Solve pain points in fruit and vegetable powder processing and enhance product’s core competitiveness.
2022-01-10
As the core technology in the production of fruit and vegetable powders, the continuous upgrading and iteration of spray-drying technology has consistently been a focal point of industry attention. In recent years, as consumers’ demands for the nutritional value and taste of fruit and vegetable powder products have steadily risen, longstanding challenges associated with traditional spray-drying technologies—such as wall adhesion and loss of heat-sensitive ingredients—have become increasingly apparent. Consequently, optimizing and upgrading spray-drying technology has emerged as a critical lever for companies seeking to enhance their product competitiveness.
Spray-drying technology involves atomizing liquid materials into tiny droplets and rapidly bringing them into contact with hot air, enabling rapid evaporation of moisture and yielding powder products with excellent flowability and high stability. Due to its advantages—such as high drying efficiency, low cost, and a simple process—this technology is widely used in the industrial production of fruit and vegetable powders. However, in practical applications, this technology still faces two major challenges: First, the phenomenon of wall sticking caused by low glass-transition temperatures. Fruits are rich in low-molecular sugars such as fructose and glucose, which have relatively low glass-transition temperatures—for example, fructose’s glass-transition temperature is only 5°C, while glucose’s is 32°C. During spray drying, when the material temperature exceeds its glass-transition temperature by 10°C to 20°C, wall sticking occurs, leading to a significant drop in yield. Second, the loss of heat-sensitive components. The inlet air temperature for spray drying typically ranges from 140°C to 200°C; even with short drying times, the high temperature can cause degradation of heat-sensitive compounds in fruits, such as vitamin C, polyphenols, and anthocyanins, thereby affecting the nutritional value and flavor of the final product.
To address the aforementioned pain points, companies and research institutions in the industry have stepped up their investment in technological R&D, exploring various improvement pathways and driving continuous upgrades in spray-drying technology. Optimizing the use of anti-caking agents has emerged as one of the most direct and effective approaches. Commonly used anti-caking agents include maltodextrin, gum arabic, modified starch, and whey protein. These agents boast high glass-transition temperatures, low hygroscopicity, and excellent film-forming properties, enabling them to significantly enhance both the yield and physical quality of fruit and vegetable powders. Studies have shown that the combined use of multiple anti-caking agents yields better results than using a single agent alone—for instance, the combination of maltodextrin and whey protein not only raises the glass-transition temperature of fruit powders and reduces wall-adhesion issues but also strengthens their protective effect on heat-sensitive ingredients.
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