Mixing Equipment And Applications In The Food Industry

Mixing operations are at the center of transforming raw ingredients into food for human consumption. The primary objective of a mixing operation, also shared by other steps in food processing, is to establish consistency. Whether a product requires small-scale manual mixing or large-scale blending of multiple ingredients, home cooks and food process engineers alike recognize the importance of proper mixing. In the food industry, maintaining a high level of consistency is imperative, not only from batch to batch but also from one facility to another. In this market, consistency serves as the backbone of consumer loyalty.

A wide variety of mixing equipment is utilized within the food industry, and its use and application depend on the phases being mixed (liquid-liquid, solid-liquid, or solid-solid) as well as the physical attributes of the end product (such as viscosity and density). Recent advancements in mixer and blender designs are contributing to the growing success of food companies, meeting the need for consistency, developing new products, and reducing production costs. Here, we discuss both traditional and new specialty mixing technologies for food manufacturers and present sample applications to exemplify specific processing challenges and the corresponding mixing technologies employed to resolve them.