issue_2_2017_rev2

company news
59
The Spanish market says hello to the Orbit closure
The universally easy-to-open Orbit ® Closure from CROWN Food Europe,
a business unit of Crown Holdings, Inc. has debuted in the Spanish
market on jars of Gutarra’s ‘Tus Primeros’, a premium range of
preserved vegetables.
Gutarra, part of the Riberebro Group, has introduced the closure on
three product lines: Tus Primeros Judias Verdes, Acelgas and Col. The
closure, which enhances convenience for consumers of all ages, has
been well-received in the market and has reinforced Gutarra’s three
decades of leadership in the domestic processed vegetables sector.
By adopting the Orbit ® Closure, Gutarra has been able to offer a convenient packaging solution to
time-conscious consumers looking for healthy meal options. According to a survey of 161 consumers conducted with
Sheffield Hallam University, 55 percent would consider changing brands to benefit from the ease of opening delivered by
the Orbit ® Closure, with 43% willing to pay extra for the convenience.
Thanks to the closure’s revolutionary design, opening torque is significantly reduced, making it 60% to 70% easier to
open than alternative closures. A central, floating panel is vacuum sealed to the jar and an outer ring provides further
product protection and acts as the opening and re-closing device. Twisting the outer section loosens the ring and allows
the inner panel to be lifted, breaking the seal from the lining compound without resistance.
Based on the Orbit ® Closure’s early success in the market and its ease of implementation, the Riberebro Group plans to
extend use of the closure to additional products in the future. The Orbit ® Closure can run on existing capping machinery,
and only a few simple change-parts are needed. Glass finishes remain exactly the same as used for standard Twist
closures.
Since its initial launch in 2011, the Orbit ® Closure has been adopted by popular and trusted brands across more than 10
European countries for a wide range of markets and applications. The closure is currently available in 63mm, 70mm and
82mm diameters. n
Stable Micro Systems powers up powder flow measurement
Stable Micro Systems has expanded its portfolio with a rig able to measure the
flowability of unconfined powders.
The Unconfined Yield Stress Rig offers manufacturers the ability to understand how
powders and granular materials respond to pressure. When stored, the weight of
powder in a container puts pressure on particles on the bottom. It is important that
powder flows freely after being stored, rather than ‘caking’, which is where
understanding flowability is useful. Unconfined yield stress is a simple technique that
can be used to analyse the flow behaviour of many different types of powders and the
changes in this behaviour with different consolidation stresses and times.
To conduct the test, the user fills a tube with powder and the rig compresses it. The
load and container are then removed to leave behind a freestanding column, which is
then compressed, or consolidated, by a probe until the powder yields. Unconfined
yield stress has little meaning as a measurement alone as it depends on the
‘consolidation stress’; a powder more firmly compressed is likely to flow less freely and have a higher yield stress.
Instead, flow functions of samples are compared, which are determined from the relationship between the consolidation
stress and the resulting unconfined yield stress. The flow function curve of each sample shows how one factor is affected
by the other; a steeper gradient highlighting a stronger dependence and, therefore, how flowability is influenced.
Applications manager at Stable Micro Systems, Jo Smewing, commented: “For industries handling powders on a regular
basis, understanding their flow behaviour is key for operational and quality purposes. Whether it’s the addition of flour in
a bread recipe or testing the quality of an eyeshadow, the Unconfined Yield Stress Rig offers an accurate, objective
measure of powder flow.”
The assessment of unconstrained powder characteristics is yet another measurement that the Texture Analyser can
perform on powdered materials, complementing the functionality offered by the Powder Flow Analyser. n
www.foodmagazine.eu.com issue two | 2017