A success story in Turkey: tomato paste processing lines
CFT and Tukas: collaboration for tomato paste processing
In the competitive landscape of the food industry, Tukas stands out as a leader in producing a wide range of products, including tomato paste, preserves, pickled vegetables, jams, sauces, and frozen products. With a customer-oriented vision and a constant commitment to quality, Tukas has chosen CFT as a strategic partner to further enhance its production capabilities in tomato paste processing.
CFT solutions for tomato paste processing for Tukas
In September 2023, Tukas contacted us expressing the need to increase production at the new Nidge factory to cope with the increasing amount of tomatoes grown in southern Turkey. The specific request included the supply of two complete lines for tomato paste processing with a capacity of 1300 t/h. The first line is dedicated to the production of 200 kg aseptic barrels, filled through a Macropak aseptic filler. The second line is intended for the continuous production of pasteurized product, packaged in cans through a piston filler.
Composition of CFT tomato paste production lines
Let’s take a detailed look at the composition of the two lines for the production of Hot Break (1000 t/h) and Cold Break (1300 t/h) tomato paste that we have realized for Tukas.
Tomato juice preparation section:
The tomato juice preparation section is dedicated to receiving the raw material, crushing it, and transferring it to the subsequent processing stages. The group consists of:
- A product-receiving hopper, equipped with instrumentation for level regulation.
- A pump group (volumetric + chopping) aimed at crushing the tomato and conveying the juice to the thermal treatment section.
Over the years, the quality of each component has been constantly improved, aimed at obtaining a finely chopped product without breaking the seeds, significantly improving the subsequent heat exchange.
Tomato enzymatic inactivation system:
ELDORADO Longrun enzymatic inactivator: The enzymatic inactivation system (one per line) with Hot Break technology is capable of processing chopped tomatoes, other vegetables, and fruits. This technology allows for instant heating of the product, ensuring high consistency of the final product and great operational flexibility.
Tomato extraction and refining section:
GIUBILEO TWIN extraction and refining group: Giubileo is the cold extraction and/or hot refining unit designed to ensure high performance, flexibility, and functionality. It is a machine capable of processing a wide range of products, including whole or pitted fruits and various types of vegetables, obtaining high-quality final products. Among the main benefits, we can mention: 100% food-compliant and eco-friendly rubber-free technology; constant production with minimal waste; superior product quality guarantee thanks to the removal of peels, seeds, and stems that prevent oxidation and preserve taste; customizable precision settings thanks to an innovative paddle pitch inclination adjustment parameter that allows fine-tuning of the machine.
Tomato concentration section:
VENUS evaporator: The Venus evaporator (one per line) is designed for vacuum concentration of high-viscosity products, with a triple-effect series configuration. The system offers high efficiency in the water evaporation phase thanks to the configuration of the heat exchanger positioned at the top of the chamber, thus reducing product temperatures. There is no juice carryover to the cooling towers, and fouling phenomena are very limited, allowing for prolonged work cycles.
Tomato paste sterilization and aseptic filling section:
- OLIMPIC TC-X/AC sterilizer: The Olimpic TC family of sterilizers ensures aseptic conditions and maximum integrity of the final product, proven by over 20 years of applications in various sectors. Additionally, it allows for the treatment of a wide range of products, including highly viscous ones, ensuring complete process control.
- MACROPAK AF/2 aseptic filler: One of the lines is dedicated to filling aseptic bags thanks to the two-head MACROPAK AF/2 filler, which allows for aseptic packaging of liquid, semi-liquid, or high-viscosity products in sterile bags of 220 or 1500 kg.
Tomato paste pasteurization and can filling section:
- OLIMPIC TC-X/PC pasteurizer: The Olimpic TC pasteurizer ensures maximum preservation of the nutritional values and organoleptic characteristics of the final product before the subsequent filling phase.
- Piston filling and seaming group: The other line includes a piston filler with 30 valves and a 6-spindle CFT seamer 2000/L that ensure precise filling of tomato paste and secure sealing of the cans.
Competitive advantages of CFT tomato paste processing lines
- Optimized and simplified installation: The management of the installation of complete lines for tomato paste processing has been made more efficient thanks to pre-assembly at CFT, allowing for on-site installation to be completed with a single CFT supervisor and the support of a customer team.
- Delivery terms guarantee and after-sales services: The guarantee of meeting delivery terms and effective after-sales support were important for the customer’s choice.
- Proven solution: The plant has been tested in many other projects, ensuring reliability and performance, with numerous references worldwide.
- CFT Digital Tomato potential: Our tomato paste processing lines can be integrated with CFT Digital Tomato, our IoT solution designed to optimize and monitor tomato production lines, maximizing efficiency and quality.
If you want to learn more, visit the page about CFT Digital Tomato.
The Turkish market: processing and exporting canned tomatoes
According to Tomato News, Turkey has shown significant progress in the canned tomato market, with exports increasing by about 30% compared to the previous year. In 2023/2024, Turkey exported about 32,000 tons of canned tomatoes, positioning itself as a significant player in the European market. This growth is particularly impressive given the overall uncertain trend of the global market, highlighting Turkey’s potential in this sector.