en.Wedoany.com Reported - Chen Lei, Head of GEA Greater China Nutrition Engineering Business Unit, and Yu Kaijian, Head of GEA Fluid Process Business Unit, shared GEA's technological layout in the food ingredients sector, as well as the latest observations on digital transformation, evolving customer demands, industrialization of synthetic biology, and sustainable development.
Currently, the global food additives and ingredients industry is accelerating its transformation toward health functionality, natural clean labels, and sustainable production. Chen Lei stated that GEA has built a full-process solution covering precision fermentation, centrifugal separation, extraction and concentration, spray drying, freeze drying, and filling. For materials with high sugar or high viscosity that are difficult to process, GEA's specialized drying equipment effectively overcomes bottlenecks in efficiency and stability of traditional processes; drying systems equipped with post-treatment functions significantly enhance the solubility of powder products. "The dissolution time of treated and untreated powders can differ by half," she noted. "Improved solubility is particularly critical for expanding the application of functional ingredients."
In the field of freeze drying, GEA has established a differentiated advantage with high-efficiency equipment. Chen Lei indicated that GEA's freeze drying systems can reduce the footprint to half or even less of traditional solutions while achieving the same capacity, while also ensuring lower energy consumption and higher production efficiency. In liquid processing, GEA's freeze concentration equipment uses low-temperature physical methods to concentrate liquids without heating. The system is powered by electricity, directly compatible with green energy; the high-purity water separated during concentration can be directly reused or discharged, significantly reducing energy and water consumption.
As health-driven consumer demand continues to grow, the industrial production of functional ingredients such as probiotics imposes higher requirements on process stability and activity retention. GEA offers complete line solutions covering fermentation, separation, and drying, using precision fermentation and freeze drying technologies to maintain high bacterial activity and stable quality during large-scale production. Chen Lei emphasized that GEA's core advantage lies in its whole-line engineering capability, enabling the company to participate in the entire process from laboratory R&D and pilot scale-up to industrial production, providing customized process and production line solutions for customers.
In terms of digitalization, GEA deeply integrates advanced process equipment with digital products such as OptiPartner. Chen Lei stated that its digital tools are closely linked with key processes like concentration and drying, using real-time monitoring and intelligent control to help customers increase capacity and reduce energy consumption without modifying equipment. "Any production process and product have fluctuations; digital tools can narrow the fluctuation range, bringing the product closer to ideal indicators."
Discussing synthetic biology, Chen Lei explained that the key value of this technology lies in producing functional ingredients and novel foods through industrial methods, reducing reliance on natural resources. GEA has mature complete-line solutions and multiple industrial cases worldwide, covering products such as krill protein, insect protein, cultured meat, and human milk oligosaccharides. GEA has also introduced digital models into the industrialization process of synthetic biology, leveraging its long-accumulated process database to shift from experience-driven to data-driven approaches.
From the perspective of fluid process equipment, Yu Kaijian shared significant changes in customer demands. He pointed out that in the past, food processing companies focused more on high capacity of single production lines, but as consumer demand for clean labels, high protein, and high dietary fiber products grows, customers are now paying more attention to line flexibility and rapid changeover capabilities. An increasing number of leading domestic companies are benchmarking international standards and gradually establishing production bases overseas.
Regarding sustainable development, Yu Kaijian noted that industry attention to ESG has significantly increased in recent years. GEA's Add Better series of solutions helps food additives and ingredients companies achieve sustainable development goals by saving energy and improving efficiency in all production and application stages. GEA Group has set a target: by 2030, over 60% of its solutions must meet sustainability standards, and achieve zero carbon emissions by 2040.
This article is compiled by Wedoany. All AI citations must indicate the source as "Wedoany". If there is any infringement or other issues, please notify us promptly, and we will modify or delete it accordingly. Email: news@wedoany.com
