What is Tomato Paste aseptic packaging?
Aseptic packaging is a process during which microorganisms are prevented from entering a
The production line for canned beans includes sections for preparing legumes, precooking (blanching), preparing sauce, packaging, and finally, final cooking and sterilization. These stages can also be applied to other legumes such as chickpeas and fava beans, as well as to vegetables like green peas, etc. In fact, having a canned bean production line makes it possible to produce these products as well.
The Simrco Industrial Group offers this production line with a semi-automatic capacity of 25,000 cans per day and a fully automatic capacity of 50,000 cans per day.
The most complex part of the canned legume production line is the sterilization and final cooking process, which is carried out by an autoclave machine. The high costs and sensitivity of the autoclave operations have made this section one of the greatest concerns for producers. SEAMERCO, considering various solutions, has been able to offer suitable responses to these concerns of its customers to date.
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The primary sand separator device is used to separate soil, waste, and large stones from legumes.
This device is manufactured in various configurations. One type is the vibrating sand separator, which consists of closely spaced rods that create passage grooves for the legumes. When a bag of legumes is emptied onto these grooves, the vibration generated by the vibrator causes the legumes to move forward, while simultaneously separating any soil or smaller debris that is smaller than the size of the legumes during the process.
The elevator or material lift is designed for transferring and discharging materials. It is referred to as a lift because the discharged materials typically come from the lower part of the previous device and fill the small hopper of this device. Each time the conveyor belt with its raised edges (blades) passes, a portion of the material in the hopper is transferred to the next machine. However, since the filling of materials in machines is usually done from their upper sections, these types of devices are called elevators.
One of the main stages in the canning of legumes is soaking the legumes after the initial sand separation. For this purpose, the legumes need to be soaked for 6 to 12 hours, depending on their type and quality, to allow the gases present in the legumes to escape after soaking.
The secondary sand separator is used to separate remaining soil, waste, and small stones that are left over from the initial sand separation process from the legumes.
This device can be manufactured in various configurations. One type is the circulating sand separator, which consists of an elevator along with a large storage tank for legumes filled with water. The second type is the cascading sand separator, where the legumes along with water are released from a channel with stepped obstacles to facilitate separation.
A blancher refers to a machine that performs the precooking of legumes or vegetables.
The process of precooking or blanching is carried out to inactivate enzymes and soften the texture of the materials. This device consists of a tank along with a drum, which performs the blanching action through immersion and steam.
The blancher features a large cylindrical tank that forms its main body, and it contains a mesh drum along the horizontal axis to guide the legumes forward through immersion.
When legumes are introduced through the main entrance of the device, they are placed on the drum and are submerged in hot water as they move forward with the drum. The steam entering the cylindrical tank of the blancher keeps the water hot, and this process is continuously repeated with the constant introduction of steam.
Before filling the cans with beans and legumes, it is necessary to ensure the quality of the contents that will be placed inside the cans. To this end, the cooled legumes are placed on a inspection conveyor belt and move in front of the operators. The operators are positioned on either side of the machine and examine the beans to ensure that no hulls, stones, or debris remain among the legumes.
Before the product is filled into containers by the filling machine, the cans or jars need to be removed from the pallet and placed on the filling rail. To avoid doing this one by one, a traffic tray device is used.
Empty containers are taken out from the pallet by the operator in batches (4 to 6 at a time) and placed on the rotary tray of this device. As the rotary tray turns, it utilizes centrifugal force to guide the containers towards the side of the machine. The containers exit through an opening on one side of the tray and are placed sequentially on the conveyor belt of the next machine.
Before the product is filled, the cans must be sterilized, which is done using a can sterilization machine, commonly referred to as a can washer.
Throughout the transfer path of the cans in the steam can washer, there are steam pipes installed to sterilize the cans. The cans are placed upside down during their transfer to the next machine (the filler), allowing compressed steam to wash and sterilize the inside of the cans. This process occurs repeatedly as the cans pass over the steam outlet nozzles along the transfer path, ensuring that the cans are thoroughly sterilized.
The rotary volumetric dosing filler is suitable for filling various types of products that are solid and in bulk.
This machine features a rotary tray with multiple measuring cups. After the raw materials undergo processing in the preparation section and are ready for filling, they are placed on the machine’s tray. A fixed paddle prevents the materials from rotating on the tray, allowing the rotating tray to fill each cup or measuring bowl with the raw materials. This way, the desired raw materials are filled in volumetric amounts according to the capacity of each cup or bowl.
When producing canned beans and mushrooms, the mushrooms must first be washed in specialized basins equipped with aerators. These tanks are usually double-walled to allow sand and debris separated during the washing process to settle and be collected in the second wall for drainage.
Due to the shape, form, and soft texture of mushrooms, washing them is a more challenging task. Therefore, in the mushroom washing tank, a blower is used to aerate the wash water and create turbulence, which aids in better separation of soil and sand from beneath the mushroom caps.
Mushrooms are used in canned legumes in two ways: the first method involves blanching, while the second method consists of filling them raw, with final cooking occurring during the autoclave process.
In the initial cooking method before filling, the mushrooms must be blanched, which is done using a mushroom blancher. The mushroom blancher is used for precooking and softening the texture of the mushrooms.
For blanching mushrooms, depending on the production line’s capacity, two types of blanchers are used: an atmospheric cooking kettle and a hot water and steam immersion blancher.
In the production line for canned beans and mushrooms, sliced mushrooms are used, for which a mushroom slicer is utilized. The mushroom slicer is available in two types: one for raw mushrooms and one for blanched mushrooms. The difference lies in the capacity of the machines, with the raw mushroom slicer having a capacity of 150 to 200 kilograms per hour, while the blanched mushroom slicer can handle 1500 to 2000 kilograms per hour.
The operation of both models is similar, with the main difference being the types of blades used. In the canned beans and mushrooms production line, blanched mushrooms are predominantly used.
In canned legumes, especially canned beans, a formulation machine is used to create and combine the special sauce for beans and legumes. The formulation machine consists of a lower tank and one or two upper tanks. The lower tank is used for mixing and adding ingredients and for formulating them, while the upper tanks are used to hold the finished product and the prepared sauce.
All tanks in this machine have steam jackets that provide heat and mixers to keep the materials homogeneous. The key difference is that in the lower tank, the mixer operates at high speed to combine water, salt, and other spices, whereas in the upper tanks, the mixer runs at a lower speed, primarily to maintain the homogeneity of the formulated materials until they are transferred to the sauce dispensing machine.
The sauce produced by the formulation machine must be transferred to the cans using a sauce dispensing machine.
There are two types of sauce dispensers used in canning production lines: a shower-style sauce dispenser and a pneumatic nozzle sauce dispenser.
The shower-style sauce dispenser features a holding tank for the sauce, a conveyor rail for the containers, and a perforated pipe for transferring the sauce to the containers. This device operates in a showering manner, with the containers passing underneath the shower and being filled. Any excess sauce drains back into the holding tank.
The pneumatic nozzle sauce dispenser also has a holding tank and a conveyor rail for the containers, as well as pneumatic nozzles.
Containers enter the machine via a conveyor belt, and after being positioned under the nozzles, the required amount of sauce is dispensed into them through the nozzles with the help of a PLC (Programmable Logic Controller).
One of the important aspects of canning is removing the air present in the containers. The oxygen inside the containers can lead to mold growth and spoilage of the product.
The containers filled with the product and solution typically occupy about 80 to 90 percent of the volume of a container. Therefore, to remove the remaining air, an exhaust machine is used.
The exhaust machine consists of a stainless steel conveyor that is resistant to temperature and perforated pipes for injecting the necessary steam into the device.
The expansion created in the exhaust machine for the contents inside the container, combined with the contraction of the contents induced by the autoclave or pasteurization tunnel, generates a vacuum within the container. Additionally, the condensation of steam trapped inside the container as it cools down also contributes to the vacuum formation.
The can seaming machine performs the sealing of metal can lids onto the body of the can according to the 1881 standard set by the National Standards Organization.
The operation of this machine is fully automated and does not require human intervention, except for the action of the operator filling the lid magazine. However, there is also an option for the automatic loading of can lids into the machine.
Once the can enters the seaming machine, the sealing operation is executed accurately and precisely by the main components of the machine, which include the infeed star, lid feeder, pedal, first and second pulleys, and the outfeed star. To keep these components synchronized over long periods and with a seaming speed of between 80 to 200 cans per minute, all of them must be controlled by a single main mechanical axis.
Since the outer surfaces of the containers may get dirty during the sauce or solution dispensing process or while transferring filled containers during canning, the containers are washed with warm water in this machine after the lids are sealed.
This machine is equipped with a conveyor for moving the containers, a storage tank for warm water or cleaning solution, and perforated pipes for compressing the water.
Containers enter the machine via the conveyor belt, and the machine’s water pump transfers the solution or hot water from the tank to the pipes. The perforated pipes are positioned precisely on either side and above the conveyor belt, allowing the containers to be washed as they pass through, with the water pressure cleaning the body and lid of the containers.
This machine is used in the production lines for canned tuna, canned legumes and beans, as well as canned pet food.
The primary goal of placing canned products in autoclave machines is to cook the contents of the cans and sterilize them to ensure a longer shelf life for the product.
After going through the preparation and production phases, filling, and sealing the cans, they require final cooking and sterilization, which is carried out by the autoclave. If the autoclave process is not performed on the canned goods, the microbial load in the product can lead to spoilage and mold growth of the contents inside the cans.
The autoclave operates at a working temperature of 121 degrees Celsius and a steam pressure of 1.2 bar, and the cooking and sterilization process lasts for 50 to 70 minutes.
Cooking meat, fish, or legumes is performed to the point of softening bones and inactivating all bacteria and enzymes that may be present in the can. It is important to note that the temperature and time required to inactivate bacteria is greater than what is necessary for cooking fish and inactivating enzymes.
The jet printer is used to print production information on the body or lid of the final product.
Production information typically includes details such as the production date, expiration date, consumer price, and inventory or product codes.
Jet printers are available in laser, inkjet, or cartridge formats.
Each time a product passes under the printer nozzle, the desired information is printed on the product.
The jet printer has the capability to store product information in its memory, eliminating the need to re-enter this information each time.
The shrink pack machine wraps the final packaging of products that are arranged in multiples next to each other with shrink film or plastic.
The films placed over the packages are shaped and formed into the final packaging through the heat of the machine’s tunnel, preventing the products from shifting during transportation.
Typically, the shrink pack machine is one of the last devices used in the production line. After going through all stages of production and being prepared for storage in the warehouse, products are arranged in multiples (9, 12, 24) on a base made of cardboard or plastic to be wrapped and made ready for storage.
SEAMERCO Industrial Group had the honor of participating in the launch of 170 domestic and 37 foreign factories so far.
Canned Legumes, Jam, Canned Fruit
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Canned Beans, Tomato Paste
Frequently asked questions about Canned Beans production line
Technical experts at SEAMERCO have compiled the most important questions derived from years of interaction with entrepreneurs active in the food production sector, aiming to find a model that addresses these concerns. Based on SimrCo’s proposed model for establishing a production line, the journey for entrepreneurs from the inception of an idea to the final product includes the following steps:
Step One: Specialized Consultation and Initial Feasibility Study
Step Two: Development of a Feasibility Report and Obtaining Establishment License
Step Three: Design and Construction of Machinery
Step Four: Implementation of Infrastructure and Commissioning of the Production Line
Step Five: Pilot Production of the Product and Obtaining an Operating License
Step Six: Obtaining Health Permits
Step Seven: Training and Consultation
Step Eight: Final Production, Marketing, and Sales of the Product
In the case of simultaneous operation of a canned bean production line, the type of operation and its production capacity must be specified. Generally, 80% of the machinery in non-meat canning can be used in common. Only in the preparation phase, for cleaning and separating, initial cooking, and filling, will there be modifications to the equipment.
For instance, to produce eggplant caviar, machines such as eggplant peeler, meat grinder, and dual-piston filler must be included. Similarly, for the production of canned beans along with mushrooms, additional equipment like mushroom washing machines, mushroom blanchers, and mushroom slicers should be incorporated into the production line.
Yes, currently many canned bean and legume factories in Iran export a significant portion of their products to countries like Afghanistan, Iraq, and others.
However, it is essential to study the culinary culture of these countries and formulate canned beans and legumes in a way that aligns with their tastes. By improving the quality of the final product and through effective planning, goal setting, and establishing representatives and connections with foreign traders, there is a possibility for exporting products based on cost considerations.
Additionally, understanding local preferences and adapting product offerings accordingly can enhance market acceptance and increase export opportunities.
Establishing a factory depends significantly on the founder’s approach to marketing and sales (whether to operate solely as a producer or as both a producer and seller). If the factory is located close to chickpea cultivation areas, the costs of raw material procurement will be lower, but accessing larger markets will come with higher transportation costs. Conversely, if the factory is situated away from the chickpea harvest areas, the costs of sourcing raw materials may increase, while access to the market can be better.
However, for certain products, proximity to the harvest area is crucial. For example, in the production of canned green peas, it is advisable for the canning process to occur within 4 to 5 hours after harvesting. If this timeframe is exceeded, the green peas may dry out and become unsuitable for canning. Therefore, strategic location choices are vital for ensuring the quality and marketability of the product.
Yes, reducing initial costs can be achieved by altering the capacity and design of the production line. Cost reduction typically occurs through two methods: decreasing the capacity of the machinery or purchasing second-hand equipment. SimrCo offers various plans for establishing a canned beans and legumes production line, which includes industrial, workshop-sized, and overhauled options. Utilizing overhauled machinery usually results in a 40% reduction in initial investment.
For example, in a low-capacity canned legume production line, the use of dual-nozzle filling machines, fixed blanchers, and horizontal autoclaves can lead to a reduction of up to 50% in initial fixed costs. This flexibility allows entrepreneurs to choose the most suitable setup based on their budget and operational requirements while still ensuring product quality.
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