Quality Control in Confectionery Production

Imagine that disaster strikes on the production line just weeks before a candy company’s famous treats flood grocery store shelves. Poor process controlled to crystallized sugar being added during a stage that destroyed the batch. When alarms sounded hours later, thousands of candy boxes had already been filled with grainy goods. With their signature smoothness missing, the brand’s subpar candies became an embarrassing and costly mistake. Lacking control of operational processes can hinder product excellence and negatively affect brand reputation; however, inline, accurate, repeatable process monitoring can prevent quality and safety catastrophes from the earliest stages of transforming raw materials to putting on the finishing touches.

When every sugar crystal, drop of syrup, and piece of candy demands accurate process monitoring, the art of cane and beet sugar processing, syrup production and confectionery production meets the science of measurement accuracy.

Precise Control from End to End

Every process involved in sweet treat production requires careful process control and measurement accuracy. Accurate, repeatable measurement of raw and in-process liquids at multiple processing steps empowers producers and processors to optimize disparate processes for maximum quality and efficiency within facilities.

Creating sugar from raw materials. Processing harvested sugarcane and sugar beets creates edible sugar. After it is extracted, the juice or syrup is purified to remove any contaminants or solid particles. Heating the clarified liquid helps evaporate excess water, leaving behind a concentrated blend of flavors and sugars. From there, sugar crystals form and separate from the remaining liquid after the liquid sugar solution cools through manipulation of temperature, humidity, and movement.

Strict processing parameter adherence prevents process and product quality deviations. Monitoring Brix levels during raw materials processing ensures an accurate seeding point and optimal crystallization. Inline refractometers continuously monitor the liquid concentration to carefully control the cooked solution and crystallization process. Going beyond the target Brix level risks crystal conglomeration, which can result in wasted batches and costly reprocessing.

Syrups preparation. Syrup producers then blend the concentrated sugar solutions with various flavors and other ingredients to create syrups varying in taste, texture, and appearance. Melters utilize elevated temperatures to achieve the desired solubility, viscosity, and chemistry. Accurate, reliable liquid concentration measurements minimize cooking time and ensure even blending. Even better, the ability to precisely control Brix levels supports the uniformity of the syrup mixture, guaranteeing consistency in taste, texture, and appearance. Confectionery manufacturers then buy the ready-made sugar or syrups to develop their products.

Confectionery manufacturing. Sugar confectionery and chocolate filling makers purchase processed sugars or syrups to create their products. These sugary treats include candies, chocolate fillings, chewing gum, marshmallows, and other desserts rich in sugar and carbohydrates. To maintain a specific shape, texture, flavor, consistency, and overall quality, the sugar content in the products must be concentrated at a desired level through cooking and evaporation of water.

Inline process refractometers provide continuous, real-time information throughout the pipeline to help determine the end point and ensure consistent product quality. Ideal for confectionery manufacturing and candy filling manufacturing machinery, these retractable instruments eliminate the need for sampling, prevent process disruptions, and save valuable processing time; however, measuring liquid concentration and Brix during different applications to craft the perfect sweet treat comes with its share of difficulties. 

Inline, Continuous Measurement

Temperature, natural variations in the raw material-filled juice concentration and the sugar content of syrups and other confectioneries, and additional factors can impact the final product quality, thereby affecting customer satisfaction.

First, sugar processing involves multiple stages with varying temperature requirements exceeding 150°C. From melting to evaporation to refining, each process involves incredibly high heat, so refractometers must endure temperatures up to 150°C, or 300°F, for accurate functionality.