Integrated digitalisation platform introduces Food Manufacture library

The Centre of Excellence (CoE) for Food Product and Process Modelling, a joint initiative of NIZO and Process Systems Enterprise (PSE), has created a food process-product model library that aims to tackle innovation and optimisation challenges in the food industry.

Advanced process modelling company PSE released version 1.3 of the gPROMS FormulatedProducts, a model-based digitalisation platform for the integrated digital design of robust formulated products and their manufacturing processes, as well as digital operation of these processes. This release introduced the Food Manufacture library, which helps companies to reduce time to market, minimise investment risks, reduce production costs and improve product quality and functionality.

Built on PSE’s gPROMS modelling platform, gPROMS FormulatedProducts provides advanced capabilities to the food industry to enable model-based design and optimisation of process operations such as heat treatment, membrane separation, falling film evaporation, lyophilisation, crystallisation and spray drying.

Sherwin Safavi Nic, Process Technologist – Modelling and Simulations at Danone, said: “The Centre of Excellence for Food Product and Process Modelling brings together the unique knowledge of industrial partners, the long-term expertise from NIZO and the advanced digitalisation platform and expertise from PSE allowing the industry to accelerate sustainable process development, optimise processes and reduce time to market for new products.”

The CoE also provides targeted experimentation on lab, pilot and semi-industrial scale to support model development and validation. This brings to the food industry: significant improvements in food products quality, increased efficiency, more reliable manufacturing processes and reduced costs while ensuring food safety.

“NIZO’s strong and long-term modelling capabilities integrated in the gPROMS platform and the combined expertise of PSE and NIZO will not only enable the food industry to optimise existing processes, but will also provide the expertise and tools required to drive innovation and achieve sustainability goals in food manufacturing,” said NIZO CCO Hans van den Hombergh.

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