MSP MAGAZINE Issue 48

NEWS
GEA FOOD SOLUTIONS
Shaping the Puzzle for Quality
Formed Products with GEA
Formed meat products are big
business. Burgers and chicken
nuggets dominate the market, but
tastes are changing. One of the challenges
for food manufacturers is the
increased consumer demand for a
variety of clean label products, as
well as fish and vegetarian options,
and all at prices that consumers
consider to be good value.
Ensuring the highest possible quality
products within budget limitations,
whilst continually innovating to
meet consumer demand, can be
made more challenging by the fact
that creating perfectly formed food
products is a very precise technical
process. Rather like a jigsaw puzzle,
every part of the process must
be perfectly aligned and in place
in order to complete the picture
successfully.
challenges that can occur. For
example, to ensure the best possible
yields, the required level of moisture
must be retained within formed
products. Water also acts as a
carrier for salts and other additives
which extend shelf life and enhance
flavor, texture, color and binding
properties. However, binding water
into chicken mass is often the one
aspect of forming that can prove
the most difficult. To overcome
this, GEA has developed technology
which mixes the ingredients in near
vacuum conditions. This helps to
open up the meat cells thereby
improving the water retention of
chicken.
EQUIPMENT AND INNOVATION
Now into its ninth generation of
forming equipment, GEA offers
two primary production methods
for formed products. Plate forming
for low-medium production levels,
for example using its MultiFormer
machine, and rotary forming for
high speed production of longrun
standard products, such
as with the GEA MaxiFormer.
Versatility, capacity, yield, hygiene,
sustainability and, above all,
product quality have been the key
drivers in the development of GEA’s
equipment, innovating designs
With over half a century’s worth
of experience when it comes to
forming, leading supplier of food
processing equipment GEA has
developed a package of information
based on six key elements, with
the aim of demystifying this multifaceted
process and highlighting
the support GEA can provide to
manufacturers.
APPLICATION KNOW-HOW
GEA’s vast experience in formed
product processing has enabled
the company to develop creative
ways of overcoming the technical
8 | FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021 | MSP Magazine