Aston Foods Continua vacuum-cooling process for baked goods

Aston Foods has developed the Continua, a vacuum-cooling process for medium-sized food manufacturers and large-scale bakeries.

The fully automatic system for the continuous process combines the benefits of vacuum cooling with industry-specific features. Using optical identification, the baked goods are directly and automatically conveyed from the tunnel or shelf oven to the correct chamber. Bread baked in loaf pans is depanned and sliced after a short time, meaning hours of cooling are no longer required.

The vacuum-cooling unit can be loaded on one side and unloaded simultaneously from the opposite side, meaning the system’s capacity can be fully utilised at all times to ensure efficiency.

The cooling process for baked goods can be reduced to about three minutes by using the vacuum-cooling process. In addition to reducing the time and staff required, vacuum cooling also requires significantly less energy than traditional methods, according to Aston Foods.

The company claims that the baked goods gain volume while shelf life and taste are also improved.