Tetra Pak wins Food Manufacturing Innovation Award from Fi Europe
- Tetra Pak® Air Jet Cleaning System for Powder awarded first place, with the Tetra Pak® Industrial Protein Mixer, also named as a finalist in the Food Manufacturing Innovation category.
- Meanwhile, Tetra Pak’s Whole oat beverage line named as a finalist in the Future Foodtech Innovation category.
Lausanne, Switzerland, 4 December 2025 – Tetra Pak has received the Food Manufacturing Innovation Award from Fi Europe for its Tetra Pak® Air Jet Cleaning System for Powder. The award-winning innovation replaces costly and time-consuming manual cleaning-in-place (CIP) methods for powder handling equipment, with an innovative dry approach which can deliver cost savings and facilitates quick changeovers between recipes.
Judged by independent industry experts, Fi Europe’s Innovation Awards recognise innovative food manufacturing or packaging equipment that improves manufacturing efficiency, reduces waste or enhances product safety. Three Tetra Pak innovations were named as finalists, out of 177 entrants. Also nominated in the Food Manufacturing Innovation category was the Tetra Pak® Industrial Protein Mixer, which addresses the costly problem in high-protein beverage production: foaming during powder mixing, leading to product loss, extended downtime, and reliance on defoaming agents.
Tetra Pak was also named a finalist in the Future Foodtech Innovation category for its Whole oat beverage line, which use the whole grain, making it possible to produce up to 25% more from the same amount of raw material with zero fibre waste, and a beverage with 60% more protein and around 200% more fibre.
The winning Tetra Pak® Air Jet Cleaning System for Powder addresses the challenges of manually cleaning powder handling equipment, which can lead to downtime, hygiene risks and increased costs. Using high-speed compressed air jets combined with vacuum extraction, the Tetra Pak® Air Jet Cleaning System for Powder removes powder residues from all internal surfaces without requiring the machine to be opened. This maintains a sealed environment and eliminates moisture-related microbial growth risks associated with liquid cleaning. Unlike traditional CIP using liquids, the Tetra Pak® Air Jet Cleaning System operates without water or chemicals, eliminating wastewater treatment and reducing environmental impact.
The Tetra Pak® Air Jet Cleaning also delivers significant savings by reducing cleaning time from 90 minutes to just 30 minutes per cycle, in turn increasing uptime and resulting in net annual savings of up to €50,0001. Trials have shown that the flushing function recovers up to 50 litres of product per batch, reducing annual product losses by up to 52,500 litres1. By reducing product loss and avoiding CIP liquids, the system can support both resource conservation and clean-label production goals.
It handles a wide range of powders, from dairy and nutritional products to plant-based and specialty mixes, and works for both small batches and large-scale production, making it ideal for operations with frequent recipe changes as well as simplifying allergen management.
Food producers can analyse and validate their powder-formulated products and processes at industrial scale at Tetra Pak’s Product Development Centre for Powder Process and Technology in Cholet, France, where the Tetra Pak® Air Jet Cleaning System for Powder is among the technologies available at the pilot plant for testing.
Francois-Xavier Barbey, Business Stream Director, Powder Process and Technology PSE Food Solutions at Tetra Pak, comments: “We are proud to see the Tetra Pak® Air Jet Cleaning System recognised as setting a benchmark for efficiency and innovation in powder handling. Applicable to a range of powders and powder-handling equipment, the award-winning Tetra Pak® Air Jet Cleaning system is a compelling investment for producers seeking higher efficiency and profitability.”
Media contacts
Ellie Carsley
Brands2Life for Tetra Pak
Tel: +44 (0)20 7592 1200
tetrapakcorporate@brands2life.com
