Controllable production parameters are also reflected in the consistency of food packaging.

Although food comes in countless forms, some commonalities can be found in modern food production processes, such as food machinery lubrication, food inspection procedures, and cleaning of food machinery equipment, as mentioned before. Today, let's talk about another commonality—measurement. With the application of food machinery equipment in food production, standardization has become a major hallmark of the food industry. Standardization is reflected in the food's texture, controllable production parameters, and consistent food packaging, which relies on the application of various measurement equipment.

Ratio in the production process

　　Baking enthusiasts should be most familiar with the ratio in the production process. Checking baking recipes, it's easy to find that the weight in grams is often listed after the raw materials to ensure the accurate production of tempting baked goods. If the percentage differs too much from the baking recipe, the result is often a failure. The same is true in the era of industrialized food production; once the ratio of food ingredients changes, the taste of the food will also change, and standardization will cease to exist. Therefore, precise measurement of the addition of various ingredients is also necessary in food production.

　　Taking the familiar example of adding water to a kneading machine, we know that the amount of water during kneading has a significant impact on the final shaping of the dough. In the past, the top of the kneading machine was equipped with a water tank, and water was added using the weight of the water itself. However, this method, due to its unevenness and inaccuracy, affects the dough's water absorption. To address this, someone developed an automatic water-adding kneading machine. This equipment achieves precise control of the water volume by adding a water pump and a metering device, ensuring consistency in the softness of the dough produced by the kneading machine each time. It can be said that in any food production process, the addition of raw material ratios is inseparable from the addition of corresponding measuring tools.

　　Consistent height during filling

　　Measurement is not only present in the food production process but is also crucial in the packaging process. Generally, measurement includes weight, volume, and number of items. Liquid filling is related to volume. Currently, market beverages usually use transparent glass or PET bottles for packaging, allowing easy viewing of the liquid height. Inconsistent liquid height can easily cause consumers to question product quality control; therefore, consistent height during beverage filling is crucial.

　　Filling machines can be divided into different types of equipment according to their filling methods, such as gravity filling, piston filling, and flow meter filling. Gravity filling machines rely on the material's weight and atmospheric pressure for filling, using time to measure the liquid volume, resulting in poor filling accuracy. Piston filling machines use a piston to push out the material and adjust the filling amount, with better accuracy than gravity filling. Flow meter filling equipment has a flow meter and a PLC terminal control system to double-guarantee the filling measurement accuracy. However, this is not the end of filling accuracy. Some companies have upgraded the flow meter equipment based on flow meter filling machines, developing electromagnetic flow meters and electronic valves to ensure measurement accuracy during equipment conversion. Other companies have designed filling equipment that can automatically switch from filling to dripping when approaching filling accuracy, further improving filling accuracy.

　　Food packaging relies on measurement

　　Of course, in addition to volume, the measurement of the number and weight of items in the packaging process is also crucial. It's easy to see that the net content and the number of small packages are marked in the corner of food packaging. The marking of this information is clearly stipulated in China's Food Safety Law. Falsely marked net content will result in penalties. This requires food companies to equip themselves with measurement packaging machines.

　　Food materials are diverse, and different measurement and packaging equipment is used for different materials. For foods that can be counted individually, sensors and photoelectric devices are usually added to the packaging equipment for counting. For powdery or pasty foods, screw-type packaging equipment is usually used, using the volume of the screw at a unit speed for counting. Combination weighers use weighing hoppers to accurately dispense materials in sequence, achieving ingredient mixing during packaging...

　　Measurement, as a way to ensure food standardization, is indispensable in actual food production. This importance requires that relevant food machinery equipment in China should focus on improving measurement accuracy when equipping measurement equipment, continuously innovating and upgrading measurement methods, and promoting the food industry towards higher standards.