Dosetec system ensures accurate dosing of raw ingredients
Over the years, Dosetec has tailored numerous dosing and weighing systems for different Valio manufacturing units. The latest Dosetec system supplied to Valio is the dosing system used in the manufacturing of the new Mifu® products at Valio’s Vantaa factory. The manufacturing process of Mifu® requires careful dosing of raw ingredients, such as milk protein, which are added to the process cooker.
Wellness-boosting products manufactured by Valio
Valio is known as a responsible food manufacturer based in Finland, a status which is also backed by Sustainable Brand Index, the Nordics’ largest brand study on sustainability and corporate responsibility. SBI has ranked Valio as the most responsible Finnish company four years in a row, most recently in 2017. Valio’s report on corporate responsibility reveals that sustainably-produced milk and wellness-boosting foods give Valio a competitive edge. In 2016, Valio introduced a brand new product range, the Valio Mifu® strips, which in the same year became the market leader for new types of protein sources used in main dishes. Mifu® strips is rich in healthy milk protein. In autumn 2017, Valio launched Mifu® strips which contain nearly double the amount of healthy protein. Both Mifu® products can be used as substitute for meat and chicken as the main source of protein in a dish.
New product, new situation
Mifu® products are manufactured at Valio’s Vantaa factory, where Dosetec supplied a dosing system for the raw ingredients added to Mifu process cooker. “The project went as smoothly as you could hope – we got to set up the production line in completely new premises, meaning we didn’t have to worry about pausing production. Dosetec supplied the dosing system which was integrated into Valio’s process control system,” explains Eero Lassila, Valio Vantaa’s technical expert.
Impeccable dosing accuracy
Valio’s Vantaa plant is no stranger to Dosetec systems as the factory also uses Dosetec dosing and weighing systems in the manufacturing of other products. For Mifu® products manufacturing, Dosetec expanded the dosing system by connecting the big bag emptying stations to the vacuum conveying system, allowing the dosing of the milk protein powder from a big bag to a new hopper scale. The raw ingredients are smoothly transferred from the hopper scale to the Mifu cooker via a suction funnel equipped with a weighing unit. “The powders we dose are what keep the cheese in the desired shape. As such, accurate dosing is of utmost importance to us. Inaccurate doses affect the features of the finished Mifu® strips, such as shape and texture, and how they behave when they are packed and whether they stick together too much. Fortunately, the dosing system has proven to be very accurate,” Lassila says after roughly a year of using the system.