Process / Product quality benefits
- Complete dispersion of high‑protein powder ingredients
- Smooth, grit‑free yogurt mouthfeel
- Improved colour, brightness and visual appeal
- Repeatable texture at industrial production scale
Customer brief
A well‑known dairy in Brazil successfully developed a new high‑protein Greek style yogurt in its R&D test laboratory. However, when transferring the formulation to full‑scale production, the yogurt exhibited a gritty, sand‑like mouthfeel caused by undispersed high‑protein ingredients, along with a dull, cloudy visual appearance.
The customer needed a solution which would eliminate both the texture and appearance issues so the product could be successfully launched by the dairy.
Fristam’s solution
During a routine maintenance visit related to an existing Fristam Powder Mixer elsewhere in the facility, Fristam identified the texture challenge and recommended installation of a single FS shear blender designed for medium shear. Positioned downstream of the existing mixing tank, the inline FS supplemented the plant’s texturisation system without requiring full process replacement.
The FS rotor‑stator design creates intense turbulence as rotating teeth pass within approximately 0.5 mm of stationary teeth at high speed. Centrifugal force drives the yogurt through this high‑energy shear zone, ensuring complete dispersion of wet and dry ingredients before discharge.
Trial set up
1. Yogurt formulation continued to be prepared using the existing production system.
2. Product was routed through the inline FS shear blender after the mixing tank.
3. Rotor‑stator shear creates intense turbulence as rotating teeth pass within approximately 0.5 mm of the stationary teeth at high speed. Centrifugal force drives the yogurt through this high‑energy shear zone, dispersing undissolved high‑protein particles in a single pass.
4. The product exits the FS Shear Blender as a fully homogenous yoghurt with perfect mouthfeel and glossy appearance.
5. Sensory smoothness and colour clarity were confirmed against laboratory benchmarks.
A successful outcome with the Fristam FS Shear Blender
With the FS shear blender installed, all ingredients were completely dispersed in a single pass, restoring the smooth mouthfeel previously achieved only at laboratory scale. The yogurt’s colour and visual appearance also became clearer and more appealing. With texture and appearance issues resolved, the dairy processor was able to successfully release the new high‑protein Greek style yogurt to the market.
Sustainability benefits
- Reduced product waste from off‑spec texture batches
- Efficient scale‑up using existing processing infrastructure
- Lower resource consumption compared with full system redesign
Financial benefits
- Enabled commercial launch of a previously delayed product
- Avoided costly reformulation or full equipment replacement
- Improved production reliability for high‑value dairy lines
Other benefits
- Simple inline retrofit to support existing texturisation equipment
- Reliable sensory consistency across production batches
- Strengthened confidence in dairy product scale‑up processes