ColloidTek Releases Real-Time Industrial Liquid Process Monitoring Technology

Finnish deep tech company ColloidTek has developed Collo Analyzer, a new method for real–time liquid process quality monitoring for the food and beverage manufacturing industry. Based on EMF sensors and machine learning, the technology detects various contaminants and identifies potential risks in liquid processing with a single real-time measurement and instant, in-line analysis, ColloidTek reports.

“It takes years to build a great reputation, but only a day to ruin it,” said Julia Vieira, sales manager at Collo. “Discarding a batch even partially for quality issues costs financially, but it is much worse if a poor batch slips out because you didn’t catch a problem. Recalling products is expensive and harmful to your reputation — especially if the mistake can lead to health concerns for the consumer. Gaining real-time eyesight into your process across your production from raw material to finished product can make a real difference.”

Unlike traditional laboratory testing, the Collo Analyzer offers instant in-line analysis of the quality of the liquid, reports the company.

“Our solution fingerprints liquids and can detect nearly any change in any liquid,” said Matti Järveläinen, CEO of Collo. “Collo's strength is that it can detect various contaminants and risks from the food or beverage product with one single measurement. These include CIP chemical residues in the product, foreign objects like metal particles, cross-contamination and even product taste or structure changes.”

Traditionally, quality control in the food and beverage industry is based on collecting samples and sending them to the laboratory, where the results arrive after several days or even weeks. With Collo, the measurement can be done at the site manually by dipping the sensor into the product or in-line straight from the pipe. There is no need to send samples; the results are instantly available. This is made possible by EMF technology and the advanced algorithms that power the analyzer, which Collo said is the only one of its kind in the food and beverage industry.

“The ‘fingerprint’ of a liquid is compared to what the client requires,” said Järveläinen. “If something is off, they know immediately and can take appropriate action. This reduces hazardous mistakes and poor-quality batches. Our end goal is to give organizations the cost-effective tool they need to maintain strict quality control over their liquid processes.”

Due to increased consumer demand, companies must consistently monitor the quality of higher production volumes and larger plant-based product portfolios. While a diverse portfolio can offer market advantages, it also introduces a host of complexities and challenges for quality control. Larger product portfolios lead to increased numbers of quality control tests, and each product variant may have unique specifications, ingredients, and quality standards.

Many available systems can only analyze liquids with specific viscosity, transparency or other characteristics. This often means several different analyzers and sensors are needed at each testing point, Collo says, which leads to a complex multi-sensor system. Collo Analyzer can be used with thick liquids, like honey, as well as transparent or non-conductive liquids, such as vodka or milk protein concentrate.