Aseptic cartons

The development of aseptic technology has radically opened up new possibilities for efficient and economical handling of perishable liquid products. Aseptically processed and packaged juices will keep for months at room temperature in sealed packs. The key advantages of aseptic cartons are that... 

Films of EAA are also used in flexible packaging of meat, cheese, snack foods, and medical products in skin packaging and in adhesive lamination. Extrusion coating applications include condiment and food packages, coated paperboard, aseptic cartons, composite cans, and toothpaste tubes. FDA regulations permit use of up to 25% acrylic acid for copolymers of ethylene in direct food contact. 

The extrusion-coated paperboard is then converted into packages, such as gable-top milk and juice cartons, brick type aseptic cartons, folding cartons, or paper-based cups or plates. 

Deloitte and Touche (1991) Summary Report - Energy and environmental impact profiles in Canada of TETRA BRIK ASEPTIC carton and glass bottle packaging system, Toronto. 

Packaging. See also Food packaging Industrial materials packaging aluminum for, 2 339-340 aseptic, 18 32-33 child-resistant, 18 28 coffee, 7 259-260 consumer awareness of, 18 29 converting, 18 15-23 corrugated paperboard boxes, 18 16-20 cosmetics and pharmaceuticals, 28 24-30 effectiveness of, 28 28 electronic materials, 27 823-851 fiber drums and cans, 28 22 folding cartons, 18 21-22 food, 22 77... 

There are a number of well-established systems for the aseptic packaging of liquids. Notable among these are those packs constructed, box form, in situ on the filling line from a cardboard, aluminium, plastic laminate sheet, such as TetraPak or Combi-box. In the TetraPak system, the packing material enters the filling machine from a feed roll the sheet contact surface is sterilised with warm hydrogen peroxide solution it is formed into a tube, and its lower end is heat-sealed across the width the tube is filled, sealed at the upper end, cut and then folded into a box shape. This produces a continuous output of filled cartons with premium utilisation of bulk storage capacity. 

Various alternative configurations can be used, and in particular some manufacturers employ non-aseptic form-fill-seal operations which usually produce either in-line cup packs or cartons such as TetraPak or Combibloc packs. 

Most fruit juices for retail sale are now in cartons, a high proportion of which will be aseptic packs. Cartons are formed, filled and sealed in a single operation, which will either be clean or aseptic depending on the product and shelf life sought. Typical packs include TetraPaks, Combibloc and Elopak. 

There are several machine systems available for aseptically filling glass and plastic bottles for still juices. (Aseptic filling of drink cartons is covered in Section 9.7.) Carbonated drinks are not aseptically filled. There are two main aseptic filling workflows, with a third workflow used less frequently. The first system sterilises the container, fills and seals it the second takes a sealed, precleaned bottle, removes the seal in a sterile environment, fills and re-seals the container. The third system blows a bottle and while it is still sterile fills it and then seals it, all within the same machine, this is known as a form-fill-seaF (FFS) system. 

The gable-top carton has become identified with fresh juices. The 1 1 pack has a very good display area for graphics, fits the fridge door easily and is easy to hold and pour from. Some filling machine developments have meant that gable-top cartons can be filled aseptically. 

Carton, F. J., Agalloco, J. P., Artiss, D. H. Validation of Aseptic Pharmaceutical Process. Water System Validation. New York Marcel Dekker (1996). 

Mannheim, C. H., Miltz, J., and Letzter, A. (1987). Interaction between polyethylene laminated cartons and aseptically packed citrus juices. ]. Food Sci. 52, 737-740. 

The shelf-life of milk is given here as an example. For the 6 to 7 day stability of high quality fresh pasteurized milk a relatively simple polyethylene coated carton package is satisfactory. However, the much longer stability of a lower quality aseptic milk requires a sophisticated package that includes for example an additional barrier layer. 

Prior to the start of any production activity, materials and components must be transferred from a warehouse environment into a classified environment. For most items this will necessitate removal from boxes or cartons, transfer to a nonwooden pallet, and passage through an air lock which serves as the transfer system between the controlled and uncontrolled environments. Often components are contained within plastic bags within a box or carton, and in some cases there are multiple bag layers to facilitate disinfection and passage through air locks into different zones of operation within the aseptic area. The firm may utilize an external disinfection of the materials in conjunction with this transfer. The concern is for minimization of particles and bioburden on these as yet unprocessed items in order to protect the controlled environment. 

The aseptic beverage carton can be incinerated. The calorific value is... 

A food company pasteurizes a beverage for 15 s at 70°C in a heat exchanger, and it is then aseptically packaged in 1 liter cartons. The product occasionally spoils, and it is established that a bacterium is responsible. It may be present in concentrations up to 2permL. Its first-order rate constant for thermal death at 70°C is determined at... 

Trays are used for different shelf stable products, including meals. The bottles are used primarily for ketchup (but other products are on their way) the cups are used for sauces, vegetables and soups while the "bag in the box" and the laminated cartons are used primarily for aseptically packed juices and concentrates. Aseptic packaging has been used in Europe for many years. In the USA, this kind of packaging has become one of the fastest growing areas since the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the use of hydrogen peroxide for sterilization of the polyetheylene (PE) contact surface (1). 

For ascorbic acid (AA) degradation and browning studies, the 1 liter cartons were used. Orange and grapefruit juices were packed aseptically on a commercial line into cartons and glass jars. The carton structure was a laminate of LDPE/carton/aluminum/LDPE made by... 

Aseptically packed orange juice in laminated carton packages (Tetra-Pack), was obtained from a local company. The packages contained 250 ml of juice. A control was maintained by immediately transferring juice from the cartons to brown glass bottles at the plant site. Quantification of d-limonene was done according to the Scott and Veldhuis titration method (16). 

Figure 1. Ascorbic acid (AA) retention in orange juice aseptically packed into glass jars and carton packs, stored at 25°C.

To evaluate the effect of d-limonene absorption on the properties of the package, the distribution of d-limonene betwen juice and 250 ml carton in aseptically packed orange juice... 

Uses For extrusion coating applies, incl. foil-containing shampoo, toothpaste, towelette, condiment, and misc. non-food pouches and sachets, snack structures, toothpaste tubes, cable shield wrap, aseptic and hot-filled cartons other foil, metalized film, or paper coatings as heat seal or tie layer food-contact polymers Regulatory FDA 21 CFR 177.1330 compliant Properties Pellets sp.gr. 0.93 melt flow 10.0 dg/min f.p. 84 C m.p. 103 C Vicat soften, pt. 86 C 8.7% methacrylic acid Precaution Do not use in medical applies, involving permanent implantation in human body Nucrel 1214 [DuPont]... 

Paper/foil and paper/film laminations are used for many appHcations including candy wrappers, microwave packaging, ice cream carton lids, and reflective building insulation. Flexible laminations are multilayered composites, with each each component providing special properties. Examples include snack food bags, aseptic containers sterilized by radiation or heat, meat packages, solar screen laminations, and flexible air ducts. 

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