There is an increasing demand for preservative-free food and beverage products followed by the enhanced consumer awareness of health. Low-temperature milk, which has been obsessed by Americans, has huge market potential. However, due to the impact on the shelf life and quality of low-temperature milk, the traditional method of combining sterilization with hot filling is not suitable for low-temperature milk sold with “fresh” and “natural” characteristics.
In most cases, the hot filling process means that the product cools to more than 90 degrees after UHT instantaneous sterilization and decreases to 88 degrees after filling. When the product which is still hot due to cooking or disinfection is filled, the container will be sterilized by the hot filling process. However, the required temperature usually harms the quality of the product. For example, if the product is heated for a long time, it will have a certain impact on the color, flavor, nutrition, and so on. The heat also limits the types of containers that can be used. For example, hot filling of lightweight plastic bottles will cause plastic deformation.
Therefore, as opposed to the hot filling process, the cold aseptic filling process has become a common technology for beverage manufacturers to produce products including low-temperature milk, juice, sports, and energy drinks. When filling under aseptic conditions, the parts on the aseptic filling equipment that may cause microbial contamination of the beverage are kept aseptic, so it is unnecessary to add preservatives in the beverage and carry out post sterilization after the beverage is filled and sealed. The cold aseptic filling process is regarded as the best solution to meet the requirements of long shelf life (from original 3-7 days to 21 days) and maintaining the taste, color, and flavor of the beverage.
Not only is the market potential of low-temperature milk limited by the short shelf life and the influence of quality, but also the increasing production. The traditional hot filling process requires hot air to dry the bottle and remove the residue, so the heating energy consumption is huge. The larger the bottle, the greater the energy consumption. Rising energy prices are affecting the energy efficiency of enterprises. Therefore, a large number of enterprises to pay attention to economic efficiency.
The cold aseptic filling machine has a high production capacity, fast bottle blowing speed, and low power consumption. It saves the raw materials and reduces the energy consumption and the manufacturing cost of the products. Due to the advanced technology, the cold aseptic filling machine can be widely applied to various products, including fruit and vegetable juice, tea and coffee drinks, sports drinks, water mixed drinks, condiments, and other products. It can greatly reduce the cost of equipment replacement and operation in the later stage.
The cold aseptic filling process has been popular in the beverage industry. Through dedicated research, Tech-Long has brought more innovative cold aseptic filling machines and technological processes designed for all-round disinfection and cleaning of the filling environment, materials, bottle embryo, and bottle caps. It helps reduce production energy consumption costs, guarantee product safety, and extend the shelf life of low-temperature milk.
Compared with the traditional hot filling process, the Tech-Long aseptic filling machine uses the heat from the bottle blowing heater itself to evaporate the hydrogen peroxide of the bottle embryo. Also, it can remove the residue without additional heating air. Therefore, Tech-Long aseptic filling machines can reduce energy. With our aseptic filling equipment, there are no concerns for the heat deformation in the process of sterilization for the bottle embryo. Furthermore, adopted with the broad-spectrum hydrogen peroxide steam sterilization, our cold filling process can make the sterilization efficiency reach 3log stably.
To ensure the safety and hygiene of the product, the main machine of the Tech-Long aseptic filling machine is equipped with a liquid seal and an automatic COP / SOP to disinfect itself. The flowmeter electrical components and valves are placed outside the machine leaving only a small number of components inside, which reduces the possibility of pollution from the source.
Bottled drinks with the same type of low-temperature milk have a stable market share globally. With the growing awareness of food health, it will have more market potential. The cold aseptic filling process has incomparable advantages in extending shelf life, reducing production cost, and ensuring product quality. If you are planning to invest in aseptic filling machines, you may visit the website of Tech-Long. It is a company dedicated to high-speed, stable, and energy-saving cold aseptic filling processes.