Thermal processing is a key part of pet food manufacturing, with processes including heating (pre-conditioning), cooking, drying, pasteurizing, and cooling. However, the thick, viscous nature of many of the meat-based products presents challenges for handling, heating and cooling. Different types of food obviously require different types of processing; not only in terms of wet or dry, but also solid pâtés compared to meat chunks in jelly or gravy.
The HRS R Series and Unicus scraped surface heat exchangers (SSHEs) are ideally suited for pet food processing, including heating ingredients such as meat slurry, jelly, and gravy before further processing, as well as heating or cooling soft meat or fish ingredients. In addition, HRS BP Series high-pressure positive displacement piston pumps are perfect for delicate materials containing particles, such as pet food chunks
In contrast, the patented Unicus Series is designed to provide unrivalled heat transfer of a wide range of difficult meat products which have high fouling potential, but which also need delicate handling to preserve fragile product integrity.