Extending Emulsion Stability with Inline High Shear

Written by Colm Swan, former Dressings & Sauces Market Manager

Are your pourable salad dressing emulsions inconsistent? Are they separating before the intended shelf-life period? If so, you may not be using enough shear to build your emulsions. Having inconsistent emulsions not only impacts your shelf life but can also impact viscosity and appearance of the final product.

Typically, pourable dressings are made with in-tank high shear mixers, but if they are undersized for the application, there will be inadequate shear to build a homogeneous and robust emulsion. Additionally, if an in-tank mixer delivers insufficient flow, “dead spots” will be present in the tank, resulting in product not passing through the shear zone enough times during mixing.

A single pass through our Boston Shearpump ensures the entire batch sees the same shear resulting in a more consistent oil droplet size. Furthermore, with in-tank mixing, there is potential for operator error or discrepancies as ingredients are added to the mix tank. This can lead to a wide variation in the product going to your filler. Upgrading your in-tank shear mixer is the obvious solution but can be an extensive project. When a solution is required in a short timeframe, many of our clients turn to inline equipment.

Easy to integrate and operate, inline solutions from Admix provide a quick fix to a common problem. Many of our customers have used an inline mixer to “finish” their salad dressings, greatly improving the quality of the final emulsion. One such customer, a large private label manufacturer, utilizes the Boston Shearpump to finish their pourable salad dressings. Its high throughput (up to 150 gpm) and CIP (clean in place) capability drastically increased their output.

Prior to using the Admix Boston Shearpump, this customer was using another supplier’s mill to finish their salad dressing emulsions but with a maximum throughput of only 33 gallons per minute – additionally it was a COP (clean out of place) system. Their old system led to significant downtime and potential for breakages due to handling of fragile seals. With the Boston Shearpump, they are now discharging their mix tanks at 75 gallons per minute, with the peace of mind that their emulsions will be perfect every time.

If you have concerns about the quality of your emulsions, please e-mail Christian Thayer, at cthayer@admix.com or call 802-779-4120.

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