The European supplier of organic raw materials, Ziegler Organic, brings together organic agriculture from its own contract cultivation and food manufacturers from industry and trade as a procurement specialist and processor. As a reliable processor, Ziegler Organic specializes in the processing, packaging, logistics and sale of food raw materials. At the company's site in Wunsiedel (Bavaria, Germany), grains, seeds, legumes and cereals from organic farming are processed. Whether as grain, flour, instant flour, puffed, germinated or as a roasted product, the diverse range naturally meets the highest quality standards.
With the acquisition of an infrared light system from KREYENBORG, Ziegler Organic has successfully expanded its extensive range of services: The sterilization and roasting of organic raw materials can now be offered in addition to the already established cleaning, disinfestation, grinding, mixing and packaging.
In order to comply with European food safety requirements, cereals, cereals and seeds from organic farming must be treated with regard to pathogenic germs. The resulting significant health risks must be ruled out. The aim is to safely reduce and remove germ loads and other quality impairments in order to guarantee consistently high quality and product safety.
In order to be able to cover exactly this application, Ziegler Organic already contacted KREYENBORG in 2019 as part of the "Food Ingredients Europe" trade fair:
Gentle sterilization and roasting with infrared
The family-owned company KREYENBORG from Senden (North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany) builds machines for the sterilization or pasteurization, roasting, drying, coating and storage protection of foodstuffs such as grains, cereals, seeds, spices, nuts and much more. In the patented FoodSafety-IRD (Infrared Rotary Drum), cereals or seeds such as sesame, sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds are freed from germ loads (microorganisms such as salmonella, E. coli and other Enterobacteriaceae, molds or yeasts) by means of infrared light. The germ reduction corresponds to a Log5 validation common in microbiology. Afterward, the product to be treated can also be roasted with the help of the thermal process. An advantage is that the infrared can be set to different roasting temperatures.
This fact is particularly interesting for Ziegler Organic in terms of process technology: roasting in different settings allows the gentle refinement of a wide variety of seeds and therefore the production of a wide variety of flavors. Customers of the organic manufacturer - e.g. from the bakery production segment - can thus create a wide variety of recipes, e.g. for new and innovative grain roll variants! Extensive tests were carried out in KREYENBORG's Food Technical Center to prove the flexibility and quality of the infrared light system about disinfection and roasting of the various organic raw materials from Ziegler Organic. The analyses and results from these tests showed that the FoodSafety-IRD had the right disinfection and roasting properties for the organic manufacturer's task.
Ziegler Organic installed the new system based on infrared light at the company's site in Wunsiedel back in the summer of 2021: for reliable sterility, gentle roasting and a balanced taste experience. The produced goods are sold from stock. Alternatively, the FoodSafety-IRD can be used to process contract orders from 5 tonnes. "With this investment, we are moving with the trend of the times. In terms of process technology, we were able to successfully expand our range of services. We treat a wide range of seeds and have good sterilization values. In addition, we are also receiving more and more inquiries for roasting a wide variety of seeds, which we can now fulfill," says Christof Götz, Managing Director of Ziegler Organic.
CO2 neutrality possible
Not only in terms of product properties, but also from an energy point of view, the FoodSafety IRD from KREYENBORG has its finger on the pulse. The FoodSafety IRD is based on 100% electrical energy, which in turn can be obtained from renewable energy sources. Since many companies already have alternative energy generators, such as solar panels, or purchase green electricity from the electricity supplier, the FoodSafety IRD can be operated CO2-neutrally. The use of infrared light is therefore also advantageous from a sustainable and CO2-neutral point of view!
Plant construction in Wunsiedel
Another task of Ziegler Organic was to configure the infrared system in its entirety in a user-friendly manner and in accordance with operational specifications. This included, among other things, compliance with official emission values. The infrared light system at Ziegler Organic also had to be embedded in the existing space.
The elaboration of the installation with all conditions and transport routes was carried out jointly in to achieve the best possible result: The construction of the system starts with the feeding of big bags and bagged goods via a dosing system into the FoodSafety IRD. The facility was built over 2 floors to occupy as little hall space as possible. At the same time, the storage space for the raw materials was preserved. This could be easily achieved thanks to the modular design of the KREYENBORG system.
After treatment in the infrared rotary drum, the hot products are brought to room temperature with cold air in the cooler, which is part of the KREYENBORG plant. This process is necessary so that the goods can be stored without mold. The weighed big bags can then be safely transported to the interim storage facility and then taken to the various production areas for further processing - e.g. to the packaging plant.
Since it has been possible to meet Ziegler Organic's requirements in terms of processing and quality with the help of the infrared light system from KREYENBORG, the goods produced by Ziegler Organic can of course continue to be sold under the organic seal with peace of mind. Mr. Scharf, Production Manager at Ziegler Organic, is satisfied: "The KREYENBORG system works both efficiently and gently and is easy to operate." KREYENBORG offers its customers the opportunity to experience the processing of their products in the Food Technical Center at the company's headquarters in Senden (North Rhine-Westphalia) and to work out process data for new products.
Source: dei - Konradin Industrie (specialist magazine, Germany)