Aseptic packaging systems

We can expect drastic changes in the food packaging industry. Some will arise from new consumer needs, new or expanded food supplies and products, and new food preservation systems such as aseptic packaging. Others will result from societally based constraints such as safety in health and hazardous use (as in the child safety closure legislation) and consumer protection against fraud, misinformation, or wrongful use where the burden for awareness is no longer on the buyer but on the supplier. Other such constraints will arise from environmental concerns or material scarcities. 

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. 

Loss of Flavor Compounds in Model Systems. Preliminary work conducted in our laboratory showed sorption of aldehydes by LDPE used in aseptic packages (Hansen, A. P. Arora, D. K., North Carolina State University, Raleigh, unpublished data). The sorption rate was related to concentration of aldehydes and to time, as both parameters increased so did the amount of flavor compounds sorbed into the film. 

Pellenc Selective Technologies (PST), based in Prance, has 100 machines installed around the world for various types of waste separation. It has two plastics sorting systems. The Mistral uses NIR to identify aU materials in a single pass. The Sirocco uses a vision system to identify objects by location, shape, transparency, and color. Purity levels of 90 to 98 percent can be obtained output varies from 2 to 10 tonnes/hr. The systems can handle plastic, paper, metal, and multilayer aseptic packaging. Ottawa recently installed a Mistral system in their MRP. ... 

A second process that can be switched to its active state is under development and uses an entirely different chemistry in polymers. Such a system shows promise for preventing oxidation in aseptically packaged milk and juices. Systems described by Buckenham (1990) or FoUand (1990) might also be appropriate. 

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

While validation has a relatively short technical history, in practice it has largely been directed at aseptic processing (autoclaves and media fill vials, etc.). In recent years validation has been progressively expanded, firstly to cover all manufacturing, then computer systems, analytical methodology and more recently into packaging processes. Coincident with this, validation has itself evolved into qualification, with defined parts ... 

For use in ice cream, frozen confectionery and certain types of beverages, citrus fruits may be passed through a colloid mill to form a homogenous paste. These finely ground products are made from the whole fruit and may be further blended with juice or natural peel oil emulsion in order to achieve a desired flavor profile and some degree of standardization. Such products are generally aseptically processed and packaged. The process inactivates any enzyme systems and results in a shelf-stable product. 

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