Food processing and packaging solution company, Tetra Pak, has brought out a new juice pasteurization process that it claims can save up to 20% on energy consumption, bringing cost and environmental benefits for customers.
The new process, which is suitable for high-acid juices, improves efficiency by reducing the temperature of the second pasteurization process, without compromising the quality of the juice produced.
“We are excited by this new development as it reduces energy consumption and therefore helps our customers improve their bottom line in an increasingly competitive market,” explained manager of Centre of Expertise at Tetra Pak, Micael Simonsson. “At the same time, extensive tests show that the new process has no impact on the quality of the juice produced be in in terms of taste, nutrition, storage stability or visual appearance.”
Recent research by Tetra Pak identified that we may be over-pasteurizing some of our drinking juices, thereby wasting time, energy and money in the process. The research group’s findings show that the pasteurization recommendations can be optimized while retaining product quality.
Fruit juices are commonly pasteurized twice before reaching the consumer. The primary process is done soon after juice extraction, with the objective of inactivating enzymes from the fruit. The second process is carried out prior to filling the juice into its container, with the purpose of destroying microorganisms that occur in the juice after bulk storage, or juice reconstituted from concentrate.
The new process by Tetra-Pak is more energy-efficient, and tests by the research team showed that after six weeks of storage, there were no significant differences detected in the tastes of the juice and tests also showed no changes in the speed of vitamin C degradation.
Tetra Pak has two international patents pending for this new process.
