Medway Food Innovation Centre

Facilities

Product development laboratory featuring stainless steel workstations, commercial kitchen equipment, and a spacious layout designed for testing food formulations

Food Product Development Laboratory

Processing Equipment

Hosokawa Alpine Dry Fractionator for milling and fractionating legume and cereal flours into protein-rich and starch-rich fractions using airflow and mechanical mechanisms

Dry Fractionator (Mill and Air Classifier)

Rotary evaporator used for gentle removal of solvents from samples through evaporation under reduced temperatures.

Rotary Evaporator

Freeze dryer used for preserving food samples by removing moisture.

Vacuum Freeze Dryer

Power Ultrasound equipment used in food processing

Power Ultrasound

Laboratory scale spray dryer used for drying liquid samples into powder form.

Laboratory Scale Spray Dryer

XStream Lab Homogenizer 2000 by GEA

High Pressure Homogenizer

Thermo Scientific Process 11 Hygienic twin-screw extruder

Twin-screw Extruder

Foodini 3D food printer with open door, showing the food capsule holders and print tray

3D Food Printer

Mini-Glatt Fluidised Bed System used for drying, granulating, and coating processes

Fluidised-bed dryer

Vibro-Lab3500 Membrane Filtration Unit from Sani Membranes

Membrane Filtration System

RoboQbo QB8 multi-functional food processing system, designed for high-quality small-batch production, featuring an 8-litre stainless steel bowl, advanced rapid cooking system, and versatile functionalities for various food types.

Roboqbo Food Processing Machine

Thermo Scientific centrifuge with open lid showing the rotor and sample tubes, designed for high-speed sample separation.

Centrifuge

On the left, IKA T-25 digital ULTRA-TURRAX disperser with a blue casing. On the right, an LS Overhead Stirrer with an adjustable stand, used for laboratory mixing and stirring processes

Mechanical Homogeniser and Overhead Stirrer

Mockmill grain mill with adjustable settings and corundum-ceramic grinding stones.

MockMill

Analysis Equipment

ViscoQuick RVA for rapid analysis of viscosity, gelatinisation, and pasting properties of starches, flours, and other food ingredients in quality control and product development.

ViscoQuick (RVA)

GC-MS system with two-dimensional analysis capabilities (GCxGC-TOF), featuring a gas chromatography and mass spectrometry setup.

Two dimensional GC-MS (GCxGC TOF)

LECO FP828 Protein Analyser, used for determining nitrogen content in food and agricultural products, featuring a touchscreen interface for displaying real-time analysis data

Rapid Protein Analyser

TA Instruments Discovery Hybrid Rheometer HR20, used for testing material viscosity and flow properties in food and pharmaceutical applications, with a touchscreen interface for easy control.

Rheometer

TA.XTplus Texture Analyser by Stable Micro Systems, used for measuring the physical properties of food and other materials

Texture Analyser

Thermo Scientific Varioskan LUX multimode microplate reader with an open plate drawer

Microplate Reader

CEM SMART 6 moisture and solids analyser with touch screen interface

Rapid Moisture Analyser

CEM ORACLE rapid fat analyser with touch screen interface

Rapid Fat Analyser

Two different water activity meters side by side: the Rotronic HFH II and the Aqualab 4TE

Water activity meters

Insent TS-6000A taste sensing system

Insent TS-6000A taste sensing system