How Does Hot Fill Technology Work?
The food and beverage industry has been using hot fill bottles for their products that need shelf lives lasting up to 12 months. Products such as soups, juices, spreads, and a variety of beverages have been using hot fill packaging for their pasteurizing processes.
What is hot fill technology?
Hot fill technology enables you to extend the shelf lives for your various bottles. If your products have a pH of
- juices such as apple, orange, and grape juices
- any other types of juices
- dilutable juices
- nectars
- flavored waters
- isotonic drinks such as sports drinks that contain similar concentrations of sugar and salt as found in the human body
- other forms of sports drinks
- marinades
- RTD or Ready to Drink teas such as iced teas and flavored teas
- soups
- spreads
- vegetable and mixed vegetable drinks (think V-8?)
How does hot fill technology work?
Because of their sensitivity due to the low pH, your products and their hot fill bottles are first pasteurized at a temperature of 194 degrees Fahrenheit to remove any microorganisms that are present. These include any acid-tolerant bacteria such as Lactobacillus brevis and Lactobacillus plantarum, as well as a host of yeasts and molds. The presence of these organisms will naturally contaminate your products, which in turn can put your business in the negative marketing light with your customers. Once these microorganisms are removed, your product will be stable.
Following the pasteurization, the hot fill bottles — PET bottles mainly — are hot filled, capped, and then turned on their sides. This action sterilizes the bottle’s cap, killing any further existing organisms. Once this has taken place, the hot fill bottles are then rapidly cooled through the use of water in the form of steam or shower to help maintain the product’s integrity. This entire action results in a stable, ambient, extended product with a shelf live that ranges between six and 12 months.
If you want an exact shelf life, you can obtain this by the oxygen barrier sensitivity of the food or beverage. It also takes into consideration the size and type of the hot fill bottle and its storage condition.
Learn More From Our Podcast: A Focus on Hot Fill with Aaron Edelen, MJS Packaging
Hot fill bottles have proven to be a great deal more economical and an easier process if you compare it to the aseptic technology. If you have toyed with the idea of aseptic technology, you will find that it is far more expensive and you’ll be faced with a much larger capital investment. Hot fill bottles technology does provide you with a wide range of benefits. Among them are: And in an even more positive note, hot fill packaging can result in reductions of greenhouse emissions of more than 61 percent when compared to using glass. When you hot fill bottles made from PET, you will be able to: Now are you convinced of what hot fill bottles for your products can do for you? If you’re not quite sure where to begin your hot fill technology journey, you’ll need to obtain a highly knowledgeable consultant who can advise you of the right solutions for your products. They should have access to many numerous suppliers. Choosing the right hot fill technology for your products can be difficult and vital to your branding. MJS Packaging offers the best customer service for your product packaging. We have exclusive access to manufacturers from all around the world, so we can advise you on the best bottles, tubes, closures, caps, and other packaging needs you require.What are the benefits of the hot fill bottle?
