Chocolate: A Delight Without Contaminants
Children love it, adults love it, everyone loves it: it’s chocolate! This delicious treat is a favorite all over the world. That is why, for chocolate-producing companies, it is essential to maintain product quality and not disappoint the millions of consumers who expect exceptional chocolate. To ensure a safe and high-quality product, manufacturers use magnetic separation and metal detection equipment, ensuring the removal of any metallic contamination during the production process.
Stages of the Production Process and Metal Control
1. Raw Material Reception
The process begins with the reception of cocoa beans, which may contain metallic impurities due to equipment wear. To eliminate them, high-strength magnetic grids are installed to capture large metallic particles such as screws, nuts, and nails. This prevents damage to machines and reduces the risk of further contamination. Additionally, ingredients like milk, sugar, and salt also pass through magnetic separation systems, such as high-frequency drawer magnets and in-line pneumatic magnets.
2. After Roasting
Once the cocoa beans have been cleaned and roasted, they undergo a cracking process. This stage can cause equipment wear, releasing trapped metal particles. To prevent contamination, magnetic plates are used to attract and retain ferrous metals.
3. Post-Grinding
During grinding, cocoa beans are transformed into chocolate liquor. At this stage, grinder wear can introduce fine metal particles into the product. To remove them, magnetic separators are installed in liquid pipelines, including magnetic traps designed to handle hot fluids.
4. Cocoa Powder
The chocolate liquor is then hydraulically pressed to separate cocoa butter from the cocoa cake, which is then processed into cocoa powder. At this stage, the powder is transported by air, requiring the use of pneumatic magnetic separation systems to eliminate any trace of metallic contamination.
5. Addition of Sugar
When ingredients such as sugar and powdered milk are added, there is a risk of introducing new metallic particles. To prevent this, drawer systems with neodymium magnetic bars are installed, ensuring the purity of the chocolate before it passes through the refining rollers.
6. Mixing of Hot Melted Chocolate
In the final stage, the chocolate is mixed, emulsified, and heated. To prevent the loss of magnetic efficiency due to high temperatures, high-temperature neodymium magnets are used in liquid magnetic traps.
Ensuring High-Quality Chocolate
The implementation of a complete metal elimination system is essential to ensure that chocolate is free of contaminants and that production equipment does not suffer unnecessary damage. Specialized companies, such as Magnetplastic, can design customized solutions to guarantee the quality and safety of the final product, ensuring that every bite of chocolate is a pure and delicious experience.