Formulation Software—Complexity Made Simple

Established in 1949 Lucta is an international company manufacturing flavors, fragrances and feed additives. The flavors are divided into savory flavors for meat products and snacks, and sweet flavors for confectionary, dairy and bakery products.

Complex Processes
The manufacturing of flavors is a rather complex process that starts with the synthesis of chemical essences through more than 200 different chemical reactions to produce thousands of different aromas. Powder and liquid aromas, oils, preservatives, pH modifiers, solvents and many other additives, a large number of raw materials that need to be dosed consecutively, are formulated and mixed to obtain the final flavor product.

Software Solution
A proprietary software solution from METTLER TOLEDO ensures fail-proof management of powder formulations. For daily production, the recipe is directly downloaded to the industrial PC IND890. The METTLER TOLEDO weighing management software integrated in the terminal controls the communication with the customer’s ERP.

Weighing System
The ingredients are identified by barcode and weighed in one of the two platforms connected – a high precision KCC with 300 kg capacity and a PBA430 with 30 kg capacity. The software guides operators with useful information about raw materials handling and weighing procedures throughout the weighing process. The ERP integrated solution provides real time data for material management purposes (e.g., remaining stock volume and expiration date).

The IND890 user-friendly screen graphically shows the target and tolerance range for accurate and fail-proof operations. Additionally the software automatically records and documents all relevant information as requested for a process which is fully compliant with cGMP/GAMP and 21 CFR Part 11. Finally the weighed raw materials are identified with a barcode and transferred from the weighing booth to the mixers in the production area for the final flavor formulation.