Although PET aseptic cold filling has not been developed for a long time, some of the world's leading manufacturers of beverage and brewing equipment already have relatively mature aseptic cold filling processes. Filling process comparison. The traditional hot filling can be divided into two types, one is high temperature hot filling, and the other is middle temperature filling and then the product is heated to 65° C. to 75° C. for pasteurization. These two methods do not require separate sterilization of the product, the bottle and the lid. The bottle and lid can be sterilized by keeping the product at a high temperature for a sufficient period of time. Aseptic cold filling first requires the product, the bottle, and the lid to be sterilized separately and then filled in a sterile environment until they are completely sealed before leaving the sterile environment.
From the comparison of the two process flow charts, the biggest difference is that the beverage heat time is different. It is known that the longer the heat treatment time, the greater the influence on the quality and taste of the beverage. Aseptic cold filling adopts UHT ultra-high temperature instant sterilization, the heat treatment time of the material does not exceed 30 seconds, and can completely guarantee the sterilization effect under high temperature conditions, while the sterilization method used in hot filling makes the material stay in a high temperature state for a long time. , seriously affect the product taste, color and heat-sensitive nutrients (such as vitamins) content.
In addition, from the point of view of the production line configuration, when the filling machine fails and shuts down, a part of the material processed by the hot filling method will prolong the heating time, which will seriously affect the quality of the entire batch of products, and aseptic cold filling does not This phenomenon will occur, and the material has been reduced to room temperature after being sterilized instantaneously. Placing it in a sterile tank will not affect its quality.
Comparison of PET bottles used. From the above filling process, it can be seen that the two filling methods have different requirements for PET bottles. The hot-filling process requires PET bottles to withstand high temperatures of 85°C to 92°C and remain constant. This requires increasing the crystallinity of the PET material and limiting the generation of induced stress during blowing. The PET bottle used has the following characteristics: the bottle wall thickness, a clear bottle wall ribs to prevent thermal shrinkage, requires a crystallizer bottle mouth, etc., greatly limiting the bottle design freedom. Aseptic cold filling allows the use of lightweight bottles (up to 60°C heat resistant) and standard lids, which greatly reduces the cost of bottles and lids, and allows you to freely choose the design of the bottles.
Aseptic Cold Filling Process Technical Features In the hot filling process, beverages are kept at high temperatures for a long time, and bacteria and microorganisms are generally killed, and preservatives are also added, so that the beverage safety is relatively high. So how does aseptic cold filling guarantee beverage safety? The most important is the establishment and protection of a sterile environment. Compared with hot filling, aseptic cold filling is to use UHT ultra-high temperature instant sterilization to sterilize the material, the material heating time is short, the loss of nutrients is small, and there is no obvious change in quality and taste. The latest aseptic cold filling process can be used for cold chain production with pasteurization, so that the loss caused by the nutrient content of the material is even lower, and under the conditions of the cold chain, the safety of the product can be fully guaranteed.
Sterilization of packaging materials is the most critical step in the aseptic cold filling production process. Due to the heat resistance of PET materials, only chemical reagents can be used for sterilization. Bottles and lids must be effectively sterilized, and chemical reagents must not be allowed to affect the materials. Aseptic filling takes the following measures: Initial blowing is required. The number of original colonies in the bottles is no more than 5cuf/bottle; the bottles are supplied with sterile air and air conveyor belts; the interior of the bottles are sterilized with peracetic acid disinfectant (PAA), which can achieve high bactericidal effect (up to 7 log). At the same time, the disinfectant is sterilized on the outside of the bottle; the disinfectant has an automatic recovery and concentration measurement system to ensure the concentration of the disinfectant is stable; the residual disinfectant in the bottle is rinsed with sterile water and then dried with sterile air to ensure The residual disinfectant will not affect the material; the cap is generally sterilized by disinfectant soaking, and the sterilization effect can be well ensured by controlling the soaking time.
Aseptic cold filling of the main equipment required to meet the sanitary design, mainly in the pipe and valve technology, the surface of the material planing, the surface design of important areas, the choice of anti-corrosion materials, etc. have advantages, but also with a complete automatic Cleaning (CIP) system, sterilization (SIP) system and equipment external foam cleaning system (COP). In addition, aseptic cold filling machine is designed with its own unique aseptic filling valve, all these measures to ensure that the equipment will not give Secondary pollution of materials.
Since the PET bottle does not shrink after cold filling, there will be a part of air between the material and the bottle cap, and the oxygen in the bag will slowly oxidize during the storage process, resulting in deterioration of the beverage. Therefore, aseptic cold filling equipment adds a nitrogen (or other inert gas) displacement system to blow the top air away to ensure that the material is not oxidized.
For the maintenance of a sterile space environment, separation measures between cleanrooms are generally used. The main filling machine is designed as a D100 class air purification room, there are 10,000 purification rooms outside (some aseptic filling equipment is not required), and the cleanliness of the air in the filling environment is ensured by the filtration system of the purification room so that the materials will not be Secondary pollution by microorganisms suspended in the air.
For the neutral beverage can not be used for hot filling process for production, due to the use of inverted bottle cap sterilization, high acid drinks can also inhibit the growth of microorganisms, while the neutral beverage can not guarantee product safety, product defect rate is high . If a hot tea filling process is used to produce neutral tea beverages, preservatives must be added. For aseptic cold filling, because it is filled under aseptic conditions, its process adaptability is very strong, and the types of products that can be produced are very wide, including neutral tea beverages, milk beverages, and various other beverages. Adjusting the pre-processing equipment can change the product type.
Operator factors, in the entire environmental system, the operator is the largest source of pollution, the design of air purification room while purifying the air, but also a good reduction of the pollution brought by personnel; operators in the 10,000 purification room, to After spray sterilizing, the design of the class 100 purification room is small and practical, which allows the operator to operate without destroying its sterile environment; the inner surface of the purification equipment can be cleaned and disinfected automatically. Management factors. Aseptic cold filling technology for beverages is high in content, and requires a high level of technical personnel and high-quality management personnel to conduct unified management. HACCP management systems are generally used. All management must form a document system and have special personnel responsible for implementation. Only by achieving standardized management can we truly ensure the safety of aseptic cold-filled beverages.
Cost comparison of raw materials and production lines There are great differences in the input costs of the two filling methods. The blowing machine used for aseptic cold filling has a high blowing speed and consumes less power, while the hot filling blowing machine has a slower blowing rate. , The power consumption is very large. In the case of the same production capacity, the investment is much higher than the cold filling blower (excluding the preform equipment). Aseptic cold filling process is complicated and there are more filling auxiliary equipments. As a whole, the initial investment of an aseptic filling production line is higher than that of the hot filling production line.
In terms of raw material costs, the quality of the two bottles is mainly different, saving raw materials to reduce costs. Due to the special requirements of hot-filled PET bottles, the weights of the two bottle caps are also different.
In terms of operating costs, aseptic cold filling consumes one more sterilizing liquid, but the total cost is still much lower, and the faster the production line, the higher the output and the lower the production cost.
By comparison, it can be seen that the initial investment in aseptic cold filling is relatively large, but due to the relatively low raw material costs and operating costs of aseptic cold filling, it will quickly recover higher investment. With the extended use of equipment, the low cost advantages of aseptic cold filling can be clearly demonstrated.
Conclusion Traditional beverage hot filling technology and aseptic cold filling technology are now widely used. The technology has its own advantages. The traditional hot filling technology is mature, the product is less risky, the operation is relatively simple, and the skills of employees are not very high. , but its shortcomings in beverage preservation can not be completely resolved.
Aseptic cold filling technology has complicated process requirements and the product also has certain risks. However, its products have advantages in terms of beverage nutrition and preservation that are incomparable to hot filling, and have very broad prospects in the future market development. It should be noted that with modern filling technology becoming more and more perfect, aseptic cold filling will gradually replace the hot filling into beverage packaging the most important way.
From the comparison of the two process flow charts, the biggest difference is that the beverage heat time is different. It is known that the longer the heat treatment time, the greater the influence on the quality and taste of the beverage. Aseptic cold filling adopts UHT ultra-high temperature instant sterilization, the heat treatment time of the material does not exceed 30 seconds, and can completely guarantee the sterilization effect under high temperature conditions, while the sterilization method used in hot filling makes the material stay in a high temperature state for a long time. , seriously affect the product taste, color and heat-sensitive nutrients (such as vitamins) content.
In addition, from the point of view of the production line configuration, when the filling machine fails and shuts down, a part of the material processed by the hot filling method will prolong the heating time, which will seriously affect the quality of the entire batch of products, and aseptic cold filling does not This phenomenon will occur, and the material has been reduced to room temperature after being sterilized instantaneously. Placing it in a sterile tank will not affect its quality.
Comparison of PET bottles used. From the above filling process, it can be seen that the two filling methods have different requirements for PET bottles. The hot-filling process requires PET bottles to withstand high temperatures of 85°C to 92°C and remain constant. This requires increasing the crystallinity of the PET material and limiting the generation of induced stress during blowing. The PET bottle used has the following characteristics: the bottle wall thickness, a clear bottle wall ribs to prevent thermal shrinkage, requires a crystallizer bottle mouth, etc., greatly limiting the bottle design freedom. Aseptic cold filling allows the use of lightweight bottles (up to 60°C heat resistant) and standard lids, which greatly reduces the cost of bottles and lids, and allows you to freely choose the design of the bottles.
Aseptic Cold Filling Process Technical Features In the hot filling process, beverages are kept at high temperatures for a long time, and bacteria and microorganisms are generally killed, and preservatives are also added, so that the beverage safety is relatively high. So how does aseptic cold filling guarantee beverage safety? The most important is the establishment and protection of a sterile environment. Compared with hot filling, aseptic cold filling is to use UHT ultra-high temperature instant sterilization to sterilize the material, the material heating time is short, the loss of nutrients is small, and there is no obvious change in quality and taste. The latest aseptic cold filling process can be used for cold chain production with pasteurization, so that the loss caused by the nutrient content of the material is even lower, and under the conditions of the cold chain, the safety of the product can be fully guaranteed.
Sterilization of packaging materials is the most critical step in the aseptic cold filling production process. Due to the heat resistance of PET materials, only chemical reagents can be used for sterilization. Bottles and lids must be effectively sterilized, and chemical reagents must not be allowed to affect the materials. Aseptic filling takes the following measures: Initial blowing is required. The number of original colonies in the bottles is no more than 5cuf/bottle; the bottles are supplied with sterile air and air conveyor belts; the interior of the bottles are sterilized with peracetic acid disinfectant (PAA), which can achieve high bactericidal effect (up to 7 log). At the same time, the disinfectant is sterilized on the outside of the bottle; the disinfectant has an automatic recovery and concentration measurement system to ensure the concentration of the disinfectant is stable; the residual disinfectant in the bottle is rinsed with sterile water and then dried with sterile air to ensure The residual disinfectant will not affect the material; the cap is generally sterilized by disinfectant soaking, and the sterilization effect can be well ensured by controlling the soaking time.
Aseptic cold filling of the main equipment required to meet the sanitary design, mainly in the pipe and valve technology, the surface of the material planing, the surface design of important areas, the choice of anti-corrosion materials, etc. have advantages, but also with a complete automatic Cleaning (CIP) system, sterilization (SIP) system and equipment external foam cleaning system (COP). In addition, aseptic cold filling machine is designed with its own unique aseptic filling valve, all these measures to ensure that the equipment will not give Secondary pollution of materials.
Since the PET bottle does not shrink after cold filling, there will be a part of air between the material and the bottle cap, and the oxygen in the bag will slowly oxidize during the storage process, resulting in deterioration of the beverage. Therefore, aseptic cold filling equipment adds a nitrogen (or other inert gas) displacement system to blow the top air away to ensure that the material is not oxidized.
For the maintenance of a sterile space environment, separation measures between cleanrooms are generally used. The main filling machine is designed as a D100 class air purification room, there are 10,000 purification rooms outside (some aseptic filling equipment is not required), and the cleanliness of the air in the filling environment is ensured by the filtration system of the purification room so that the materials will not be Secondary pollution by microorganisms suspended in the air.
For the neutral beverage can not be used for hot filling process for production, due to the use of inverted bottle cap sterilization, high acid drinks can also inhibit the growth of microorganisms, while the neutral beverage can not guarantee product safety, product defect rate is high . If a hot tea filling process is used to produce neutral tea beverages, preservatives must be added. For aseptic cold filling, because it is filled under aseptic conditions, its process adaptability is very strong, and the types of products that can be produced are very wide, including neutral tea beverages, milk beverages, and various other beverages. Adjusting the pre-processing equipment can change the product type.
Operator factors, in the entire environmental system, the operator is the largest source of pollution, the design of air purification room while purifying the air, but also a good reduction of the pollution brought by personnel; operators in the 10,000 purification room, to After spray sterilizing, the design of the class 100 purification room is small and practical, which allows the operator to operate without destroying its sterile environment; the inner surface of the purification equipment can be cleaned and disinfected automatically. Management factors. Aseptic cold filling technology for beverages is high in content, and requires a high level of technical personnel and high-quality management personnel to conduct unified management. HACCP management systems are generally used. All management must form a document system and have special personnel responsible for implementation. Only by achieving standardized management can we truly ensure the safety of aseptic cold-filled beverages.
Cost comparison of raw materials and production lines There are great differences in the input costs of the two filling methods. The blowing machine used for aseptic cold filling has a high blowing speed and consumes less power, while the hot filling blowing machine has a slower blowing rate. , The power consumption is very large. In the case of the same production capacity, the investment is much higher than the cold filling blower (excluding the preform equipment). Aseptic cold filling process is complicated and there are more filling auxiliary equipments. As a whole, the initial investment of an aseptic filling production line is higher than that of the hot filling production line.
In terms of raw material costs, the quality of the two bottles is mainly different, saving raw materials to reduce costs. Due to the special requirements of hot-filled PET bottles, the weights of the two bottle caps are also different.
In terms of operating costs, aseptic cold filling consumes one more sterilizing liquid, but the total cost is still much lower, and the faster the production line, the higher the output and the lower the production cost.
By comparison, it can be seen that the initial investment in aseptic cold filling is relatively large, but due to the relatively low raw material costs and operating costs of aseptic cold filling, it will quickly recover higher investment. With the extended use of equipment, the low cost advantages of aseptic cold filling can be clearly demonstrated.
Conclusion Traditional beverage hot filling technology and aseptic cold filling technology are now widely used. The technology has its own advantages. The traditional hot filling technology is mature, the product is less risky, the operation is relatively simple, and the skills of employees are not very high. , but its shortcomings in beverage preservation can not be completely resolved.
Aseptic cold filling technology has complicated process requirements and the product also has certain risks. However, its products have advantages in terms of beverage nutrition and preservation that are incomparable to hot filling, and have very broad prospects in the future market development. It should be noted that with modern filling technology becoming more and more perfect, aseptic cold filling will gradually replace the hot filling into beverage packaging the most important way.
Stainless Steel Handle,Foot Rasp,Heel File,Professional Foot File
SZ CHENGYANG BEAUTY TOOLS CO.,LTD , https://www.cyfootfile.com