor line.

Multi-bucket and screw conveyors were used as mechanisms back in ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia for the continuous supply of water. In the second half of the 19th century, the industrial use of conveyors for the delivery of heavy bulk and piece goods began. At the beginning of the 20th century, Henry Ford made a revolutionary leap in industry by introducing assembly-line production [4].

The economic effect of introducing automatic conveyor systems is obvious. Conveyor lines combine production stages into a single network. This has the effect of leading to a more profitable business. The reliability and productivity demonstrated by automated transport systems in all production processes clearly influence the competitiveness of the product offered on the market. Its cost can be reduced by:

Reductions in technological personnel.

Control of work at all stages.

Eliminates the possibility of downtime or delays.

Improving occupational safety.

Freeing up usable space.

Elimination of errors when sorting goods or cargo.[5].

Conveyor systems are classified depending on their purpose and functions.

In an example of the invention, we use a driven roller conveyor. This is a mechanism consisting of rollers mounted on a common frame. The transmission of rotation of the gear motor to the rollers is ensured sequentially from roller to roller by gear and chain transmission. This type of roller conveyor is characterized by its simplicity of design and reliability of operation, which in turn leads to optimal prices for the purchase and maintenance of equipment.

The product, complete with a fermented mixture in a consumer container (hereinafter referred to as the fermented product), sequentially undergoes a process of lactic acid fermentation on the conveyor line, and then cooling to a temperature at which physical impact on the consumer container with the product will not lead to a violation of the integrity of the texture.

At the 1st stage, the milk mixture in ready-made consumer containers from the bottling/packing section moves on a conveyor into a thermostatic chamber.

At the 2nd stage, the product is fermented/ripened in the chamber. The temperature regime is set in advance in the thermostatic chamber, and the residence time of the product is regulated by increasing or decreasing the speed.

The third stage is the buffer zone. To prevent the penetration of cold air from the cooling zone into the thermostat compartment, a buffer zone with air curtains is installed. Additionally, excess pressure is created in the thermostat compartment.

At the 4th stage, products from the buffer zone enter the refrigeration compartment with a cooling temperature of 0-0.5°C. The task of the refrigeration compartment is to cool the products to a temperature of 18-16°C, at which the ripening of the products slows down.

At the 5th stage, the products are moved from the conveyor line to the refrigerated warehouse of finished products, for further cooling to a temperature of 1.5-2°C, at which ripening practically stops.

Table 1 presents the types of products and their processing modes.

The proposed technical solution makes it possible to automate the fermentation and cooling processes, simplify control over each group packaging, eliminate manual movement of products from one zone to another, which reduces the risks of microbiological spoilage and makes it possible to produce products with an extended shelf life in a natural way.

Literature:

1. Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron: In 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional ones). St. Petersburg, 1890-1907.

2. Directory “Dairy processing” TetraPak.

3. Glazachev V.V. Production of fermented milk products. - M.: Pishchepromizdat, 1980.

4. Conveyor. Riedel E.I., Kvarner, Kongur. - M.: Soviet Encyclopedia, 1973. - (Great Soviet Encyclopedia: [in 30 volumes] / chief editor A.M. Prokhorov; 1969-1978, vol. 12).

5. Tselikov A.I., Polukhin A.I., Grebenik V.M. and others. Machines and units of metallurgical plants: Textbook for universities: in 3 volumes - 2nd ed., revised. and additional - M.: Metallurgy, 1988. - T. 3. Machines and units for the production and finishing of rolled products. - 680 s. - 9360 copies. - ISBN 5-229-00035-Х.

Claims (2)

1. A method for the continuous production of fermented milk products on a conveyor line, which contains a sequentially located thermostatic zone, a buffer zone with air curtains and a cooling zone, including the sequential passage of preparation, normalization, pasteurization, homogenization, cooling to the fermentation temperature, fermentation and packaging into consumer milk containers mixtures for finished products, moving the milk mixture in finished consumer containers along a conveyor line to a thermostatic zone for maturation to produce fermented milk products, while an excess pressure of at least 1.09 mm Hg is pre-set in the thermostatic zone. and temperature conditions to allow the milk mixture to ripen to produce fermented milk products, and the time the container is in the thermostatic zone is adjusted by increasing or decreasing the conveyor speed, after which the container with fermented milk products is moved along the conveyor through the buffer zone to the partial cooling zone to cool the fermented milk products to temperature , in which physical impact on consumer containers with fermented milk products will not lead to disruption of the integrity of the product’s texture. 2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that they use a driven roller conveyor containing a frame on which rollers mounted on a common frame are installed, while the transmission of rotation of the gear motor to the rollers is ensured sequentially from roller to roller by gear and chain transmission.