Technologies
A food lab with process equipment under one roof
The Foodlab application lab in Yakum, Israel, gives access to diverse food technologies on a benchtop scale. We have in the lab the process equipment that mimics what happens on your line, so the relevant question gets tested before you commit to production. Our approach to new product and technology development is to do very precise and wide-ranging lab work at the highest level before proceeding to the pilot or industrial stage. This kind of lab work enables detailed study of processes, accurate parameter measurement and team training. Done well, it saves considerable resources in scale-up and sharpens the final product.
Our lab
- Application kitchen: A professional kitchen for culinary development next to the lab.
- Milling: Most milling technologies the industry uses, under one roof: powder mill, colloid mill, ball mill, spice mill, hammer mill, conical mill, stone mill, meat mincer.
- Drying: Air drying, vacuum drying, spray drying and freeze drying.
- Vacuum: Vacuum-assisted concentration and distillation, and vacuum processing.
- Mixing & homogenization: Silverson-type mixing, colloid mixing and homogenization, top stirrer, two-stage piston homogenizer up to 1,000 bar, dough mixing and ribbon mixing. Stephan universal machine with vacuum, jacketed and temperature controlled.
- Processes: Chocolate, ice cream, coating, baking, thermal liquid processing in a jacketed vat with stirrer and heat exchanger, tube-in-shell heat exchanger including pasteurization, UHT and aseptic packaging.
- Separation: Wet pH extraction, membrane separation on several scales, centrifuge separation including basket centrifuge and conventional centrifuges.
- Fermentation: Shaker incubator and a fully equipped 5-litre bioreactor.
- Freezing: Rapid freezing and chilling down to −35 °C.
- Extrusion: Single-screw extruder for cereal puffs and bar extrusion.
- Pasteurization: Including temperature probe and P-value calculation for food-safety studies.
- Sterilization: Liquids in UHT processing and autoclave sterilization in cans or pouches, including temperature probe and F-value calculation.
- Packaging: Expert advice on materials, suppliers and shelf life in vacuum, modified-atmosphere packaging, can sealing and more. MAP specialists, especially in fresh-cut applications.
- Measurement and analytics: pH, Water activity (aw), Soluble solids (Brix), Dry-matter content, Viscosity, Bostwick measurement, Spectrophotometer and colour, Temperature and data logging, Optical microscope with screen and image capture, Centrifugation for physical-stability assessment, Texture analysis with Stable Micro Systems TA.
Horizontal packaging machine
Chocolate coating machine
High-pressure homogenizer
Incubator
Stephan mixer with heating and cooling
Rotary evaporator
Centrifuge
Vacuum dryer
Bioreactor
Spray dryer
Shaker incubator
Chemical fume hood
Double-jacketed vessel
Gas chromatograph (GC)
UHT pasteurization system with aseptic filling
Basket centrifuge
Membrane filtration system
Extruder
Membrane filtration system
Double-jacketed vessel
MAP machine
The technologies
Each technology has its own page with what can be developed on it, the parameters we measure and when it fits.
Freeze drying
Lyophilization of fruit, vegetables, snacks, powders and whole dishes at development scale.
Spray drying
Food powders, extracts, proteins and micro-encapsulation on a lab spray dryer.
Extrusion
Single-screw extruder for puffed snacks, cereals and protein bars.
Fermentation
Shaker incubator and a 5-litre bioreactor.
Pasteurization, UHT & sterilization
Thermal processing with temperature probes and P- and F-value calculation.
Mixing & homogenization
Two-stage piston homogenizer to 1,000 bar, Silverson, vacuum Stephan machine.
Texture analysis
Stable Micro Systems texture analyser: crispness, hardness, chewiness and TPA.
Modified atmosphere packaging
MAP, vacuum, can sealing and packaging advice, with a speciality in fresh-cut.
Your team can work here
Foodlab provides access to the lab and analytical equipment for approved development projects: a single day on the bench, weekly or monthly access, a process run for you, or an incubation period for a startup. Accredited chemical, microbiological and nutritional tests go to external laboratories.
About lab access & the Innovation HubCan I rent lab time or a food laboratory in Israel?
Yes. Foodlab offers flexible laboratory-access arrangements for approved food-development work in Yakum. The appropriate arrangement depends on the duration of the project, the equipment required, the level of technical support, and whether the work is performed by our staff, jointly, or by trained client personnel under supervision. We support engagements from a focused lab trial to a longer development programme.
I am looking for a laboratory to develop my food product. Can you help?
Yes. Foodlab provides both technical product-development services and access to an equipped food application laboratory. We can develop the product for you, work jointly with your technical team, conduct focused process or analytical trials, support a startup through a defined development stage, and help transfer the resulting formulation and process to pilot or industrial production.
Which equipment is available and who operates it?
The exact equipment and permitted mode of use depend on the product, process, safety requirements and availability. Our team trains you on the equipment, and the work follows our lab SOPs and safety rules. See the lab procedures.
Let's put your idea on the bench
A short first conversation: the product or challenge, the market, where you are, and what's already known. Then we ask for a short brief and come back with a proposal.
Talk to usQuestions about cost, timelines or who owns the formula? Read the FAQ