Pump Concentrates Or Puree Containing Whole Fruit
As their business grows, SIAS Foods (UK) Ltd realised that they needed to improve their handling of fruit pulps, when they saw an advert for the Good Food Pump from Flotronic.
Following a successful trial with the Good Food style pump back in 1998, they purchased their first 2" 'One Nut' Hygienic Air-Operated Double-Diaphragm Pump, and then another at the beginning of 2000. At their Corby, Northants plant the ultra-modern factory produce high quality products in optimum hygiene conditions where first class ingredients are accurately processed under continuous microbiological control.
At SIAS Foods the Good Food FDA approved hygienic AODP transfers fruit pulp or fruit purees containing particles of whole fruit (up to 12-mm cubes) from drums into intermediate vessels.
From here the fruit is transferred to the processing lines and then packed into either 400/800 litre stainless steel tanks or 20 litre bags ready for shipment to their customers.
The 2" double diaphragm pumps are manufactured from 316 electro polished stainless steel, with virgin PTFE / Teflon diaphragms. They suck the fruit such as peach cubes, banana, and apricot or strawberry slurry, from drums with a 1 metre lift and pump to 1 metre head.
The product is kept chilled at around 5-10 degrees centigrade. At the end of each day the diaphragms are removed to clean any excess fruit particles, then re-assembled for a CIP procedure. This involves a detergent wash at ambient temperature followed by a sterilant solution, then a final water rinse.
"We like the simplicity of design and the ability to strip the pumps down without any special tools" comments Neil Anderson – Factory Manager. "They have also been very reliable, in fact we have not yet had to replace any diaphragms!".
PROCESS DETAILS
- Fruit pulp/slurries
- Up to 500 l/min
- Viscosity around 5,000 cps
- Temperature 5-10 C
- Particles up to 12mm cubes
PUMP DETAILS
- Good Food Pump in 316 Stainless Steel
- Size 2” Hi Flo
- PTFE elastomers
- Stainless Steel balls
