Mondelez International Reduces Caramel Product Waste by 20% with the Installation of a Self-Cleaning Russell Eco Filter®
Russell Finex helps Mondelez International improve their production process by high-temperature filtering and recovering of caramel.
With 170 manufacturing plants around the world, Mondelez International is one of the largest manufacturers of candy, cookies and biscuits. With strict quality requirements demanded in the food industry and the ever increasing need to reduce operating costs, Mondelez started exploration for a way to minimize waste during the production of their Cha-Cha chocolate bar, without sacrificing quality.
The production process starts with baking a thin and crispy wafer, which is then coated with caramel. After being laid to rest for 24 hours, multiple wafers are pressed together, cut to size and covered with chocolate.
Unfortunately, at this stage of the process, particles of wafer crumb impurities were found in the excess caramel, making it non-resuable. Alex Pardon, Continuous Improvement Facilitator at Mondelez International, explains: "We sought a solution to recover the wasted caramel in order to reduce the product loss and improve the production process. We required a machine which could filter a high viscosity paste, at a high temperature in order to keep the caramel in liquid form for it to be reclaimed for reuse."
Having previously supplied seven Russell Compact Sieve® screening machines to screen flour on a different process line, Mondelez contacted Russell Finex to solve this new demanding filtration challenge. After analyzing the process, Russell Finex recommended a trial of the Self-Cleaning Russell Eco Filter® at the Mondelez production plant, to demonstrate the performance and productivity of the liquid filtration system before purchase.
The Self-Cleaning Russell Eco Filter® offers an effective solution to filtration requirements within the food industry. The high performance liquid filter provides efficient and uninterrupted filtration down to 10 micron. Ideal for highly viscous liquids such as caramel, honey and chocolate, the filter's self-cleaning design, enables oversize contamination to be removed with unfluctuating flow rates.
The trial period proved successful, as the Russell in-line filter efficiently filtered the highly-viscous caramel at a temperature of 95°F, keeping the caramel at the required liquid consistency during its filtration.
With all of the efficiency problems solved, Mondelez have installed a Self-Cleaning Russell Eco Filter® and are able to remove wafer crumbs and debris to reclaim liquid caramel. Taste tests also confirmed that there is no difference in quality between a bar made with or without the reclaimed caramel.
Pardon concludes: "The Self-Cleaning Russell Eco Filter® is not only able to filter high viscosity pastes while keeping the product in a liquid state, but is also easy to maintain. With the added benefit of not needing to replace the filter media, this has been the filter we have been searching for. We would certainly recommend the Russell Eco Filter to producers of high viscosity liquids."
With the new liquid filtration system in place, Mondelez have reported a 20% reduction in caramel product loss and have transformed the manufacturing process of the "Cha-Cha" chocolate bar.
Russell Finex has more than 80 years of experience in sieving and filtration applications for the food industry. Find more information about the self-cleaning in-line filter supplied by Mondelez at http://www.russellfinex.com/en/separation-equipment/self-cleaning-filters/
For more information, please visit www.russellfinex.com or email sales.inc@russellfinex.com
For over 80 years Russell Finex manufactures and supplies filters, screeners, and separators to improve product quality, enhance productivity, safeguard worker health, and ensure powders and liquids are contamination-free. Throughout the world, Russell Finex serves a variety of industries with applications including coatings, food, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, adhesives, plastisols, paint, metal powders and ceramics.
Russell Finex Inc
625 Eagleton Downs Dr,
Pineville, NC 28134
USA
Tel: 704-588-9808
www.russellfinex.com
For More PR Information Contact:
Sarah Morris – Russell Finex Inc
Phone (704) 588-9808
sarah.morris@russellfinex.com
