Aseptic solutions

In 1989, the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) put aseptic processing and packaging technology number one on its list of the ten most important food science innovations of the century.

Why? Well, aseptic technology keeps food safe, fresh and flavorful for up to 12 months — without refrigeration or preservatives. It preserves the product color, texture, taste and nutrition. Imagine the possibilities!

You may be asking how can it make food become shelf stable with no refrigeration required or preservatives added? Simply put, Tetra Pak relies on three main components to make your food safe and available, everywhere:

A food processing technology known as Ultra High Pasteurization (UHT)

The UHT is nothing more than a rapid heat treatment (between 3 and 15 seconds). It heats food to high temperatures to ensure the product is free of all harmful bacteria. This ultra-fast processing protects sensitive ingredients and preserves nutritional value,  which exhibits more natural texture, color and taste.

Multi-layered carton packaging known as shelf stable or aseptic carton.

Tetra Pak shelf stable cartons protect taste and nutritional content with three basic materials that work together to produce  a very efficient, safe and light-weight package. This includes:
• Paper (the main component) provides strength and stiffness
• Polyethylene makes packages liquid tight and provides a barrier to microorganisms during transport and storag
• Aluminum foil keeps out air, light and off-flavors or odor, all of which have the ability to cause food deterioratin

Aseptic roll fed product filling

Aseptic roll fed product filling sounds like a mouth full. But it can be translated into simple terms. Think about your grandma making hand-made sausage in her kitchen when you were little. She would fill the sausage casings with ground meat and spices, and after that big tube of sausage was all filled up, she would then twist it to form the actual pieces of sausage and tie their bottoms and tops.

The same goes for the filling of shelf stable carton packages: big tubes of packaging are formed and filled with flash heated treated product, at the same time, and then sealed to form the actual packaged product.  This all happens in a sealed filling machine that protects the product from external contamination.

For more details on aseptic technology, click here.