TECNADIS METALCOAT “EASY-TO-CLEAN” IN BAKERY & CONFECTIONERY SECTOR

TECNADIS METALCOAT “Easy-To-Clean” is also applicable to the bread and bakery sector, as well as to the confectionery sector and production of sweets to reduce the percentage of rejections due to food adhesion to metal trays or surfaces, which is an important issue for this kind of companies. Due to its non-stick performance and its high durability, rejections caused by partial or total adhesion to the tray are practically avoided, as well as the treatment of the trays with waxes or teflonated materials, even the need to oil or flour surfaces. On the other hand, the coating facilitates the fluids’ flow in pipes avoiding fouling, which means savings in pumping energy consumption and extra heating requirements.

In addition, it facilitates the cleaning of auxiliary equipment and tools, reducing the cleaning frequencies as well as the resources used in this process such as staff hours, water, detergents and cleaners, among others. Complementarily, this coating protects the treated surfaces against corrosion, scratches and impacts.

REAL APPLICATIONS IN BAKERY & CONFECTIONERY SECTOR

OVEN TRAYS FOR BREAD AND PASTRIES

Problem: During the cooking, loafs of bread and other bakery products such as croissants and heart-shaped puff pasty are usually adhered to the metal of the trays and cans, and as a consequence, a lot of final products are broken trying to remove them from the surfaces, and therefore these products can not be sold. Nowadays, coatings like Teflon (PTFE) or silicones as well as bisiliconated papers are used in order to avoid faulty products regarding to adherence problems, but all of them show other type of difficulties. For example, the silicones and Teflon are easily scratched creating defects on the coating, and thus the products start to adhere to the surfaces. Moreover, the PTFE needs high temperature for its curing, and recently there is some controversy regarding to the toxicity of its use. On the other hand, the silicones are porous products and the humidity of the processes goes into the areas of the trays that are not covered with bread, and it causes adherence problems in next cycles and also in first series of the production. Finally, the bisiliconated paper is used as a sacrificial solution for confectionery sector, but it increases the cost of the final products.

Application: Tecnadis Metalcoat “Easy-To-Clean” has been applied on aluminium and stainless steel trays for cooking bread and other confectionary products such as croissants or heart-shaped puff pasty from several companies including a leading cooperative company that has an important national network of more than 600 supermarkets.

Several different kinds of trays for bread and pastries after applying Tecnadis Metalcoat “Easy-To-Clean”

Results: The result regarding to anti-sticking properties after to apply Tecnadis Metalcoat “Easy-To-Clean” in aluminum trays that have been working at cooking temperatures between 150-170°C is excellent, according to words of this company. This result is demonstrated by its lower superficial tension (8 mN/m vs 12 mN/m in the case of the best Teflon coatings), and thanks to this, Tecnan coating is more repellent than the other solutions for aqueous and organic materials. Moreover, thanks to its compaction, the porosity level of the coating is lower than the conventional products such as silicones or PTFE, reducing the permeability of the coating and this way the frozen dough for bread and pastries are not adhered to the trays, even in first cycles of productions which are the most troublesome. Finally, thanks to the high hardness of Tecnan coating, it is not scratched, extending its durability.

SWEET TRANSPORT TRAYS

Problem: During manufacturing and transport processes of sweets, the paste that they use with the combination of high temperatures (80-120 °C) forms a viscous mass that is usually adhered to the metallic elements of the lines and it is very difficult to take off and clean. Other usual problem in this industry happens in the area of thermal sealing of plastic bags in which in many cases the sweets get adhered at the end of the bag, leaving the sealing machine impregnated with the paste. For this reason, the machine needs to be stopped many times for cleaning, reducing the effectiveness of the line.

Application: Tecnan has applied Tecnadis Metalcoat “Easy-To-Clean” on a transport tray for sweets and on a die to cut and seal the sweet bags of one global company of candy production.