Nutraceuticals
Probiotics
The feel-good factor associated with probiotic food and drink is stimulating the market for these products. GEA supplies the technology for the fermentation process through to producing the starter cultures and beyond to high pressure homogenization for the production of probiotic yoghurt drinks and much more.
Producing Microbial Food Cultures
Microbial food cultures (MFCs) are live bacteria, yeasts and moulds used in the manufacture of a wide range of human and animal foods: from fermented vegetable products such as sauerkraut and soy sauce, to cheese and yogurts. While starter cultures are MFC preparations which enhance the flavor, taste, color, texture and nutritional value, probiotic cultures are living microorganisms which can benefit health. But keeping billions of microbes alive and viable demands great care.
Starter Culture
Manufacturers often want to produce individual microbial strains. Yet there are hundreds of types of probiotic and starter cultures in production, and it is important that the equipment that manufacturers use helps to avoid cross-contamination. The starting point in the production is generally a ‘mother culture’ supplied, highly concentrated, in deep-frozen form.
Fermentation
Fermentation Fermentation In the laboratory, this concentrate is used to make a pre-culture solution, which is in turn grown – and scaled-up – via a cultivation fermenter and a pre-fermenter to a full-scale fermentation stage operating at a capacity of several thousand litres.
Separation
After cultivation in the fermenters, the biomass has to be gently separated, under aseptic conditions, from the fermentation solution in which it has multiplied. This stage requires great care as the microbes are effective only if they remain alive. Shear stresses at the separation stage can be damaging. The concentrated cells can then be processed by freeze or spray drying and subsequent pelletizing.
Freeze drying
The most common next step for starter cultures is freeze drying. Once frozen, the cultures can survive over long shelf lives. This enables individual cultures to be blended, at a later date, in accordance with specific starter culture recipes before final packaging.
Spray Drying
In the case of probiotic products, manufacturers generally opt for spray dryers with fluid bed drying as the next stage. The lower the water content of the bacteria, the higher their survival rate.
Pelletizing
In dairy applications, concentrated cultures can be fed directly from the separator into liquid nitrogen so that they are immediately deep frozen. They can then be processed into small pellets which are packaged and stored in deep frozen form.
Products & Technologies
Showing 4 of 13
Aseptic valves & components
Aseptic valves face exceptionally high demands within UltraClean and Aseptic processes. You can be assured that they all provide highest quality in terms of hygienic design and sustainability.
Centrifugal Separator
GEA separators are designed for liquid-based applications. Using centrifugal force, they are used for separating suspensions consisting of two or more phases of different densities, i.e. they can be used for liquid-liquid separation, for liquid-liquid-solid separation or for liquid-solid separation. They are equally as effective at separating liq...
Homogenizer Compression Block
GEA compression heads are the homogenizer pulsing core since they activate the homogenization process pumping the product at high pressure until it flows inside the homogenizing valve.
Homogenizing Valves
Homogenizing valve is one of the most important elements of GEA homogenizers to make happen the homogenization products effectively.
Downloads
GEA Insights
Fifty dairy robots, one vision for the future
In eastern Czechia, agricultural engineer Jan Urban is transforming dairy farming with GEA’s DairyProQ – a 50-stall automated milking system that boosts efficiency, animal welfare and sustainability, setting a new standard for modern milk production.
GEA products: pathway to resource efficiency
Costs for energy, water and raw materials are rising with efficiency becoming a decisive competitive factor. GEA identifies more resource-efficient successor solutions in a transparent way and has them independently validated. Now a portfolio of more than 50 products, what does it take to make the grade and how do customers benefit? GEA insiders share why these innovations are so transformative.
Chilling Danish pastries with purpose
German pastry specialist Wolf ButterBack expands with GEA’s ammonia-based BluX chiller technology that delivers flexible, low-maintenance cooling while helping the company move closer to net zero.
