Senior Editor Joseph Clarke speaks with Roland Thiemann, Show Director of Anuga FoodTec, about how automation, AI, energy efficiency and transferable technologies are helping bakers industrialise more complex products without compromising quality, flexibility or process stability.
Mr Thiemann, what is the current origin of the especially great movement in the baked goods industry?
Many innovations originate from the wish for products that are nutritionally interesting and nonetheless really taste good. This is joined by another decisive question for industrial production: can such concepts be stably manufactured in larger quantities? Called for are baked goods rich in protein or fibre. Gut-friendly recipes are also gaining importance. Manufacturers are also working on less sugar and on lists of ingredients that remain comprehensible for consumers. The following applies for all of this: flavour and texture must be convincing.
In terms of technology, much is happening with fermentation and sourdough. Enzyme systems open up additional possibilities, as do new flour combinations. This means that freshness and digestibility can be improved without losing track of process stability.
A great deal of movement is also apparent in doughs with high water content. For once, this can be taken literally in the case of doughs. Seriously: gluten-free baked goods are developing just as dynamically. Plant-based concepts are making progress, as are frozen products. The actual trick consists in transporting new recipes into production in such a way that quality and economic efficiency are compatible.
While we’re talking about new recipes: what technologies from other sectors of food production might be of help to the baked goods industry?
Taking a broader view really pays here. For example, solutions for hygienic design and automated cleaning come from milk and beverage processing. Precise dosing systems simplify the handling of fillings and creams. Controlled allergen management can also be supported in this way.
There is also a great deal relating to quality control that can be transferred in the meantime. Image processing and X-ray inspection already test products on the line. Robotics assume flexible handling tasks. Digital twins visualise processes virtually and make it possible to better evaluate changes. That reinforces quality control and improves traceability. At the same time, production can react more flexibly.
Also interesting is vacuum cooling. Selected procedures for preservation can increase the throughput and extend keepability. However, one can’t simply adopt such technologies from another industry. They must be suitable for the properties of the respective baked good and the concrete process.
What is automation changing in the industrial production of baked goods in concrete terms?
It increasingly connects the entire line. That starts with the handling of the ingredients and leads through dough preparation to the baking process. Packaging and palletising are then incorporated. Individual machines then become a coherent production system, in which material flows and information are better coordinated with one another.
That helps with a problem that many manufacturers face daily: the lack of a qualified workforce. Automated systems can assume recurring tasks and ensure more consistent results. Hygiene can also be better assured. The same applies for traceability.
Automation becomes especially interesting for smaller batch sizes. Camera-guided robots and rapid, automatic format changes make shorter production runs more economically efficient. Assortments rich in variants can thus be more flexibly covered without each change causing long interruptions. Automation then not only increases the performance of large lines. It can also make smaller quantities economically possible.
