Bottling of juices

Only stainless steel bottling equipment is in general use nowadays. This is resistant to aggressive fruit acids and is easy to clean. Pipes and tubes which come into contact with the juice must also be suitable for the bottling of hot juices. 

In hot-filling, the bottling equipment should ensure that the bottles are as full as possible, and without the inclusion of air if possible. Inclusion of air in the juice results in re-infection with airborne microorganisms (mould spores, yeast cells and bacteria). 

About 80-90% of a fruit is water. The action of heat in drying evaporates the water and concentrates the remaining constituents of the fruit. The residual moisture content is critical for the keeping quality of dried fruit. 

Apples, pears, plums and apricots are especially suitable for drying. With regard to grapes, only seedless cultivars are suitable. These are mainly used to produce raisins. 

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Real-World Reading Link To make sure that containers have the correct amount of fluid, some manufacturing processes use radioactivity. Particles produced by radioactive decay are detected after they pass through the containers. For instance, a half-full bottle of juice would allow too much radiation to pass through and would not pass inspection. 

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