Hygienic pumping solution for raw egg mixture
An industrial bakery required a pumping solution for a production line making batches of quiches for supermarket chains and regional deli shops. The bakery required delivery of egg mixture from a vessel and delivered into multiple filling lines along a conveyor system.
Process points
- Hygiene - Maintain sanitary conditions to prevent bacterial contamination of the egg mixture
- Consistency- Repeatable and accurate delivery of mixture for meeting acceptable quality standards
- Cleanability - Thoroughly cleanable and easy to inspect and maintain.
- Low shear action - Prevent product degradation. In this case the egg mixture had been processed to a degree where it was ready for filling within the pastry casings and further 'working' of the mixture would degrade the quality
The Verder Project Team proposed a bespoke turnkey system to provide a pumping solution featuring
- A Verderair AODD transfer pump for filling the vessel
- 4 Verderflex Smart dosing pumps
- 1 Control Panel
- Stainless steel trolley and hygienic pipework and storage vessel
The unit was designed and assembled at the Verder Service Centre, where the unit was then tested and provided with full documentation for the client's compliance records. The control panel provided an interface for simple operation of specifying the multiple quiche types and batch sizes. Using the preset function, all of their client's quiche egg mixture quantities could be programmed with the delivery speed, total volume, frequency and total number fo quiches. This allowed any operator to simply select the programme and start the unit and maintain the repeatable and consistent process required for their quality assurance.
The control unit was linked to 4 Verderflex Smart dosing pumps. The Verderflex Smart is an electronic programmable dosing pump which uses the peristaltic principle to deliver a range of fluids such as viscous, shear-sensitive and abrasive fluids. The peristaltic principle is inherently 'clean' as the pump and its flow path effectively becomes an extension of the pipework as the fluid remains in a hose or tube throughout the pump and does not come into contact with any moving parts. There is no chance of cross-contamination from crevices or deadspots. The tube in this application was an FDA compliant material which was chemically compatible with the CIP fluid. The tube was periodically changed during planned maintenance and was quickly done with the easy change mechanism on the pump head. The pump and tube mechanism provided sufficient suction to easily move the egg mix and can run dry without damage, which was perfect for the process.
The Verderair AODD transfer pump provided effective transfer of the egg mix, from the main mixing vessel into the smaller tank mounted on the rig. The reciprocal air diaphragm principle is a low shear one and maintained the desired consistency of the product. Like the peristaltic pump, the Verder air is an inherently clean profile with no mechanical seals and a flow path which does not come into contact with any mechanical parts, only the reciprocal diaphragms.
The pump is well-suited to more viscous fluids such as the egg due to the positive displacement nature of the working principle. The pump can also self-prime and run-dry; minimizing any potential damage to the pump if the vessel runs dry. There is no requirement for any lubrication of the air valve, removing another potential hazard for cross-contamination. Air diaphragm pumps have a huge range of materials available and the surface finishes - allowing hygienic-compliant materials to be selected.
The Verder Project Team delivered and commissioned the unit, providing the employees with instructions and assisted with programming the known production presets.