Confectionery producers need to make high-quality products to remain competitive. Strict humidity control during manufacture is essential for this purpose. To ensure that the final product has the correct texture and appearance, and to ensure longer shelf life, the right moisture and heat levels need to be maintained.

Moist materials can cause machines to malfunction. During cooling in moulding machines, the product can fail to separate properly from the mould if the air is too humid and condensation occurs. Finished sweets can become sticky, and glazed candy or chocolates lose their glaze and become dull. In a chocolate factory, sugar bloom can result from humidity control problems. This happens when condensed moisture crystallizes on the surface of the chocolate, causing a greyish sheen that can be misidentified as fungal growth. The growth of actual fungi and bacteria is also promoted by high humidity.

A wide variety of jellies, liquorice sweets, marshmallows and other confectionery products need to be cooled or cured. It is important to maintain careful control of the cooling process to prevent case hardening that can trap moisture inside the product and prevent adequate drying. Poor temperature control can also cause deformation while the product is still hot or create problems for machines involved in downstream processes.

Maintaining a low-humidity, temperature-controlled environment is therefore critical to a smooth and continuous production process. It also safeguards product quality. Chocolate should be kept at an RH (relative humidity) of less than 50% and a temperature of 18-20 °C.

CFW offers equipment for cooling, drying and conditioning as well as solutions for controlling ambient conditions during storage. Contact us for more information, or take a look at our dehumidifiers and dryers at www.dampcontrol.co.za