Almac FPR 72 CIP is a machine suitable for the molding and pre-cooling of pasta filata cheeses having weights from 300 gr to 5 kg, in cylindrical or parallelepiped shapes. The stretched dough is introduced into the hopper and it is conveyed to the head by means of two counter-rotating augers, thus filling the molding pipes according to the programmed volumetric adjusting.
During the head rotation, the product is indirectly cooled by means of the cold water circulating outside the molding pipes, until to reach a stable enough shape for continuing the hardening phase without molds into an automatic vat.
The advantages are: possibility to use different molding heads for different products with different shape, thanks to a special replacing system designed for this special unit; to mold cheeses having different weights and shapes by means of the molding head replacement; completely removable augers chamber hopper.
At the end of the processing phase, when before proceeding with the CIP washing it is necessary to extract the dough remained into the augers chamber. With a removable hopper this procedure is easily made, while in case of machines not equipped with this possibility, it is necessary to open the augers chamber front part and put under a vat for the dough and the residual stretching water accumulation.
When it is necessary to extract the augers. In those machine not equipped with the removable hopper, Teflon coating can be seriously damaged. Cheese pre-cooling is made by means of tampons immersed into a cooling head. This allows the cheese to be better cooled than in those machines using showers hardening, thanks to a larger contact surface and a better thermal efficiency. In addition to the certain advantages coming from the fact that the operator is not more obliged to fill, empty and wash the moulds, the adopted cooling system avoids also any contamination caused by the manipulation of the cheese, as the product is directly ejected into the mechanized vat.
The cooling method implying the head immersion into cold water, in comparison with shower cooling does not present any contamination problem. In fact, during the shower cooling, in case of a lightly worn tampon, cold water would enter the mould filled with the stretched dough. This may cause the cheese contamination with the consequent decreasing of the product shelf life. The machine completely built in Aisi 304 stainless steel and plastic materials certified for the food use.