As anyone who has been tracking the shopping habits of millennials will reveal, avocados are now among the most popular superfoods. In fact, around 1.7 million tonnes of Mexican avocados are sold every year to the Canada, U.S., China and Europe.
Much of the global appetite for avocado comes from lovers of pre-prepared guacamole. Often eaten as a snack with tortilla chips, there is rising demand for this savoury delight, and MasoSine sinusoidal Certa pumps from Watson-Marlow Fluid Technology Group are enabling producers to keep pace with demand.
As well as delivering high suction capability to handle viscous products, the pumps offer many further advantages over alternative technologies. For instance, unlike traditional pumps with rotors that cut through the fluid, Certa’s sinusoidal rotor gently carries fluid through the pump to dramatically reduce shear. In addition, energy consumption is cut by up to 50% when handling high-viscosity foods such as guacamole.
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In short, the benefits and performance levels delivered by the proven sinusoidal technology include virtually no pulsation, superior viscosity, simplicity, reliability, energy efficiency, interchangeable parts and low cost of ownership, the company says. Fully CIP-capable, Certa pumps can transfer foods with viscosities of up to 8 million cP, at flow rates up to 99,000 l/h.
MasoSine Certa technology is used in two stages of guacamole production. Firstly, the pumps transfer avocado pulp to the mixers, before larger Certa models are deployed to transfer the product to the filling stations. At this stage, one of the great benefits of the pumps is their ability to maintain the shape and integrity of the avocado chunks – and small pieces of tomato and onion – which are sometimes part of the mix.
The addition of these soft vegetable and fruit pieces would present a problem for most pump types, however, the low shear and gentle action of a MasoSine pump is said to maintain the integrity of the avocado and additional ingredients and crucially, does not negatively affect the viscosity of the final product. The result is much faster production speeds and, thanks to the inherently hygienic design of Certa pumps, process cleanliness is assured. Customers also report reductions in maintenance requirements and downtime.
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