Fruit slurry for the perfect smoothie

Peak Foods develops and produces
concentrates for healthy smoothies. The very high viscosity and low production
temperature were a challenge especially for the flow measurement.

26 Jul 2023

Peak Foods is a joint venture between Interstate Food Processing Corporation and Lakeside Foods. They are specialized in whipped topping products for the retail, foodservice and industrial sectors. For a new business line, ingredients for smoothies of its own brand Blendtopia, Peak Foods utilized some experience from dairy production, but also had to implement new innovative processes. In High Temperature Short Time (HTST) pasteurization, the highly viscous consistency of fruit purees presented a particular challenge. With the FMI flowmeter, the process now can be controlled with the highest precision.

For its new Blendtopia brand, Peak Foods develops and produces ingredient concentrates that allow end customers to easily and quickly prepare themselves healthy smoothies. These concentrates are primarily fruit slurries, such as banana or strawberry purees, and are characterized by a very low water content but a high percentage of fruit chunk. The special production process, developed for perfect product consistency, results in high demands on the manufacturing equipment. The very high viscosity of up to about 4000 Cp, the very low flow rate of about 5.7 l/min and the low production temperature of 5 – 8 °C were a challenge especially for the flow measurement. However, for evidence of pasteurization, flow control needs to be highly accurate and reliable.

Rich Griffin, Engineering Manager, tested the FMI flow meter and conludes: "These tests were a pure success story. We were able to prove that the measurement accuracy fully met expectations. In addition, an FMI is significantly more cost-effective than a comparable Coriolis Meter, so that we can now use the best technical solution at the most favorable price".

Click here to read how Rich Griffin could optimise his production process!