Filtering rice paste for baby cereal

Rice cereal is a common first food for babies once they reach six months as it contains B vitamins, minerals and some of the nutritional value required by the infant at this time. Compared to other grains, rice cereal is also a favourable choice as it’s less likely to trigger an allergic reaction.

A food factory in China that specialises in the production of rice cereal recently sought help from Russell Finex to ensure its product met stringent food health and safety regulations.

Since the factory opened, demand for its products — including milk powders, cereals and infant formula — has increased, which has required the food manufacturer to optimise its production line.

Having never used a filtration machine in its production line, the food manufacturer trialled both the Self-Cleaning Russell Eco Filter (SCF) and Russell Filter Management System in its processing line.

The SCF has a stainless steel, reusable filter element instead of a filter bag, which is designed to eliminate the replacement and disposal costs of filter bags. The enclosed design of the SCF also protects the rice paste from airborne contamination in the environment.

To streamline production, the Russell Filter Management System was used to monitor the filtration process, minimising operator involvement. Automating this task also meant operators could focus on other tasks while eliminating the potential risk of hazardous exposure.

After a successful trial, the filter was used to filter out oversize and contamination from the rice paste before being heat treated. The filtration equipment is processing six tonnes/h, which has resulted in a significant boost in production.