From vitamin-enhanced water to energizing soft drinks, consumers want more nutrient- and flavor-packed drinks. To meet these demands, beverage processors are adding vitamins, amino acids and other powdered ingredients to their recipes.
Any time additional ingredients are introduced into a recipe, there is an increased risk of air entering the mixture. This can cause foaming, clogging and lumps. The introduction of air also can hinder added powders from being fully dissolved.
Less Air, More Quality
APV®, an SPX company, combats the problem with an ingeniously simply solution. The APV® Flex Mix Instant™ inline batch mixer uses vacuum pressure to draw powder under the liquid, minimizing the amount of air that enters the mix.
The equipment is well suited for processing milk and juices, as well as food products such as baby food, ice cream and sauces — products that increasingly include additional powdered ingredients to boost taste and nutritional value.
Flex Mix in Action
Flex-Mix Instant batch mixers are currently in use by a number of beverage and food manufacturers around the world. One customer, a company in France, uses the mixers for a number of their energy drinks to improve the dispersion of added ingredients.
Another customer, a dairy producer in New Zealand, uses Flex-Mix Instant batch mixers to prepare its ice cream mix. The vacuum mixing excludes air from the product. Reduced air in the product allows a faster bath run time. Consequently, the capacity of the plant is increased.
The Flex Mix inline batch mixer is just one of the solutions available from the APV Flex-Mix line of mixing equipment. APV’s experienced application engineers can also assist customers in developing new applications or customizing equipment to meet specific application and production requirements.