Baking & Snack - March 2023 - 94

featured technical expert Q&A
Paolo Betto
GEA Bakery
Growing up in Italy, Paolo Betto's grandfather told him to pursue
a career in one of the two sectors with unlimited demand: food
and funerals. The decision wasn't hard for Mr. Betto, who joined
the food industry and has never regretted it.
Mr. Betto graduated with a degree in food technology from the
University of Milan, which at the time was the only university in
Italy for food scientists, he said. He joined the baking industry in
1985 and, other than a one-year hiatus in the pharmaceutical sector,
has been in it ever since.
" That environment was not for me, " he said. " I quickly came
back to the cookie and cracker area where I still very much enjoy
the competence and the value of the international people I meet
every day for my work. "
After 32 years of working in sales around the world, Mr. Betto
joined GEA Bakery as application manager for cracker and hard
sweet technologies. In this newly created role, he offers high-level
process and technical support to customers. He also has more
strategic responsibilities, such as spearheading technical development
of equipment designs.
The baking industry has allowed Mr. Betto to travel far and
What new technology has emerged that can improve the
performance of ovens and provide a better-quality bake?
In GEA Bakery any project is never a simple replica of a previous
one, not even when identical. Little improvements are always introduced,
including new mechanical designs, new components or
new electronic devices, for example. The latest most evident trend
is the attention given by our designers to the heating sources process,
especially related to the commitment to reduce CO2
emissions,
a very hot topic nowadays. GEA is strongly committed to
this. Our business unit has the target to design equipment that
would reduce CO2
emission by 18% before 2030.
Our technical team is currently engaged in exploring different
mixtures of fuels (mainly electricity, as well as a mixture of gas and
hydrogen) to the burners. This is already available to our customers,
providing the opportunity to bake their products on a 100%
electric oven, thus reducing their emission footprint to zero.
How can ovens improve efficiency and reduce
a baker's carbon footprint?
GEA Bakery has supplied many 100% electric ovens throughout
the world in the past 40 years. This is not a new technology for us,
and in our opinion, it is the right technical answer to reach zero
emissions with a well-known and a well-proven technology that
respects all the highest safety standards for the operators as well
as for the environment. Recently, a few electric ovens have been
94 Baking & Snack March 2023 / www.bakingbusiness.com
wide, something he says has
greatly enriched his mind.
" Visiting so many different
countries and seeing the same
technical aspect or problem approached
in many
different ways
depending on each culture, mindset
and background, is unique for me, " he said.
" Knowing and visiting countries for business instead of as a tourist
gives me a privileged understanding of the genuine local culture
of the people and of the place. "
Mr. Betto said the two main challenges he hears from bakers
today are increasing line efficiency and reducing their carbon
footprint. In the face of significant cost increases for ingredients
and energy, bakers must find ways to maximize production while
eliminating waste. This makes renewable energy and carbon reduction
an especially important topic for the future, and one Mr.
Betto doesn't see going away.
" I appreciate that most of the bakeries I come in contact with
across the world are very keen on this topic, " he said.
supplied to bakeries producing rotary moulded or extruded bars.
In the test center at GEA Bakery, our customers have the chance to
test their current products manufactured on a standard direct gasfired
and convection oven first and replicate the baking profile on
the same oven converted to 100% electric.
With many bakeries facing capacity concerns, how can
bakers bolster the throughput of their existing ovens?
I would think of three main actions: reducing the baking time, replacing
the conveyor with a lighter one, if possible, and optimizing
the pattern, i.e., the baking surface coverage of the oven's conveyor
with the dough pieces. The first two tips might not be strictly pursued
as they could have an impact on the quality and texture of the
finished product or could show a different pattern of the conveyor
on the bottom of the product.
Studying a more efficient coverage of the oven's band where the
dough pieces are positioned closer to each other with the scope to
increase the yield is a feature that is often neglected. Optimizing
the design of the mould and curing the transfer of the dough pieces
from one conveyor to the other are aspects to supervise with care.
What are bakers' biggest requests and concerns as
they relate to ovens? How do you address them?
The leitmotif of most of our meetings with our current and new
customers at last year's International Baking Industry Exposition
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