Cold-aseptics beats hot fill

Since drinktec 2005 the interest in aseptic filling continuously grows, with cold-aseptic processes proving more popular than hot fill and filling using cold sterilisation agents. drinktec 2009, which is taking place in Munich from 14 to 19 September 2009, brings together all relevant producers of cold-aseptic beverage filling technology at one exhibition site, giving visitors a fantastic opportunity to compare the two processes.

Consumer demand is growing for more natural beverages, i.e. those with no preservatives, and for products with additional benefits. This calls for aseptic cold filling, which allows the implementation of consumer-oriented product concepts, providing the public with beverages that have been bottled gently, with no additional thermal stress, as is the case with hot filling for example, and no added preservatives.

Aseptic, cold-aseptic, sterile, beverage-sterile – many terms are used to describe ‘aseptic filling’. The process involves bottling a product at ambient temperatures, that is without tunnel pasteurisation or hot filling and without the use of preservatives or cold sterilising agents, in such a way that it attains a specified shelf life. The products are only briefly heated before filling. The international fruit juice industry will be discussing what it expects from cold-aseptic filling in the future at its annual convention ‘International Fruit World’, which for the first time will take place on 15 and 16 September in parallel with drinktec, with the motto ‘From the tree to the bottle’.

Drinks cartons have been filled aseptically for decades. Cold-aseptics is the state-of-the-art process, but with relatively low throughput volumes and a firm commitment to the suppliers of the packaging material. Aseptic filling is ‘relatively’ new to PET containers, but has been undergoing practical testing for over a decade. Basically, two processes have emerged, ‘dry’ and ‘wet’ sterilisation, both with specific advantages and disadvantages.

Everyone is eagerly waiting to see how producers have improved the processes, and which way the trend is going. Perhaps there will also be a move towards plasma sterilisation, which has been talked about for years, but has not yet made a breakthrough? We will see at drinktec in September!