Ricotta Filling Machine for Retail and Foodservice Tubs
Fill and seal fresh ricotta tubs without crushing the curd or wetting the seal. The SDH-R pairs gentle servo piston strokes and large-bore valving with ±0.5% accuracy, roll-film sealing and optional nitrogen MAP at up to 30 cups per minute.
A ricotta filling machine portions fresh ricotta into pre-formed cups or tubs and seals them automatically. The Hummus Pack SDH-R is a rotary cup filling and sealing machine that deposits 50–500 g per cup with a servo-driven volumetric piston at ±0.5% fill accuracy, runs up to 30 cups per minute (18–25 in real-world production), heat-seals a roll-film membrane, and adds optional nitrogen MAP and snap-on lids.
- Output
- Up to 30 cups/min (18–25 real-world)
- Fill range
- 50 g – 500 g standard (approx. 2 oz – 17 oz)
- Fill accuracy
- ±0.5% (servo-driven volumetric piston)
- Cup sizes
- 4, 8, 10, 16 oz standard; custom 2 oz – 32 oz
- Closing
- Roll-film membrane seal, pre-die-cut lids, snap-on plastic lids
- MAP
- Optional nitrogen flush, 0.3–0.4% residual oxygen
- Price
- From $45,000 USD (single-filler configuration)
What a Ricotta Filling Machine Must Handle
A ricotta filling machine has a harder job than its name suggests. Fresh ricotta is a soft, moist mass of fine curds held loosely together in residual whey. Push it too hard and the curds smear into a paste and release free whey; leave it standing in a hopper and whey drains to the bottom, so the first tubs come out wet and the last ones dry. The SDH-R, our automatic rotary cup filling, sealing and lidding machine, is configured to move ricotta gently from hopper to cup and to keep the seal flange clean.
Below we cover how the SDH-R is set up for whole-milk and part-skim ricotta in retail and foodservice tubs. Plants running other soft dairy should also see our cottage cheese filling machine and cream cheese filling machine pages, which deal with very different textures.
How the SDH-R Ricotta Cup Filling Machine Works
The SDH-R is a fully automatic rotary machine: an indexing dial carries each pre-formed tub through every station in one pass, in a 44 × 52 in (1,100.5 × 1,315.5 mm) footprint, 65.6 in (1,666 mm) high. On a ricotta line the sequence is:
- Cup loading: a pneumatic denester places a round, square or rectangular tub in the dial.
- Base filling: the servo-driven volumetric piston deposits 50–500 g of ricotta at ±0.5% accuracy.
- Optional secondary fill: a peristaltic pump, garnish filler or vibration filler adds an oil or honey drizzle, herbs or spices.
- Membrane sealing: film cut from a roll is heat-sealed to the flange, tamper-evident.
- Optional nitrogen MAP: residual oxygen is reduced to 0.3–0.4%.
- Optional lidding: a plastic lid is placed and snapped on.
- Discharge to conveyor for checkweighing, coding and labeling.
Output is up to 30 cups per minute on a dry cycle and typically 18–25 in real production, depending on the ricotta, tub size, fill weight and options. A PLC-based HMI stores recipes and shows diagnostic alerts. Our rotary cup filling machine page explains the turret design in more depth.
Gentle Piston Filling That Protects Ricotta Curd
Ricotta's texture comes from small, tender curds formed when heated whey and milk proteins are acidified, skimmed and drained. That structure is fragile. Fast pumps, narrow valves and recirculating product paths break the curds, smear them into paste and squeeze out whey, giving a tub that looks wet and eats like a different product. A ricotta cup filling machine has to deal with shear at the source:
- Servo-controlled stroke profiles. Because the piston is servo-driven, intake and discharge can be slowed and ramped for ricotta rather than run at one fixed speed.
- Large-bore valving. Wide-bore valves and nozzles let curd clusters pass without being sheared through a narrow gap.
- Short, direct product path. Ricotta moves from hopper to piston to cup without recirculation loops that work the curd repeatedly.
- Suck-back nozzles. The product tail is pulled back after each deposit, so wet ricotta does not drip onto the flange as the dial indexes.
Whole-Milk, Part-Skim and Whipped Ricotta
Whole-milk ricotta is creamier and usually flows more readily. Part-skim ricotta tends to be drier and grainier and, if drained hard, can bridge in the hopper. Stabilized formulations generally hold whey better than traditional basket-drained ricotta. Whipped ricotta adds air, and because a piston measures volume, density drift becomes weight drift; the optional weight checker with feedback loop corrects piston volume from measured weights. Our piston filling machine page explains volumetric dosing in detail.
Controlling Whey Drainage and Flange Contamination
Free whey is the most common reason tubs fail on a ricotta filling machine. It separates in the hopper while the line waits, weeps from the curd after the deposit, and rides onto the rim with any splash or product tail. If whey or curd reaches the flange before sealing, the membrane bonds over a wet film: the seal is weak, channel leaks form, and a tub that looked fine at end of line can leak in the distributor's cooler. We manage whey at three points:
- Upstream consistency. Drain ricotta to a consistent moisture and keep hopper residence time short. A filler can only dose what it is fed.
- Clean deposits. Servo stroke profiles and suck-back nozzles place ricotta without splashing or tailing, with headspace left below the flange.
- Seal parameters per recipe. Sealing temperature, pressure and dwell time are stored on the HMI for each SKU and matched to the tub material and lidding film.
Get a configured SDH-R quote for your productSend your product, cup size and target cups per minute — we reply within 24 hours.
Request a quoteRicotta Tub Filling and Sealing: US and EU Formats
For ricotta tub filling and sealing, the format decides the tooling and whether the fill sits inside the SDH-R's standard range. US retail ricotta is commonly packed in 15 oz and 32 oz (2 lb) net-weight tubs, while European retailers typically use 250 g and 500 g pots. The SDH-R's standard fill range is 50–500 g, standard cup sizes are 4, 8, 10 and 16 oz, and custom sizes from 2 oz to 32 oz are available with matching change parts.
Ricotta format vs fill weight vs closing option on the SDH-R
| Ricotta format | Approx. net fill | Fit on the SDH-R | Typical closing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single-serve 4 oz cup | About 100 g | Standard cup size and fill range | Membrane seal; snap-on lid optional |
| EU 250 g pot | 250 g | Standard range; tooling matched to pot | Membrane seal or pre-die-cut lid |
| US 15 oz tub | 425 g | Standard range; tooling matched to tub | Membrane seal plus snap-on lid |
| EU 500 g tub | 500 g | Top of standard range | Membrane seal plus snap-on lid; MAP optional |
| US 32 oz (2 lb) tub | About 907 g | Custom-tooling ceiling; fill above 500 g is engineered to order | Membrane seal plus snap-on lid |
| Foodservice pails over 32 oz | Above 907 g | Outside the SDH-R's range | Dedicated pail filling equipment |
Because the SDH-R measures volume, the same piston setting gives different weights for whole-milk and part-skim ricotta, so each SKU gets its own recipe; changeover between SKUs takes under about 15 minutes. If 32 oz tubs are in your plan, send us the tub drawing and target fill weight early, because that configuration is confirmed with our engineering team before quoting.
Shelf Life, MAP and Hygienic Ricotta Packaging
Fresh ricotta is among the most perishable products in the dairy case: high in moisture, low in salt and relatively high in pH for a cheese, so yeasts, molds and bacteria grow quickly once a package is contaminated. Shelf life depends more on what happens between the cooker and the seal than on the packaging machine, but the machine helps in two ways.
Nitrogen MAP for Ricotta Tubs
The optional nitrogen flush replaces headspace air before sealing and brings residual oxygen down to 0.3–0.4%, slowing mold, aerobic spoilage and oxidative flavor changes. Across fresh refrigerated cup products, MAP typically extends shelf life from roughly 7–10 days to 30–45+ days, but results are product-dependent and, for ricotta, hinge on post-pasteurization hygiene and cold-chain control. Validate your date code with a shelf-life study. See our MAP cup filler page and our article on nitrogen flushing and shelf life.
Hygienic Design on the Filler
The SDH-R is built from food-grade 304 stainless steel with FDA-compliant food-contact materials and strips down without tools for inspection and cleaning, with an optional CIP system for the product path. Under FDA's FSMA Preventive Controls rule (21 CFR Part 117), plants that expose ready-to-eat foods such as ricotta to the environment before packaging generally need sanitation controls and environmental monitoring; the SDH-R is designed to support those programs, not replace them.
Milk Allergen Control, CIP and Dairy Sanitation
Milk is a major food allergen under FALCPA, and the US list grew to nine when sesame was added on January 1, 2023 under the FASTER Act. Plants that pack ricotta alongside hummus, tahini or nut-based spreads need a validated allergen changeover, and the ricotta filling machine should make it practical:
- Tool-free strip-down of product-contact parts for disassembly cleaning and visual inspection.
- Optional CIP system for routine cleaning of the product path.
- 304 stainless steel construction and FDA-compliant food-contact materials.
- HMI recipes that restore each SKU's fill and seal settings after cleaning.
- Variable data coding and labeling integration for lot codes and allergen declarations.
The SDH-R is designed to support plants operating under HACCP, BRCGS or SQF, and CFIA-licensed facilities under Canada's Safe Food for Canadians Regulations (SFCR). For EU sales, food-contact materials fall under Regulation (EC) 1935/2004. The machine is CE marked and UL listed; plant certification remains part of your own food safety program.
Configuring the SDH-R as a Ricotta Packaging Machine
As a ricotta packaging machine, most SDH-R lines start with one volumetric piston filler, roll-film membrane sealing and a snap-on lid, then add options to suit the product:
- Closing systems: roll-film membrane sealing, pre-die-cut lids, plastic lid pick-and-place and a snapping device for over-top lids.
- Second and third fillers: a peristaltic pump for oil or honey, a garnish filler for herbs, nuts or seeds, or a vibration filler for spice blends, creating flavored SKUs in one pass.
- Nitrogen MAP where your shelf-life studies support it.
- Weight checker with feedback loop to hold target weight as curd moisture or aeration shifts.
- Labeling, coding and conveyor extension for top and side labels and date codes.
Sweetened ricotta desserts follow the same multi-component approach on our dessert cup filling machine page. Unusual inclusions or very coarse curd are reviewed with our engineering team, since custom engineered-to-order fillers are available.
When the SDH-R Is the Right Soft Cheese Filling Machine
The SDH-R suits fresh ricotta producers, specialty cheesemakers and co-packers that want one compact soft cheese filling machine to fill, seal and lid several SKUs, where 18–25 tubs per minute covers demand and changeovers are frequent. It is not the right fit in a few cases, and we would rather say so up front:
- Sustained single-SKU volume above 30 cups per minute calls for an inline cup filling machine.
- Foodservice pails larger than 32 oz.
- Aseptic, shelf-stable or frozen products.
- Lines that thermoform their own cups; the SDH-R uses pre-formed cups and tubs.
- Ricotta packed warm from draining: the SDH-R targets refrigerated cups filled at a pumpable temperature, so fill temperature is confirmed with our engineering team before quoting.
Smooth, dense products behave differently from curd-based ricotta; for whipped cheese spreads, start with our spread filling machine page.
Ricotta Filling Machine Price, Lead Time and Quote
The SDH-R ricotta filling machine starts from $45,000 USD for the single-filler configuration, with price rising for additional fillers, MAP, labeling and custom tooling such as change parts for 15 oz or 32 oz tubs. Delivery is 8–12 weeks from order confirmation, with a 12-month warranty and support from our service centres in Alberta, New Jersey and California. Machines are designed and built in Calgary, Alberta. Our cup filling and sealing machine cost guide breaks down what drives price. To quote accurately we need:
- The product: whole-milk, part-skim, whipped or flavored ricotta, and its temperature at filling.
- The tub: format, dimensions or drawing, and target fill weight.
- Your target cups per minute and options such as MAP, lids, extra fillers and labeling.
Our team may reach out to learn more about the application and typically replies within about 24 hours. Request a ricotta filling machine quote or call +1 (888) 922-7271.
Ricotta Filling Machine — Frequently Asked Questions
The Hummus Pack SDH-R ricotta filling machine starts from $45,000 USD for the single-filler configuration with membrane sealing. Price increases with nitrogen MAP, plastic lid placement, second or third fillers, labeling and coding, and custom tooling for formats like 15 oz or 32 oz tubs. Send your product, tub size, target cups per minute and options through our contact page; we typically reply within about 24 hours.
The SDH-R rotary cup filling and sealing machine runs up to 30 cups per minute on a dry cycle. With fresh ricotta, real-world output is typically 18–25 cups per minute, depending on tub size, fill weight, how gently the piston stroke is profiled for the curd, and options such as MAP and lid placement. Sustained single-SKU output above 30 cups per minute calls for an inline line.
The SDH-R handles 15 oz (425 g) US ricotta tubs within its standard 50–500 g fill range, using tooling matched to the tub. A 32 oz (2 lb) tub sits at the ceiling of its 2–32 oz custom cup range, and its roughly 907 g fill exceeds the standard range, so that configuration is engineered to order and confirmed before quoting. EU 250 g and 500 g pots fall within the standard range.
The SDH-R uses a servo-driven volumetric piston rated at ±0.5% fill-weight accuracy across its 50–500 g standard range. Because a piston measures volume, ricotta weight accuracy also depends on consistent curd moisture, drainage and, for whipped ricotta, aeration. Draining to a consistent moisture upstream and adding the optional weight checker with feedback loop, which adjusts piston volume from measured weights, keeps fills on target.
It can help. The SDH-R's optional nitrogen flush reduces residual oxygen in the tub headspace to 0.3–0.4%, slowing mold, aerobic spoilage and oxidation. Across fresh refrigerated cup products, MAP typically extends shelf life from roughly 7–10 days to 30–45+ days, but ricotta results are product-dependent and rely on post-pasteurization hygiene and cold-chain control. MAP does not replace Listeria controls, so validate shelf life with your own studies.
Not when the ricotta filling machine is set up for it. On the SDH-R the volumetric piston is servo-driven, so intake and discharge strokes can be slowed and ramped. With large-bore valving, a short product path without recirculation and suck-back nozzles, ricotta moves from hopper to tub with minimal shear, limiting curd breakdown and whey release. Very dry or unusually coarse ricotta is reviewed with our engineering team before quoting.
Milk is a major allergen under FALCPA, and plants that also run sesame products such as hummus or tahini need validated changeovers. The SDH-R is built from 304 stainless steel with FDA-compliant food-contact materials, strips down without tools for disassembly cleaning and inspection, and offers an optional CIP system. HMI recipes then restore each ricotta SKU's fill and seal settings after cleaning.
Changeover between SKUs on the SDH-R ricotta cup filling machine takes under about 15 minutes. Fill and seal settings for each ricotta product and tub are stored as recipes on the PLC-based HMI, so operators recall a recipe instead of re-entering piston volume, sealing temperature, pressure and dwell. Switching tub footprints, such as a 250 g pot to a 15 oz tub, uses matching change parts.
The Hummus Pack SDH-R is designed and built in Calgary, Alberta, with delivery 8–12 weeks from order confirmation and a 12-month warranty. Support comes from our service centres in Alberta, New Jersey and California, and we serve food producers in the USA, Canada, the UK, the EU, the Middle East, Australia and New Zealand. Confirm timing for custom ricotta tub tooling when you request a quote.
Related machines & guides
Explore the pages most relevant to this application.
Why producers buy from Hummus Pack
Ready to Quote Your Ricotta Filling Machine?
Get a personalized SDH-R configuration and price for your product, cup sizes, and production volume.