Color and appearance have a very significant impact on consumers' choice of ice cream in a supermarket or convenience store. Consumers judge the color and appearance of ice cream in a display case before tasting it, and purchase the brand that looks the most enticing.
Because color plays such an important role, Algida ice cream company in Corlu, in northwestern Turkey, wants to control the production process more tightly, so that each batch of ice cream products with vanilla, chocolate strawberry and other flavors is consistent in color. The problem of color inconsistency is particularly noticeable when products of the same taste from two production bases are displayed side by side in the same store.
As the sixth largest ice cream factory in the world, the Corlu factory has chosen X-Rite as a partner in color management. X-Rite and its subsidiary Pantone are the global leaders in color management standards and the design and manufacture of color management solutions for food processing, packaging, printing, cosmetics production and other industry applications.
Simone Viscomi, sales manager for X-Rite Pantone Turkey and other Middle Eastern countries, said X-Rite customized the color measurement hardware and software for demanding applications at the Algida factory, which produces nearly 100,000 sticks of ice cream per year for home and food use Catering company consumption.
"We provided Algida with a good solution using the VeriColor® Spectro 450 Spectrophotometer , ideal for accurate color measurement of products on high-speed food processing lines," said Viscomi. The VS450 accurately measures color without touching the product surface , which is especially important for food."
Obtaining the correct color of ice cream is inherently difficult due to the different ingredients and processes used to produce desserts. Ice cream mainly consists of casein micelles, fat globules, air bubbles and ice crystals, which reflect light at different intensities depending on the ingredients in the recipe. Smaller particles and larger air bubbles result in a different apparent color for undyed ice cream. Even when using different types of cocoa when making chocolate flavors, there will be different brown-red gradient colors.
X-Rite professionals first determined that the Algida met the color tolerances required by the product's specifications, and then packaged the instrument and software to meet those criteria, Viscomi said. As part of this package, X-Rite customized the sample holder for the specimen and installed a VS450 non-contact spectrometer in the laboratory.
The Corlu factory is a marvel of high-speed production, and the key lies in its lab personnel making quick and accurate color measurement samples before the samples go on the production line. By measuring sample color frequently, quality control personnel can catch and correct subtle color problems before they cause major problems.
The instrument has the ability to measure wet or dry samples, and the VS450 and software can digitize the target. The instrument can be quickly placed in a horizontal or vertical position to measure odd-shaped or bulky samples, and the measurement distance is about 38mm. The measurement data can be directly uploaded to the computer for analysis.
The VS450 more closely matches the way the human eye sees color because it measures products without the need for a transparent protective layer between the product and the instrument.
Algida is one of several major ice cream brands owned by Unilever, the world's largest ice cream producer, and color quality is paramount for Algida. Since its establishment 20 years ago, it has been the most popular ice cream brand in Turkey due to its long-standing and enthusiastic popularity in Italy and other European countries. Professionals believe that ice cream consumption in Turkey and Middle Eastern countries is growing rapidly.
Algida relies on X-Rite technology to maintain its reputation for excellent color quality while increasing production to produce delicious ice cream to Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
