Industrial manufacture of sugar-free chocolates: applicability of alternative sweeteners and carbohydrate polymers as raw materials in product development

Chocolate is dense suspension of solid particles comprising 60-70% sugar and non-fat cocoa solids. Until recently, it was rarely produced as a sugar-free product due to the multi-functional properties of sweetness, bulkiness and textural characteristics that sugar offers to products. Today's consumers are concerned about the high sugar levels, calories and cariogenicity effects in confectionery products, hence increasing popularity of 'light' and 'sugar-free' products. Development of sugar-free chocolates is most challenging since all sugar needs to be replaced. In-depth understanding of the applicability of alternative sweeteners and carbohydrate polymers as ingredients in sugar-free chocolate manufacture would therefore have significant industrial applications

A global coating quality model for top-spray fluidized beds: spray sub model

Fluidized beds are amongst others used in industrial applications for coating particles. Little research has been performed in developing a quality model for a coating process. A quality model is able to predict the quality of the process in terms of coating thickness and uniformity and the occurrence of unwanted side-effects, including agglomeration, attrition and spray loss. The quality of the coating process in a fluidized bed is largely determined by the spray characteristics and the particle motion. A new quality model was developed for the coating process in a top-spray fluidized bed. The first step in the development of the new model was the creation of an accurate spray sub-model that describes the movement and the heat and mass balances of the droplets in the coating process. The second step was the creation of a particle sub-model that describes the movement and the heat and mass balances of the particles in the fluidized bed. The third and final step will be the development of the global coating quality model by combining the spray and the particle sub model. Experimental validation of the spray sub-model has already been carried out and is presented in this paper

Understanding variety-seekers and neopholics tasting traditional products

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