Health becomes a new trend in the food industry, and the application prospects of drying technology are promising. Article link: Packaging and Printing Industry Network
Release time:
2020-03-16
Source:
The food industry in China is currently showing a trend of diversification, but there are still many "junk foods" among them. As consumers increasingly pursue a healthy lifestyle, health and nutrition have become key words in product selection. Food companies are exploring the path of healthy and nutritious foods. Among them, replacing frying technology with drying technology has become one of the ways for many food companies to upgrade their processes.
Instant noodles are one of the largest convenience food markets in China. Especially in the past two years, the trend towards high-end and health-conscious products has led to a gradual market recovery. According to statistical data, the overall sales of instant noodles reached 40.3 billion servings in 2018, a year-on-year increase of 3.2%, with sales revenue increasing by 8.0%. So, how has instant noodles, which have long been criticized as "junk food," achieved a health upgrade?
As we all know, the production process of instant noodles primarily involves frying the noodle cakes. However, fried instant noodles are becoming less favored in the market, while non-fried instant noodles produced using drying technology are increasingly favored by consumers. It is understood that non-fried instant noodles on the market are mainly divided into two types: microwave-dried and hot air-dried, with different production technologies imparting different flavors to the noodles.
Microwave-dried noodle cakes require microwave drying equipment during production. Microwaves can penetrate the inside and outside of objects, causing the internal molecules to rub against each other and generate heat, resulting in fast heating and high uniformity. Additionally, due to the thermal and biological effects of microwave drying technology, it can also achieve sterilization while drying. Hot air-dried noodle cakes typically use hot air drying equipment, which utilizes heated air as a heat source. Currently, there is a wide variety of hot air drying equipment on the market to meet different production needs.
In addition to instant noodles, fruit and vegetable chips are also one of the foods that have successfully "transformed" in recent years. According to the national light industry standard QB2076-95, fruit and vegetable chips refer to products made primarily from fruits and vegetables using processes such as vacuum frying and dehydration. However, frying clearly does not align with the trend towards health, and much of the nutritional value of fruits and vegetables can be lost. Driven by market demand, the application of vacuum freeze-drying equipment in the production of fruit and vegetable chips is becoming increasingly widespread.
Vacuum freeze-drying refers to the process of first freezing the moisture-containing material into a solid, and then sublimating the ice-like moisture directly into vapor under low temperature and low pressure conditions, thereby achieving drying of the material. Using vacuum freeze-drying technology to produce fruit and vegetable chips can better protect the volatile and easily oxidizable components in the material, and because drying is conducted in a frozen state, it can better maintain the original shape and structure of the material.
The expanding application range of vacuum freeze-drying technology has also brought benefits to the freeze-drying equipment industry. Data shows that by 2021, the global freeze-dryer market is expected to reach 788 million USD, with a compound annual growth rate of 7.5% from 2016 to 2021. At the same time, freeze-drying equipment is also developing towards large capacity, high speed, low failure rates, ease of operation, high precision, high safety, and long service life.
Industry insiders have pointed out that in the past two years, the level of food safety in China has significantly improved, and consumer focus has shifted towards health. Therefore, for the food industry, utilizing innovative upgrades in technology to develop healthy and nutritious foods will become increasingly important. Equipment manufacturers in the industry also need to meet the production needs of food companies through the development and utilization of new technologies and new equipment.
Original title: Health Becomes a New Trend in the Food Industry, Good Prospects for the Application of Drying Technology
Article link: Packaging and Printing Industry Network http://www.ppzhan.com/news/detail/51986.html
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