When Is The Cold Fill Process Recommended
The cold fill process is a boon for many industries and products as hot filling has certain restrictions and limitations and can cause problems with the products. The cold fill process is specially recommended for many food and drink products like milk, juice, certain beverages and for some pharmaceutical products as it reduces or obviates the need for preservatives and additives and still protects the products from bacterial contamination.
The cold fill process
While products are cold filled, they still need to be filled in sterile containers to keep the product in a usable condition. There are different kinds of sterilization process like dry and wet sterilization. In the wet aseptic process the containers can be sterilized using steam and peracetic acid (C2H4O3) which results in effective germ reduction. The dry sterilization process uses H2O2 (hydrogen peroxide). Each process is suitable for different products and containers.
Among the products that are usually cold filled are fruit and vegetables juices, tea and coffee beverages, sports drinks, milk-based drinks, UHT milk, water mixed beverages and flavored waters. Some of the benefits of the cold fill process are:
- Lower costs
- Different plastics can easily be used
- Space and energy saving
- Product quality is not affected
- Nutrients are preserved
- No change in taste (in the case of food items)
- No added preservatives means that products are in a more natural condition
The cold fill process needs to be used in a largely sterile environment so that product stability and integrity are not affected. Without the right environment, there is risk of product contamination. So air purification and air filtration are important components of the cold fill process. Aseptic cold filling also needs competent and technically qualified staff and management and a fully integrated system for greater efficiency.
If you are looking at the cold fill process for your packaged products, come to M. Jacob & Sons. We can source the containers that you need at competitive prices, whether bottles, flexible containers, tetrapacks or large containers, help you with the decoration, printing and labeling and also provide guidance regarding cold filling. M. Jacob & Sons is the one-stop shop for all your packaging requirements.
