High-throughput anti-caking agent incorporation line for grated Emmental (2.5 t/h)

Grated cheese such as Emmental is naturally high in moisture and fat. During cutting, compression and the release of water tend to make the cheese strands clump together, forming unwanted lumps in supermarket bags. This can ruin the consumer experience, leaving them with cheese that is difficult to measure out and sprinkle once the packaging is opened.

To prevent this and ensure a free-flowing product on opening, the solution is to form a watertight physical barrier around the moist particles using a natural anti-caking agent (corn, potato or tapioca starch). This 100% natural alternative fits perfectly with a clean-label approach, which is highly valued by consumers.

The project required handling a cheese throughput of 2.5 t/h with a precise starch dosage of between 2% and 3% of the total mass (i.e. 50 to 75 kg/h of powder). The technical challenge lay in controlling the transfer and dosing of the starch, despite a particularly cramped workshop environment around the cutting area.

1. Cheese reception and high-speed preparation

• Raw material arrival: whole wheels of raw Emmental.
• Pre-cutting: rough cutting of the wheels into blocks.
• Continuous feeding: transport of the blocks on a belt conveyor to the grating area at a controlled rate of 2.5 t/h.

2. Bag emptying, screening and sealed transfer of the anti-caking agent

• Bag emptying and food safety: the starch, delivered in bags, is introduced via an ergonomic bag-emptying station. It includes a vibrating sieve that instantly removes any foreign matter (paper, plastic from opening the bags, agglomerates) before injection into the line.
• Remote pneumatic transfer: as floor space around the grater is limited, the powder is transferred from the bag-emptying area over a distance of 20 meters (at a flow rate of up to 100 kg/h). The use of a vacuum-based pneumatic transfer ensures total containment of the anti-caking agent with no dust emission and preserves the integrity of the material up to the elevated point of application. 

3. Precision dosing and simultaneous mechanical mixing

• Volumetric dosing: installed directly above the cutting chamber, a D12-type screw feeder ensures continuous control of the powder flow to strictly maintain the 2 to 3% ratio.
• Uniform coating without a dedicated sprinkler: the powder falls in a direct drop into the heart of the grater. The mechanical agitation generated during grating ensures a perfectly uniform dispersion of the starch over the freshly cut surface of the strands. This technique eliminates the need for belt-mounted sprinkling equipment (such as a vibrating tray or cell wheel).

4. Final packaging

• Product pick-up: the individualized strands are discharged onto a belt conveyor.
• Bagging: final dosing by combination weighing and automatic packaging into 300 g PE bags ready for retail distribution.

• Reduced footprint: integrating the mixing at the very moment of grating eliminates the need for a coating drum or a secondary sprinkling table.
• Safety and product quality: the powder flow is secured by protective sieving, and a constant dosage is maintained without altering the cheese.
• Operator comfort: total containment of the powder thanks to the sealed vacuum transfer and dust extraction at the bag-emptying station.