The food processing industry uses a range of equipment and machinery to cook, prepare and package food products. Food processing line solutions and equipment are used to enhance the taste and shelf life of food products while, filling and packaging equipment is used to safely package prepared food.
Safety, cost, and ease of maintenance are of paramount importance when choosing food processing equipment.
Discover top suppliers of food processing production line equipment
Just Food has listed leading suppliers and contractors of processing solutions, filling systems and packaging lines based on its extensive knowledge in the food processing and packaging sectors. The list includes providers of processing lines, drying and evaporation equipment, moisture control solutions, heat sealing and lidding lines, automatic weighing machines, sterilisation and pasteurisation solutions, sorting and packing lines, and bagging and palletising lines for the food industry.
The information contained within the download document is designed for food technologists, engineers, processing supervisors and managers, production managers and executives, and processing plant heads and consultants.
The download contains detailed information on suppliers and their product lines, as well as contact details to aid with purchasing decisions.
Types of food processing equipment
Food processing companies use different equipment depending on the stage of food preparation. The equipment used by food processing companies can be classified based on different processing stages, including:
- Preparation equipment for functions such as cleaning, grading and sorting
- Mechanical processing systems for size reduction, cutting or chopping, forming, homogenisation, mixing, and blending
- Heat processing equipment for baking, blanching, dehydration, evaporation, pasteurisation and sterilisation
- Preservation systems based on preservation methods such as chemical, water reduction and refrigeration
- Packaging equipment, such as fillers and form-fill-seal systems
Food processing companies also use equipment for food quality inspection, material handling, and measurement and control. These include food analysis equipment, spectrometers, magnetic analysers, pressure gauges, and weighing and conveyor systems.
Packaging and filling equipment used by food processing companies
Food processing companies also use different types of packaging equipment based on the food products being handled.
Processed foods can be packed in rigid packs such as bottles, cans and jars; or flexible and semi-flexible packs, including bags, cling or shrink wraps, squeezable tubes, foam trays, stand-up packets, boxes, and tetra packs.
Common packaging equipment used in food processing includes food vacuum packaging machines, cup or tray sealers, gas flush packaging machines, bagging machines, closing machines, vertical form fill machines, sealers, and shrink tanks.
Filling machines are mostly used for liquid food products and sauces. They can include aseptic fillers, piston filling machines, volumetric fillers and robotic filling machines.